Autumn Leaves names chief operating officer, chief administrative officer

Jessica Akaah

Jessica Akaah has been named chief operating officer, and John Barbee added the title of chief administrative officer to his title as president, at Autumn Leaves. The appointments were effective Dec. 1.

“Our growth over the last 18 months — in terms of locations and occupancy — accelerated the plan to restructure our executive leadership team,” said Mitchell W. Warren, Autumn Leaves’ chairman, CEO and co‐owner.

Akaah joined Autumn Leaves in 2007 and opened the first Chicago area community in Crystal Lake as executive director. She was promoted to regional director of operations and later served as vice president of human resources and vice president of operations. She has a background as a licensed clinical social worker and more than a decade of experience as an owner‐operator in memory care.

John Barbee

Barbee, who joined Autumn Leaves in 2006, has three decades of experience in real estate development and construction plus an additional decade directly in senior living operations. He has opened 45 Autumn Leaves communities during his tenure.

Promoted to president in 2017, he will continue to provide overall leadership, support and strategic advice across the organization, as well as oversee real estate and asset management. As CAO, he also assumes responsibility for shared services, which include legal, information technology, marketing and human resources functions.

Warren is serving as interim chief financial officer while a nationwide search for a new CFO is under way, which will complete the restructure of the executive leadership team.

Maura A. Feaheny named vice president of development and strategy at Charter Senior Living

Maura Feaheny

Maura A. Feaheny has been named vice president of development and strategy at Chicago-based Charter Senior Living. She had joined the company as corporate director of integration and project manager in late 2018.

Feaheny has executive leadership experience in commercial real estate development and senior housing plant operations and capital management. Her experiences as an independent consultant and as a corporate employee extend from ground-up development to existing building operations management.

Feaheny recently served as vice president of plant operations for Senior Lifestyle Corp., where she managed a team of four regional directors and had oversight management responsibility for 187 senior housing communities. She first joined SLC in 2013 as a regional director of plant operations and was promoted twice in her first two years. Before joining SLC, she directed many ground-up and renovation mixed-use and retail development projects nationwide.

Feaheny earned her Master’s in Business Administration degree, with a concentration in finance and strategy, from Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago. She earned her undergraduate degree in architecture from the University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana. She is a licensed architect in Illinois.

Jeanette Allen named vice president of care and wellness at Balfour Senior Living

Jeanette Allen

Jeanette Allen, RN, BSN, LNHA, has joined Louisville, CO-based Balfour Senior Living as vice president of care and wellness. She has more than 25 years of nursing experience, with leadership roles in skilled nursing and senior housing.

Before joining Balfour, Allen spent the majority of her career as a director of nursing and a nursing home administrator. She spent the past several years in both regional and divisional nursing roles for a top 10 senior living provider.   

As vice president of care and wellness, Allen will lead efforts to enhance Balfour’s electronic medical record platform, quality management programs and consistency in policies and procedures across Balfour’s communities. She will partner closely with Balfour’s life enrichment, memory care and culinary teams as part of Balfour’s holistic approach to wellness.

Sarah Silva new division president at Avamere

Sarah Silva

Sarah Silva has been named division president of community-based care at The Avamere Family of Companies, based in Wilsonville, OR.

Silva has 17 years of experience in community-based care. She been with the company since 2009, where she started as executive director for Avamere at Bethany in Bethany, OR. Since then, she served in memory care leadership development for Avamere’s administrators and resident care coordinators, where she trained new employees, supported ongoing education, and created and implemented new memory care programming.

In April 2018, Silva was named regional director of operations over the Avamere Family of Companies before advancing into her new role,where she oversees operations of all Avamere Living CBCs.

Silva is the Oregon state leader for the National Center for Assisted Living as well as co-chair to the Oregon Health Care Association.

Anne Campbell promoted to new corporate leadership position at Juniper Communities

Anne Campbell

Anne Campbell was promoted to a newly created corporate leadership position at Juniper Communities, where she will work in tandem with CEO and founder Lynne Katzmann, PhD, on a variety of future-oriented initiatives. The position does not have a title.

Among the initiatives on which Campbell will work will be a roll-out of Connect4Life, Juniper’s integrated care model, to other operators nationwide. She also will remain responsible for the oversight of Juniper Village at Brookline in State College, PA, where she was the senior executive director. In that role, she was involved in several of Juniper’s new initiatives, including REfresh and Workforce Development. She and her State College team are also piloting a new musical theater program for older community members that is part of a national effort to better integrate the mainstream arts. And, she is working with her team to pioneer the new Juniper Institute for Innovation and Research, which already has established close ties with Penn State University for collaboration on research and programs.

Campbell has been part of the American Seniors Housing Association Rising Leaders group for the past several years.

Frank Mandy joins Kendal as senior project director for development

Frank Mandy

Frank R. Mandy has joined Kennett Square, PA-based Kendal Corp.’s corporate team as senior project director for development. He will support real estate development efforts throughout the Kendal System, including managing design, construction, land use approvals and related matters, representing corporate interests in all aspects of management and organization.

Mandy comes to Kendal with 19 years of experience in project development, focusing on new continuing care retirement community projects and redevelopment of older campuses for not-for-profit organizations. He also has 15 years of experience in state and national association management, including nine years as the Eastern field director for LeadingAge (then known as the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging), acting as liaison to its affiliates in 15 East Coast states.

In 1999, Mandy joined New Life Management & Development and became a partner, working with not-for-profit sponsors planning and developing new CCRCs. In 2010, he became a director for ParenteBeard, leading the consulting firm’s efforts to move more deeply into senior living development and repositioning. Most recently, Mandy spent five years with Eventus Strategic Partners, where he worked with not-for-profit clients on a variety of development and renovation projects.

Mandy earned an undergraduate degree in economics at the State University of New York, College at Oneonta, and has a master’s degree in public administration from the Rockefeller College of the State University of New York at Albany.

Over the next year, Mandy will be visiting each Kendal community to learn more about the campuses, Kendal residents and staff and the Kendal system.

Malina Souliyalaovong named executive director at Farmington Square Gresham

Malina Souliyalaovong

Malina Souliyalaovong has been named executive director at Farmington Square Gresham, an assisted memory care community in Gresham, OR. She will be responsible for all aspects of community management.

Souliyalaovong has more than years of experience in the senior living industry. Before joining Farmington Square, she was the executive director for Enlivant Senior Living in Chicago.

Souliyalaovong is a graduate of Concorde Career College.

Pam Dill named executive director at Harbour Pointe Senior Living

Pam Dill

Pam Dill has been named executive director at Harbour Pointe Senior Living, a Mukilteo, WA, Integral Senior Living community that specializes in independent, assisted living, memory care and respite care.

Before joining Harbour Pointe, Dill was the executive director at multiple senior living communities, including Welbrook South Bay assisted living and memory care and Whitter Place assisted living and memory care. She also is a certified nurse’s assistant, a certified activity director and a certified administrator for residential care facilities for the elderly.

Margie Veis named executive director at Oakmont of Valencia

Margie Veis

Margie Veis has been named executive director at Oakmont of Valencia, an Oakmont Senior Living assisted living and memory care community expected to open this summer in Valencia, CA.

Veis has been the executive director of Oakmont of Santa Clarita since its opening in January 2016. She has more than 30 years of experience in senior living.

Igor Molchanov, who has worked in senior living for the past two decades, will assume the role of executive director at Oakmont of Santa Clarita.

Michele Romeo named executive director of Charter Senior Living of Panama City Beach

Michele Romeo

Michele Romeo has been named executive director of its independent living, assisted living and memory care community in Panama City Beach, FL, called Charter Senior Living of Panama City Beach.

Romeo’s career in the assisted living and senior care industry started approximately nine years ago as a health and wellness director, and then she was promoted to a regional director of clinical operations for a senior living company in the Texas Region. There, she oversaw the clinical departments of 19 communities throughout Texas.

Romeo has been a nurse for about 15 years and has experience as a hospital floor nurse, oncology nurse, hospice and home health nurse. In addition, she was a flight nurse with the Air Force.

She is a licensed administrator in Florida.

Integral Senior Living names two directors, sales and marketing assistant

Integral Senior Living has named two directors and a sales and marketing assistant.

Jerry De La Torre

• Jerry De La Torre has been named director of culinary services at Travanse Living at Wheaton, a community west of Chicago.

Torre’s responsibilities include operation of Travanse Living at Wheaton’s Elevate-culinary experience. His day-to-day responsibilities include creating the menu, conducting kitchen inventory and ordering products, as well as hiring, managing and training all of the kitchen staff.

Before joining Travanse Living at Wheaton, Torre was food service director at HCR ManorCare Health Services. He has spent most of his career abroad, holding multiple positions in restaurants and catering services and served as a culinary instructor.

• Beth Olafsen has been named director of sales and marketing at The Oak Cottage of Santa Barbara Memory Care in Santa Barbara, CA.

Olafsen has almost two decades of experience in sales, marketing and community relations. While in these roles, she developed internal and external outreach targets, managed volunteer programs, and coordinated events. She has worked in the senior living industry since 1995.

Before joining the Oak Cottage team, Olafsen was the community relations director at Mariposa at Ellewood Shores. Before that, she was the director of sales and marketing at Vineyard Heights Senior Living and Brookdale Senior Living. During her time at Vineyard Heights, Olafsen helped families navigate the process of choosing the right care to match residents’ individual needs.

• Jeri Coates has been named sales and marketing assistant at Loma Clara, which is set to open early this year.

Coates has almost two decades of experience in sales. Most recently, she was sales representative at AAA Northern California, Nevada and Utah, where she was in charge of bringing in new business, creating grassroots campaigns and developing relationships with key members around the community. During her time there, she achieved a 96% retention rate on all existing policies.

Benchmark names executive directors, regional sales director

Benchmark Senior Living has named five new executive directors and a regional director of sales.

Andrew Goshert

• Andrew Goshert has been named executive director for the Chestnut Park at Cleveland Circle assisted living and memory care community in Brighton, MA.         

Goshert has a degree in gerontology and 13 years of experience with several senior living communities. He joins Benchmark from Brooksby Village in Peabody, MA, where he served as director of continuing care for the retirement campus, overseeing 104 skilled nursing beds, 92 assisted living apartments and several memory care neighborhoods with 32 units. Before Brooksby, Goshert was the director of health services for Dunwoody Village in Newtown Square, PA.

He graduated from Pennsylvania State University, earning an undergraduate degree in health policy and administration with an emphasis on gerontology.

Doug Cormack

• Doug Cormack has been named executive director for Orchard Estate of Woodbury, an assisted living and memory care community under construction in Woodbury, NY, and expected to open as early as late summer.

Cormack has been a licensed assisted living administrator for more than 10 years and has the certified director of assisted living credential from the Senior Living Certification Commission. In 2012, he opened Benchmark Senior Living at Split Rock in Shelton, CT.

Cormack earned his undergraduate degree in information design and corporate communications from Bentley University in Waltham, MA, and a master’s in corporate communication with a focus on leadership and influence from Jones International University.

Fatima Oliveira

• Fatima Oliveira has joined Benchmark Senior Living at Plymouth Crossings in Plymouth, MA, as executive director. At the assisted living and memory care community, she is responsible for overseeing all aspects of operations.

Oliveira joins the company after 12 years at Beacon Communities, where she was an area manager for several residential properties.

She graduated from Framingham State University with an undergraduate degree in psychology and is certified as an apartment manager by the National Apartment Association.

Linda Silveira

• Linda Silveira has resumed the leadership role at Greenwich Farms at Warwick, an assisted living and memory care community in Warwick, RI. Most recently, she served as executive director for a sister community, Capitol Ridge at Providence, in Providence, RI.

In 2014, while executive director of The Atrium at Faxon Woods in Quincy, MA, Silveira was the recipient of the Benchmark President’s Award for superior leadership at the senior management level and for modeling the company’s mission and values, including the vision to create meaningful human connections.

Before joining Benchmark in 2010, Silveira was executive director for Atria Aquidneck Place in Portsmouth, RI, for eight years.

She received an MBA in healthcare administration from the University of Connecticut and an undergraduate degree in biology from College of the Holy Cross. She is also a certified dementia practitioner and a certified director of assisted living. In her free time, she serves as vice chair of the Rhode Island Assisted Living Association and is an instructor for the RIALA Administrator Training Program, which trains and certifies assisted living administrators in the state.

Phil Lord

• Phil Lord has been named executive director for Blenheim-Newport, a Benchmark assisted living and memory care community in Middletown, RI.

Formerly, he was a regional director of operations for Carewell Urgent Care based in Quincy, MA, where he reported directly to the CEO and oversaw management of the company’s centers.

Scott Bradshaw

• Scott Bradshaw has been named new regional director for sales at Benchmark.

He brings more than 16 years of healthcare and education experience to the role and has spent over 23 years working in sales and marketing roles. Before joining Benchmark, Bradshaw was a sales consultant for BeaconLive, where he was vice president of sales and marketing. He also has been a regional sales executive for Endo Pharmaceuticals and a relationship manager for Fidelity Investments.

Bradshaw graduated from North Adams State College (now Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts) with an undergraduate degree in marketing.

Brad Snowden named philanthropy director for The Village at Orchard Ridge

Brad Snowden has joined The Village at Orchard Ridge–A National Lutheran Community in Winchester, VA, as philanthropy director.

He will lead all philanthropic efforts to raise financial support for various funds, including the benevolent care endowment fund, the employee tuition reimbursement fund and any special campaigns. The benevolent care endowment fund is set to reach $2 million by 2020; the funds are used to continue to provide care for residents who have outlived their funds and can no longer afford it.

Snowden has almost 20 years of experience in estate planning as a practicing attorney and for the past 16 years has advanced the philanthropic mission of two higher education institutions, Mary Baldwin University and Shenandoah University.

He has an undergraduate degree in political science from Shepherd College (now Shepherd University) and a law degree from Capital University Law School.

Deb Kennedy named president of Pennsylvania Association of Directors of Nursing Administration

Deb Kennedy

Deb Kennedy has been named president of Pennsylvania Association of Directors of Nursing Administration.

She has spent three decades in various nursing positions at Presbyterian Senior Living, a not-for-profit organization headquartered in Dillsburg, PA, that has been providing retirement and senior care services for more than 85 years.

Robert Savage named board chair of New Senior Investment Group

Robert F. Savage has been chairman of the New Senior Investment Group Board of Directors. He is an independent director at the New York City-based real estate investment trust. The appointment was effective Jan. 4.

Savage has been a member of the board since 2016 in addition to being chairman of a special committee formed in connection with the previously announced review of strategic alternatives for the company.

Savage is co-founder and president of KSH Capital LP, which provides real estate entrepreneurs with capital and expertise to seed or expand their platforms.

Before founding KSH, Savage was co-founder and president of KTR Capital Partners, an investment, development and operating company focused exclusively on the industrial property sector in North America. At KTR, Savage was a member of the firm’s Investment Committee and responsible for management of the firm’s day-to-day operations, including oversight of capital deployment, portfolio management and capital markets activities.

Savage is a member of the Board of Trustees of Mount Sinai Health System in New York and chairman of the Board of Directors of Volunteer Match, a San Francisco based 501(c)(3) that operates a volunteer network.

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