Buckner Retirement Services announces leadership promotions, names Charlie Wilson president
Buckner Retirement Services of Dallas has announced several leadership changes, including the promotion of Charlie Wilson from senior vice president to president.
Wilson has been with Buckner for 21 years, starting as director of quality improvement and regulatory compliance. Under his leadership, the nonprofit senior living provider doubled in size, opening two new communities and acquiring a third.
Albert Reyes, president and CEO of parent company Buckner International, retains the CEO role for the retirement division. Brian Robbins has been promoted from vice president to chief operating officer. He will oversee all Buckner senior living operations.
Chuck Childress, executive director of Ventana by Buckner in Dallas, has been named director of operations for Buckner Retirement Services. Childress will assist in seeking his replacement and support the community during the transition.
Phil Elmore will transition from Buckner’s director of hospitality to director of development.
Abraham Mathew will continue as the executive director of Buckner Parkway Place in Houston, but under his new title as senior executive director, he will support all Buckner communities and lead special projects.
Specific to talent acquisition and growth, Mary Jackson and Kelly Stephens both will serve as senior directors of human resources, supporting all Buckner communities. Jackson will continue to oversee human resources at Baptist Retirement Community in San Angelo, TX, and Stephens will continue to oversee human resources at Parkway Place, Houston.
Michael O’Brien to retire as president, CEO of Duncaster Retirement Community
Michael O’Brien, president and CEO of Bloomfield, CT-based Duncaster Retirement Community, will retire in July. Vice President of Strategy and Community Life Kelly Papa will step in as interim CEO.
O’Brien has led Duncaster for 14 years, during which time the nonprofit added independent living apartments and a memory care neighborhood and expanded memory care services at Duncaster’s Caleb Hitchcock Health Center.
Under O’Brien, Duncaster opened a senior primary care medical practice in collaboration with Hartford Healthcare. He also led the community to become the first life plan community in the state to have 100% emergency generation capability.
O’Brien has served on several community and industry boards, including LeadingAge Connecticut and the Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce. He was honored with the American College of Healthcare Executives’ Service Award.
Papa joined Duncaster in 2019. She previously worked as corporate director of learning at Masonicare, a Wallingford, CT-based group of assisted living, independent living and memory care communities. She also was director of education and consulting at the Alzheimer’s Resource Center in Southington, CT.
Papa has more than 20 years of clinical and executive leadership experience in senior living. She also has a background in education, wellness and life enrichment services, organizational and program development, quality improvement, strategic planning and operations.
Christian Living Communities–Cappella Living Solutions names Jayne Keller chief operating officer
Jayne Keller has been promoted to chief operating officer of Englewood, CO-based Christian Living Communities–Cappella Living Solutions. She will provide strategic direction for all CLC-Cappella communities and programs.
Keller has been with the company since 2011, first as executive director of life plan community Holy Creek. She helped the community navigate the economic crisis recovery effort and created the Keepers Committee, a resident-directed effort to help retain top talent by building relationships between residents and team members.
Later, as vice president of senior living at CLC–Cappella, Keller played a critical role in expanding the organization by 12 communities in 2019. She was responsible for overseeing the operations team supporting all 22 communities.
Her 30-plus-year career in senior living began as a nursing assistant in Illinois. She also holds a nursing home administrator license.
Epoch Senior Living names Kristine Tilton vice president of operations at Waterstone Senior Living
Kristine Tilton has been named the new vice president of operations for Waterstone Senior Living, which is operated by Waltham, MA-based Epoch Senior Living.
Waterstone has senior living communities located throughout the Boston and Wellesley, MA, areas and new communities under development in Stamford, CT, and White Plains, NY.
Tilton will be responsible for the operational oversight of all current and future communities. She previously was executive director of Waterstone at Wellesley.
Atlas Senior Living names Carol Brinegar vice president
Carol Brinegar has been promoted to vice president of design and construction for Atlas Senior Living of Birmingham, AL. Her new role involves enhancing the quality of complete construction projects
Brinegar previously was senior operations director of new construction and executive director of Atlas’ Legacy Reserve Fritz Farm community in Lexington,, KY.
She began her career providing therapy services to adults with neurological deficits. Brinegar has held roles as a speech-language pathologist, director of rehabilitation services, director of healthcare admissions, executive director and senior director of operations for new construction. She has managed multi-million dollar renovations as well as new construction.
Cadence Living names Randi Cohen vice president
Randi Cohen has been named vice president of media and marketing for Scottsdale, AZ-based Cadence Living, with principal responsibility for all media and marketing strategy for the company’s senior living communities.
Cohen brings more than 20 years of marketing experience, with the past seven years devoted to senior living and healthcare. Her expertise includes brand strategy and creating optimal growth through omni-channel marketing.
Before joining Cadence, Cohen worked at Pasadena, CA-based Regency Park Senior Living, where she was responsible for all aspects of the company’s branding and marketing strategy.
Juniper Communities promotes two to regional director positions in Texas
Casey Tiffany has been named regional director of operations for Texas, and Vickie Stotler-Smith has been promoted to regional director of sales and program development for the Texas market, for Bloomfield, NJ-based Juniper Communities.
Tiffany will assume a new position created to help with the company’s expansion into Texas. She previously worked in assisted living, memory care and independent living communities; rehabilitation hospitals; and skilled nursing care.
Most recently, Tiffany was a healthcare consultant, managing small rural assisted living and skilled nursing care locations throughout Texas. She also has worked as a care manager and has a nursing home administrator license.
In her new role, Stotler-Smith will support the Texas sales teams through coaching, setting goals, achieving goals and professional development. She will focus on implementing Juniper’s signature programs, including Connections, H’art and Soul of Dining, as well as Wellspring memory care programs.
Bowman Place at Olde Bedford names Jeanna Rodriguez director of sales and marketing
Jeanna Rodriguez has been named director of sales and marketing at Bowman Place at Olde Bedford, Bedford, NH.
She will be responsible for introducing families to Bowman Place, as well as community outreach.
Rodriguez has been working in senior living sales and marketing for the past five years. Before that, she worked in direct care.
Inovonics announces retirement, executive appointment
Mark Jarman has announced his retirement from Louisville, CO-based Inovonics. He will support the business through the leadership transition period as Tom Chittendon takes over as his successor.
Jarman has been with Inovonics for more than 20 years, starting as the director of new business development. Following senior leadership roles of increasing commercial responsibility, he was appointed president in 2006. He led the Inovonics team through evolutions of technology and growth over the years, from the original Frequency Agile platform to the self-configuring EchoStream wireless network of today.
Jarman has been active in the Utility Management and Conservation Association, joined the National Electrical Manufacturers Association to guide senior living regulatory activities, and worked with the Alarm Industry Communications Committee to track governmental changes affecting the evolution of wireless spectrum use.
Chittenden brings more than 20 years of platform hardware and software experience to his new role. Before joining Inovonics, he served in various leadership positions at NCR, most recently as a vice president and general manager of industry solutions, where he drove the portfolio of hardware, software and internet of things solutions globally.
Before NCR, Chittenden held leadership roles in numerous capacities at GE, including driving the company’s IoT strategy for the retail oil and gas segment.
