National Lutheran Communities & Services appoints Cyndi Walters president and CEO
Cyndi Walters has been announced as president and CEO of National Lutheran Communities & Services of Rockville, MD, effective Aug. 1.
Walters has more than 30 years of experience in the senior living industry and has been a part of the company in various capacities for nine years. She started her career at National Lutheran Communities & Services as a consultant, then became chief operating officer in 2016.
Before joining the company, Walters provided project management and advisory services to senior living organizations through Walters Advisors. She also held a leadership position at Presbyterian Senior Living in Dillsburg, PA, and was a partner and leader of KPMG’s National Senior Living Advisory Practice.
Williamsburg Landing welcomes Michael Williams EVP and COO
Michael Williams has been hired as the executive president and chief operating officer of Williamsburg Landing of Williamsburg, VA.
Most recently, he was the administrator at Shenandoah Valley Westminster Canterbury. Before that role, he was the executive director and co-owner of The Southerland’s Retirement Community in Front Royal, VA, and the director of business development at Commonwealth Senior Living.
Williams holds a business administration degree from James Madison University and is a licensed nursing administrator.
Aegis Living appoints Constance Schein, RN, senior vice president of clinical and health services
Constance Schein, RN, has been appointed by Aegis Living of Bellevue, WA, to senior vice president of clinical and health services.
In her new role, Schein will be responsible for managing and developing existing and new healthcare partnerships; enlisting new technology to improve resident care; and supporting the company’s general managers in hiring, developing and retaining talent across the company’s nursing and care teams. Additionally, she will play a role in the development of wellness programming.
Before her current role, Schein was the vice president of clinical and ancillary services at Westminster Communities, as well as the national director of health systems at the Goodman Group in Minneapolis. She also spent several years serving in a variety of senior leadership roles, such as the director of clinical services and director of nursing within the Benedictine Health System, Winoma, MN.
Edgewood Healthcare promotes Brendan Weidler to chief nursing officer of senior living
Brendan Weidler has been promoted to chief nursing officer of senior living at Edgewood Healthcare, Grand Forks, ND.
Previously, Weidler was a regional vice president, a position in which he operated four home health, hospice and outpatient therapy programs in Minot and Bismark, ND, as well as Hermantown and Virginia, MN. He began his career at the company in 2017 as an administrator of home health, hospice and outpatient therapy in Minot, ND.
LifeSpire names Lisa Legeer new chief strategy and integration officer
Lisa Legeer has been named the new chief strategy and integration officer of LifeSpire, Glen Allen, VA.
In her new role, she will be in charge of increasing top-line revenues and adding complementary business lines to the company. She also will help lead strategic planning efforts and will be responsible for cultivating acquisition, merger and affiliation opportunities for the company.
Legeer has more than 20 years of experience serving senior living and healthcare organizations with strategic and developmental planning, performance improvement and marketing. Before her current role, she was senior vice president of strategic partnerships for GlynnDevins. Before that, Legeer worked for Dixon Hughes Goodman for 14 years.
She has an undergraduate degree in rhetoric and communication studies from the University of Virginia.
Heritage hires three leaders
Karen Hardick, Matthew Boswell and Marc Constantino have joined Heritage, Gerry, NY.
Hardick is the chief financial officer, succeeding Greg Fernandez. In her new role, she will be responsible for overseeing all financial operations at the company and its nationwide affiliates. Most recently, Hardick was the CFO at Jericho Road Community Health Center.
Boswell is the vice president of finance. In his new role, he will assist and direct financial strategy for the company by managing the overall budgetary process. He also will provide oversight regarding regulatory and reimbursement-related filings for the company and its nationwide affiliates.
Constantino is director of quality and clinical strategies for the company. In this role, he will oversee the rehabilitation services and the MDS nursing departments, with a focus on monitoring and developing strategies to evaluate and continually improve the quality care throughout the company’s nationwide skilled nursing communities. He previously served as director of rehabilitation and LSVT BIG-certified occupational therapist at the company. He started his therapy career more than 20 years ago.
Essex Communities hires Camille Burke as vice president and chief development officer
Camille Burke has been hired as vice president and chief development officer of Essex Communities, Denver.
In her new role, Burke will be responsible for overseeing community operations and helping lead the company’s responsible growth initiatives through acquisitions, new development, property management and consulting for the active adult and independent living segments of the 55+ housing market.
Burke has more than 20 years of senior housing industry experience. Most recently, she was interim CEO at Christian Living Communities, where she worked for almost 17 years.
MBK Senior Living welcomes Eric Portnoff as regional director of resident enrichment, promotes Courney Hill and Diana Engle
Eric Portnoff has been hired as the regional director of resident enrichment at MBK Senior Living of Irvine, CA, and Courtney Hill and Diana Engle have been promoted at the company.
Portnoff joins the company with more than 20 years of experience. He has served the senior populations since 2008, working in positions such as executive director and regional director of memory care.
Hill joined MBK in 2019 and has held several positions, including business office manager, associate executive director and executive director. She was the executive director at The Commons at Elk Grove and The Commons at Union Ranch, two other MBK communities. Hill also received the company’s annual Executive Director of the Year award and President’s Award. Hill also had the company’s highest net operating income variance to budget and highest year-over-year occupancy growth records in 2020.
Engle joined MBK in 2019 as regional director of resident enrichment. She has helped develop enrichment programming, provide dementia care training and policy development and support community teams in Colorado, Arizona, Washington and Utah.
Front Porch Communities forms foundation and names Katharine Miller as executive director
Front Porch of Glendale, CA, has joined three foundations together to form a single philanthropic organization, the Front Porch Communities Foundation, and has named Katharine Miller as its executive director.
The Front Porch Communities Foundation combined the Pacific Homes Foundation, FACT Foundation and Sunny View Foundation into one foundation, which will be managed by a nine-member board and supported by local community philanthropic committees.
Prior to her new role, Miller led the Covia Foundation for nine years. In her new position, she will work closely with the company’s foundation executives: Keith Church, Jill Hammer and Bill Penrod.
Spring Hills Livingston Assisted Living hires Shain Cohen as executive director
Shain Cohen has been hired by Spring Hills Livingston Assisted Living of Livingston, NJ.
Cohen began her career as a volunteer at nursing homes at age 14 and has gone on to work in most sectors of senior living care. She has 30 years of experience in the industry.
Before joining the company, Cohen was an executive director for a 199-bed assisted living and memory care community. Other past roles include activity director, sales and marketing director and assisted living operator.
Cohen has a Master of Science degree in management, business and marketing from Thomas Edison State University and is both a state-certified assisted living administrator and certified dementia practitioner.
Solstice Senior Living adds three sales specialists to its corporate team
Laura Hicks, Mary Swip-Benoist and Niccole Ohlemeyer Eye have joined Solstice Senior Living of Carlsbad, CA, as sales specialists.
Hicks has more than 10 years of sales and marketing experience in senior living. Her role at the company will be as a divisional sales specialist. Most recently, she was a corporate sales specialist at Anthology Senior Living.
Swip-Benoist returns to the company as a divisional sales specialist, where her responsibilities will include providing sales and marketing support to Solstice Senior Living communities. Most recently, she was the manager of business development for ProMedica and Heartland Hospice.
Eye has more than 15 years of sales experience and will join the company as a senior living specialist. In her new role, she will be responsible for developing relationships, forecasting growth and establishing goals to promote growth across the company’s communities. Prior to joining Solstice, Eye was an internet sales manager for The Arbor Co.
Lifespace Communities hires Sandra Parker as general counsel
Sandra Parker joined Lifespace Communities of West Des Moines, IA, as general counsel, effective May 24.
As a lawyer with more than 25 years of experience in the healthcare field, Parker has experience in hospital administration, federal health care regulations, pharmaceutical manufacturing compliance and health data information.
Parker has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature from Louisiana State University and a Juris Doctor from the Loyola School of Law.
The Springs at Monarch Landing promotes Beth VanDrWal to administrator
Elizabeth “Beth” VanDerWal started her career at The Springs at Monarch Landing in Naperville, IL, seven years ago and moved up to the role of administrator this year.
VanDerWal was manager before becoming assistant administrator in 2020, a role that she began at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. She worked with fellow leadership to navigate regulations, guidelines and best practices with a primary mission to protect residents and staff.
The Springs is managed by Life Care Services.
VIUM Capital hires four new senior managing directors
Chris Blanda, Brendan Healy, Scott Blount and Tony Ruberg have joined VIUM Capital, Columbus, OH.
The four have half a combined century of production in the field and previously have worked with one another while closing more than $3 billion of senior housing and healthcare financings.
Blanda and Healy will extend their efforts across the Midwest, Southeast and Mid-Atlantic, whereas Ruberg will focus on the East Coast.
AG Architecture hires Katie Miller as director of business development
Katie Miller has joined AG Architecture of Milwaukee as director of business development.
Prior to joining the company, she worked at several organizations in the marketing, fundraising, leadership and relationship building areas, including Carroll University and the Oconomowoc Area Chamber of Commerce.
Miller has a Master’s of Science degree in management from Cardinal Stritch University and a communications degree from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
Texas Assisted Living Hero Award goes to Belmont Village Senior Living’s Karisti Julia
Julia Karisti of Belmont Village Senior Living, Dallas, has won the Texas Assisted Living Hero Award for her achievements in sales and marketing.
Karisti either sits on the board or holds officer positions at various organizations, such as Casa de Vida and the University of Texas Southwestern Geriatric Task Force.
Wichita Business Journal announces The Regent Vibrant Independent Living Sales Director Lisa Fetter as ‘woman who leads‘
Lisa Fetter, sales director at The Regent Vibrant Independent Living, Wichita, KS, has been announced as a “woman who leads” by the Wichita Business Journal.
Fetter has worked in her current position for the past two and a half years. During that time, she has helped families and their loved ones transition from their current homes to living at The Regent. Her role also includes planning, executing and marketing events to prospects, as well as community outreach and making appearances for speaking engagements.
The Regent is owned and operated by Legend Senior Living.
