Send your personnel news to Lois Bowers at [email protected].
Emerald Communities welcomes Alexander Candalla as VP of operations
Alexander Candalla has been named vice president of operations for Emerald Communities, a nonprofit senior housing and service organization in Redmond, WA.
In his new role, he will oversee operations for the life plan communities of Emerald Heights and Heron’s Key. Candalla also will be working with executive directors of each property to implement new programs and policies and develop short-term and long-term strategic goals. He also will be responsible for risk management for Emerald Communities and all affiliates.
Candalla joins Emerald Communities with almost three decades of experience in senior living. He previously worked as assisted living manager, National Accreditation Commission surveyor, assistant administrator and research coordinator.
Candalla also gained national recognition when he was awarded the Outstanding Mentor Award by LeadingAge for his work in senior living.
New WesleyLife Foundation taps Sophia Ahmad as leader
Sophia S. Ahmad will join WesleyLife next month as vice president of philanthropy, heading up the soon-to-be-launched WesleyLife Foundation.
Ahmad comes to WesleyLife from MercyOne Des Moines Foundation, where she was instrumental in a $16 million capital campaign for the MercyOne Richard Deming Cancer Center. She also has led stewardship and external relations for other MercyOne campaigns, including securing funding for various programs at MercyOne Children’s Hospital and House of Mercy as well as the organization’s neuroscience and behavioral health groups.
Before her time with MercyOne, Ahmad held similar roles with the Greater Des Moines Partnership and the Des Moines Symphony & Academy. She was designated a 40 Under 40 honoree by the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy and the Des Moines Business Record and a Top Woman in Public Relations by PR News. She is a graduate of the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute.
Ahmad will be based at the organization’s corporate headquarters in Johnston, IA.
Arbors Memory Care appoints Assaad Zeid executive director
Assaad Zeid has been appointed executive director for Arbors Memory Care, a family-owned and operated Radiant Senior Living memory care community serving the Sparks, NV, area. He brings 17 years of experience in assisted living, independent living and memory care to his new role.
Zeid has experience in operations and budgeting, food service and training. He holds an undergraduate degree in business administration from Cal State Los Angeles.
Lifespace appoints Cyndi Rogers as Edgemere’s director of nursing
Cyndi Rogers recently joined Lifespace Communities’ Edgemere community in Dallas as director of nursing.
A registered nurse, Rogers’ previous experience includes overseeing the nursing department operations and business development for continuing care retirement communities. She also has hands-on experience as a cardiac and critical care nurse.
Omnicare names Ahmed Hassan president
Ahmed Hassan has been appointed president of Omnicare, a CVS Health company, effective July 1. He will lead the long-term care pharmacy business, executing its business strategy to meet goals in service, retention, growth and culture.
He has held various leadership positions across a range of healthcare and technology organizations in strategy, operations and product management, including working at a health and life sciences consulting practice, where he helped the firm’s payers, providers and pharmaceutical clients adapt to the changing healthcare landscape.
Previously, Hassan was the vice president and general manager of PBM Care Management, overseeing operations from product development to clinical quality to sales and account management for Caremark’s Care Management portfolio.
Hassan holds an undergraduate engineering degree from Northwestern University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern.
Greystone appoints Hafize Gaye Erkan as CEO
Hafize Gaye Erkan is the new CEO of a national real estate finance company Greystone.
Her executive responsibilities will begin in September, when she will report to former CEO Steve Rosenberg, who will continue to serve as the executive chairman of the board. Erkan and Rosenberg will partner to execute on a two-part joint vision for the next phase of Greystone’s growth, aiming to accelerate Greystone’s core commercial and multifamily real estate and expand the business into adjacent financial services.
Erkan most recently was co-CEO, president and a board member at publicly traded First Republic Bank, where she spent eight years in various roles. Prior to that, she was the head of financial institutions group analytics and strategies for Goldman Sachs, where she worked for almost a decade advising financial institution boards and executive management teams.
In March, Erkan joined the board of directors at Fortune 500 firm Marsh McLennan, and she served on the board for Tiffany & Co. from 2019 to 2021.
Erkan graduated with an undergraduate degree in industry engineering from Boğaziçi University in Turkey and earned a Ph.D. in operations research and financial engineering from Princeton University. She is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program and the Stanford Graduate School of Business Executive Program in Leadership.
Bluestone Physician Services promotes 3 as it expands
Sarah Keenan, R.N., BSN, MSIHM; Jessie Waks, APRN, CNP, GNP-BC; and Terri Maurice have been promoted by Bluestone Physician Services, an on-site primary care provider for assisted living communities.
Keenan has been named Bluestone’s chief operating officer and president of integrated care in addition to her existing role as chief clinical officer. Waks, in her new role as senior vice president, clinical practice and education, will continue to oversee clinical education and best practices. Maurice now will serve as senior market director for Bluestone’s Florida communities, further expanding Bluestone’s footprint in the state.
KARE hires Cheryl Crooks as chief strategy officer
Cheryl Crooks is set to join staffing technology company KARE as chief strategy officer, effective July 18.
She has focused the past 18 years of her career on the senior living and care industry, where she began as an educator in hospice care before leading education and sales teams for Priority Management’s long-term acute care hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living communities.
She comes to KARE after eight years at PointClickCare, where she has worked in sales and led the senior care market development team.
Send your personnel news to Lois Bowers at [email protected]. High-quality color headshots are welcome but not required.
