Editor’s Note: The McKnight’s Senior Living Daily Briefing and McKnight’s Long-Term Care News Daily Update e-newsletters are profiling each of the McKnight’s 2019 Women of Distinction in July. For more coverage, visit McKnightsSeniorLiving.com and McKnights.com. Also look for coverage in the August print edition of McKnight’s Senior Living and the July print edition of McKnight’s Long-Term Care News.
Brenda Bacon said she has leadership in her blood. The Washington, D.C., native began her journey in a junior leadership program, where she received an award from then-President John F. Kennedy.
That memorable accomplishment sparked her to go to Hampton University for her undergraduate degree and then to the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania for her MBA in healthcare management.
From there, her healthcare career sprouted. She was assistant vice president at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia for two years and then developed and operated HealthTeam, a healthcare consulting business based in New Jersey.
Bacon also has experience in politics. She was an elected official in Camden County, NJ; spent time in Washington on loan to the presidential transition team in 1993 for the transition of the Department of Health and Human Services, where she participated in the confirmation preparation for Secretary Donna Shalala; and was chief of management and planning under former Gov. James Florio (D-NJ).
In 1996, she co-founded Brandywine Senior Care (now called Brandywine Living), a provider of senior housing in the mid-Atlantic region. As president and CEO, she leads 30 communities across seven states and oversees more than 2,500 members.
Bacon also is on the executive advisory board for Argentum. In 2013, then-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie appointed her to the Board of Trustees of Rowan University, and in 2017, she was honored with the Virtua Health Humanitarian Award of the year.
McKnight’s Women of Distinction is a joint program of McKnight’s Senior Living and McKnight’s Long-Term Care News.The McKnight’s Women of Distinction program’s exclusive Platinum sponsor is PointClickCare.
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