Send your personnel news to Lois Bowers at [email protected].
Claiborne Senior Living promotes Justin Wray to COO
Justin Wray has been promoted to chief operating officer at Hattiesburg, MS-based Claiborne Senior Living. Months after his joining the organization, Claiborne promoted Wray from vice president of operations to COO due to his demonstration of operational expertise and professional excellence. Wray oversees all aspects of the organization’s operations and works alongside Claiborne’s regional support team and communities to ensure that they are optimizing operations to deliver a superior resident experience while still achieving desired business targets.
He brings more than 16 years of hands-on experience in senior housing to the organization, both in operational strategy as well as sales and marketing. Before joining the Claiborne team, he worked in senior management positions with providers such as Pegasus Senior Living and Frontier Management, where he helped expand the organization from 38 to 108 properties.
Enso Village appoints Rosemary C. Jordan as CEO
Rosemary C. Jordan has been named CEO of Healdsburg, CA-based Enso Village, the newest affiliated community in the Kendal System. She will oversee the completion of the community and begin shaping the vision for the campus as residents move in starting in 2023.
Jordan brings years of experience leading and managing healthcare organizations to the role. Most recently, she was CEO of the Pacific Vision Foundation, a four-entity health enterprise, where she led a suite of organizations to increase operational efficiency and oversaw substantial revenue growth. Previously, she also held positions with Elder Care Alliance, a senior living and post-acute care organization, where she focused on business development and strategic growth.
Jordan earned a master’s degree in public health and public policy from the University of California at Berkeley. She received her undergraduate degree from Vassar College.
Lakewood Health System names Lisa Bjerga next president and CEO
Lisa Bjerga, CPA, MBA, has been named the next president and CEO of Staples, MN-based Lakewood Health System, effective Jan. 1, 2023. The system includes the independent living/assisted living communities Lakewood Manor and Lakewood Pines, as well as the Lakewood Care Center nursing home.
She will succeed Tim Rice, who is retiring after more than 42 years of service.
Bjerga’s appointment concludes a nearly two-year succession planning process in which members of a Lakewood committee partnered with Lync3 to facilitate the search, screening and interviewing of candidates. Lync3 also will help facilitate the transition period between Bjerga’s onboarding and Rice’s retirement.
Originally from Sartell, MN, Bjerga has an undergraduate degree in accounting and economics from St. Cloud State University and a master’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in healthcare management from the University of St. Mary. Since 2016, she has been Lakewood’s chief financial officer, and prior to that, had held several positions at Lakewood since 2008, including finance director, director of revenue cycle and vice president of finance and revenue cycle.
Westmont Living promotes Diane ‘Dee’ Navarro to VP, operations
Diane “Dee” Navarro, has been promoted to vice president of operations at La Jolla, CA-based Westmont Living.
Navarro was hired in 2018 to be Westmont’s regional director of operations, and her region grew quickly. Over the past two years, Navarro has navigated Westmont Living communities through the COVID-19 pandemic’s many responsibilities beyond normal working hours/days in support of hundreds of older adults, reassuring their families and encouraging staff members without interruption of essential services and keeping them as safe and engaged as possible.
Navarro started her long-term care career in 1992 in the care administration of a 232-bed skilled nursing facility in Fresno, CA, where she worked until 1999. Shen then moved into a sales position for a Senior Lifestyles Corp. community in Fresno, marketing independent living and assisted living apartments until 2005, when she became an executive director.
Navarro was hired as executive director of BPM Senior Living community in Clovis, CA, and spent eight years in that role. The community transitioned to a Blue Harbor Senior Living community, which served as a home base for Navarro after she was promoted to regional director of operations in 2013. In 2017, she joined MBK Senior Living, followed by Westmont Living.
Elegance Living announces several new leadership hires
Elegance Living, the management arm of private-equity company Capital Health Group, has announced several key leadership hires to support the company’s platform modernization, quality focus and growth in the coastal California market.
The company manages a range of senior living properties, from independent, assisted living and memory care in value-driven suburban markets to high-end luxury communities in premiere urban markets, with a common focus on operational excellence through standardization, technology integration and workforce development.
As part of the company’s platform modernization vision, it has made the following leadership hires/promotions:
- Lisa Gaudioso has been promoted to chief operating officer;
- Lydel Wright is senior vice president of wellness and care;
- Kimberly Severns-Jones is senior vice president of quality assurance and risk management;
- Kathleen Habick is vice president of people;
- Melisa Jones-Knight is vice president of sales and marketing;
- Donald Spatulo is national director of culinary experience;
- Melanie Perry is national director of resident engagement; and
- Kaitlin Cavinder is senior director of business analysis
Front Porch appoints Rachel Vranich as general counsel
Los Angeles-based Front Porch Communities and Services has announced the appointment of Rachel Vranich as its new general counsel for the organization, effective June 17. Vranich, who currently serves Front Porch as deputy general counsel, will be succeeding Joe Butler, who is retiring.
Before joining Front Porch in 2020, Vranich was a senior associate for Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer in San Francisco. There, her practice focused on representing private and public companies, nonprofit organizations and high net worth individuals and families in real estate transactions, general corporate work and complex estate planning.
Vranich holds a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, where she was executive editor of the California Law Review in addition to holding many other honors. Vranich also holds an undergraduate degree in English from Williams College in Massachusetts.
The retiring Butler has served as Front Porch’s general counsel since 2007, during which time the organization has experienced tremendous growth and achievement, including its 2021 merger with Covia Communities which brought together two California nonprofit organizations with long-standing reputations for innovation and sustained excellence in senior living.
Retirement Unlimited promotes Caroline Ottoviani to regional director of clinical services
Senior living community management firm Retirement Unlimited, Inc. has promoted Caroline Ottoviani, LPN, to regional director of clinical services for its communities in Virginia.
Ottoviani has been with RUI since 2019 as director of clinical services for several northern Virginia communities. She has worked in healthcare for 15 years, with 10 of those years as a licensed practical nurse. She started her career in healthcare as a resident helper, then advanced to a certified nursing assistant, med tech and charge nurse. Ottoviani also has managed a five-physician and five-nurse obstetrics and gynecology practice for five years.
Friendship welcomes Alex Parker
Alex Parker has been hired as director of marketing and admissions at Friendship Assisted Living, Roanoke, VA-based Friendship Retirement Community announced.
Parker comes to Friendship after serving for almost a decade as a full-time minister. He graduated from Liberty University with a degree in business administration and a minor in marketing as well as a master’s degree in theology.
“It is a dream opportunity for me to be at Friendship. I have had multiple family, friends and church congregants come through Friendship in either the independent living, rehab, or assisted living throughout the years,” Parker said. “I can attest, with firsthand experience, to their excellence of care.”
Anthem Memory Care appoints new community relations director for Illinois community
Kelley Tighe has been named community relations director for Porter Place, an Anthem Memory Care community in Tinley Park, IL. She will be responsible for community outreach and marketing.
Tighe brings more than 20 years of healthcare experience to this position. She previously was senior executive director for Rock Run Place Assisted Living and Memory Care in Joliet, IL. She also has served as nursing home administrator with Bria of Palos Hills in Palos Hills, IL.
Tighe earned an associate degree in culinary arts and Bachelor of Science degree in food service management from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI. She also holds a Master of Business Administration from the DeVry University Keller Graduate School of Management in Tinley Park, IL.
Brookdale board member named to Owens & Minor board
Rita Johnson-Mills, a member of the board of directors for Brookdale Senior Living, has been elected to the board of directors at healthcare solutions firm Owens & Minor.
A senior executive and business leader with more than 25 years of experience in both the public and private healthcare sectors, Johnson-Mills has implemented programs to improve employee engagement and build strategic relationships throughout her career. Most recently, she was CEO of Qualified Opportunity Zone Fund Nightingale Partners, leading its mission to address the social determinants of health. This role followed almost two decades in senior leadership roles at organizations including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and two publicly traded health plan enterprises, UnitedHealthcare and Centene Corp.
In addition to Brookdale, Johnson-Mills also serves on the board of Nyxoah S.A.
Send your personnel news to Lois Bowers at [email protected]. High-quality color headshots are welcome but not required.
