Milestone Retirement Communities announces C-suite promotions

Caryl Ridgeway headshot
Caryl Ridgeway

Caryl Ridgeway has been promoted from vice president of operations to chief operating officer and owner, and Rosalyn Watson has been promoted from executive vice president of clinical compliance to chief clinical officer for Vancouver, WA-based Milestone Retirement Communities. The company provides management services to senior living investors specializing in independent living, assisted living, memory care and specialty care.

Ridgeway will work with the leadership team to strategize a path for business growth through the development of high-performance teams, occupancy growth and revenue streams. She will partner with ownership groups on new development and will be involved in recruiting and training new leadership.

Ridgeway previously worked in accounting, owned a bakery, was an IT analyst, and was an emergency medical technician who served on the Red Cross Disaster Relief Team during the Oklahoma City Murrah Federal Building bombing. A senior housing advocate, she was instrumental in the passage of aging-in-place legislation in her home state, Oklahoma, to promote and foster older adults living in their assisted living homes until the end of life. She also wrote the Compassionate Care Visit Program policy to allow families and residents to safety visit their loved ones at Milestone communities. 

Rosalyn Watson headshot
Rosalyn Watson

Watson, chief clinical officer, will work with regional and community teams to provide clinical and compliance support. She joined Milestone in 2016.

Before joining Milestone, Watson was a chief wellness officer and owner, vice president of clinical resources and national director of resident care. Her work on a resident retention program for a previous employer won an Assisted Living Federation of America (now Argentum) “Best of the Best” award in 2010.

Benchmark Senior Living announces additions, changes to leadership team

Jerry Liang headshot
Jerry Liang

Waltham, MA-based Benchmark Senior Living has appointed Jerry Liang as vice president and chief financial officer and John Hartmayer as executive vice president and chief operations officer. Additionally, Chief Marketing Officer Heather Frahm has been promoted to executive vice president, and Chief Financial Officer Sara Laffey will shift to a part-time consulting role with the company.

Liang most recently was senior vice president of investments and development at Sunrise Senior Living in McLean, VA. In his new position, he will be responsible for development, asset management, capital structuring, investor relations, accounting, treasury and risk management.

John Hartmayer headshot
John Hartmayer

Hartmayer most recently was senior vice president of operations for the east division of Atria Senior Living, based in Louisville, KY. He will oversee all community operations, including resident care, programming, culinary and legal.

Heather Frahm headshot
Heather Frahm

Frahm joined Bench in 2019, serving as chief marketing officer and senior vice president. She will continue to serve as CMO. Along with overseeing marketing, Frahm is responsible for sales, customer experience and IT. She is the co-founder and former president of Boston-based Catalyst, a search engine marketing firm specializing in serving Fortune 500 companies.

Laffey, who joined Benchmark in 2010, also will begin advisory work to not-for-profit senior living operators and continuing care retirement communities.

Retirement Unlimited names Beth Kolnok vice president of communication, engagement

Beth Kolnok headshot
Beth Kolnok

Beth Kolnok has been promoted to vice president of communication and engagement for Virginia-based senior living community management company Retirement Unlimited Inc.

Kolnok has been with RUI since 2017, offering support for communication and advertising initiatives for RUI and its communities. In her new role, she will continue to oversee all communication and advertising, in addition to providing directions and guidance for life enrichment program and and RUI University.

Kolnok has more than 20 years of experience, providing communication and branding strategies in healthcare, retail and recreational industries.

Cadence Living names Pat Teske vice president of facilities management

Pat Teske has joined Cadence Living, Scottsdale, AZ, as vice president of facilities management. 

Teske will have principal responsibility for preventive maintenance, director management, renovation planning and plant management of Cadence’s portfolio of senior living communities. 

Teske, who will be based in Dallas, joins Cadence after a diverse career as a business owner in the fields of mechanical engineering and agriculture. 

JEA Senior Living announces two vice presidents

Angie Fleenor, APRN, has been named vice president of clinical services, and Kayla Wersal, LVN, has been named vice president of programming, for Vancouver, WA-based JEA Senior Living.

Fleenor, a board-certified nurse practitioner specializing in geriatrics, brings more than 16 years of experience in executive healthcare leadership in senior living, skilled nursing, home health, hospice and PCR laboratories to JEA.

Fleenor is experienced in chronic disease management. She formerly held executive leadership roles as a senior vice president and chief compliance officer. She was also principal owner for a consulting business to help healthcare companies increase net operating income and improve patient quality of care. She is a member of the American Assisted Living Nursing Association advisory board.

Wersal brings more than 35 years of experience in the healthcare industry to JEA, with leadership roles ranging from clinical to operations and business development. Her accomplishments include the development and global rollout of the Moments in Time Alzheimer’s and memory care program used in more than 70 communities throughout the United States and China, as well as the Life Enrichment activity program used in more than 100 communities internationally. 

Wersal speaks about Alzheimer’s disease, both in the United States and abroad.

Keith Martin headshot
Keith Martin

Legacy Ridge at Woodstock to share leader, Keith Martin, with sister community

Keith Martin, executive director of Legacy Ridge at Nesse Road, has stepped into the same role for sister community Legacy Ridge at Woodstock. Both are in the Atlanta area.

Martin has experience in multiple facilities dedicated to individuals with cognitive impairment. While working in the mental health field, he held jobs in both clinical and nonclinical roles.

The Legacy Ridge buildings operate under Atlas Senior Living management.

Ohio Living Breckenridge Village names Julie Bauman executive director

Julie Bauman has been named executive director of Ohio Living Breckenridge Village, a life plan community in Willoughby, OH. In her new role, she will oversee all of Breckenridge Village’s operations. 

Before joining Ohio Living, Bauman was a licensed nursing home administrator at several skilled nursing facilities, most recently at Normandy Care Center in Rocky River, OH. She also held a variety of sales, marketing and quality assurance leadership roles.

Bridges by EPOCH at Mashpee names Mary Beth Sibbio wellness director

Mary Beth Sibbio headshot
Mary Beth Sibbio, RN

Mary Beth Sibbio, RN, has been named wellness director of Bridges by EPOCH at Mashpee, a memory care and assisted living community in Mashpee, MA.

Sibbio will be responsible for meeting and exceeding state standards, as well as oversee daily operations of the wellness team and the delivery of person-centered care. She also will coordinate services and assessment of residents.

Sibbio has more than 30 years of nursing experience as a certified nursing assistant, licensed practice nurse and registered nurse. Throughout her career, she gained experience as a program manager, RN case manager and resident care director for a senior living provider.