John Barbee

LaSalle Group names John Barbee president; Jessica Akaah now board VP

The LaSalle Group Inc., a national family owned and operated memory care assisted living company, has announced two leadership moves resulting from the expansion of its network of Autumn Leaves communities to 50 locations in nine states. LaSalle designs, develops, builds, manages and owns the communities.

John W. Barbee has been promoted to president, and Jessica C. Akaah has been elected vice chairman of the board of directors.

Barbee has more than 30 years in real estate development and construction. He joined the company in 2006 as a project manager working within the construction division and two years later was promoted to vice president of construction. In 2012, Barbee’s title and responsibilities were expanded to include vice president of design and development.

As president, he will lead the execution of LaSalle’s strategic business and financial partnerships while overseeing certain aspects of the company’s daily operations and serving as an added resource to the company’s officers and employees at the home office in Irving, TX, and in the field. He also will continue to manage LaSalle’s development, construction and design divisions and provide organizational leadership across the company.

Akaah, a member of the founding ownership family, previously had served LaSalle as senior vice president of management as well as in various roles in regional and community leadership over the last decade. As vice chairman, she will broaden the board’s membership to include non-family directors with a broad range of industry experiences, talents and perspectives.

Capital Senior Living appoints Paul J. Isaac and Ross B. Levin as new independent directors

Paul J. Isaac and Ross B. Levin of Arbiter Partners Capital Management LLC have been appointed to Capital Senior Living Corp.’s Board of Directors, effective March 7.

The appointments fill the vacant board seat following the passing of board member Keith Johannessen in December and expand the board to 10 directors, nine of whom are independent.

Arbiter and related parties own approximately 4.49 million shares of Capital Senior Living, representing approximately 14.95% of the total shares outstanding, making the Arbiter group the company’s largest shareholder.

Isaac is the founder and CEO of Arbiter and has a broad range of investment experience. He is a director of Irex Corp. (North Lime Holdings).

Levin is the director of research for Arbiter, a director of Mood Media Corp. and a former director of American Community Properties Trust and Presidential Life Corp.

Capital Senior Living operates 129 senior housing communities in geographically concentrated regions with an aggregate capacity of approximately 16,500 residents.

Kristin Malejan promoted to director of resident life at Eagle’s Trace

Kristin Malejan has been promoted to director of resident life at Eagle’s Trace, an Erickson Living retirement community in Houston.

Malejan brings more than 11 years of experience in the senior living industry to the role. At Eagle’s Trace, she has served as resident life manager and a licensed social worker. Previously, she was the director of resident and family services at Silverado Senior Living.

As director of resident life, Malejan will provide oversight and support to several areas that directly affect the daily lives of more than 775 residents of the Erickson Living retirement community. These areas include community resources, fitness and wellness services, volunteer programming, social work services, pastoral ministries, home support and memory health programs. The resident life department consists of 70 employees.

Malejan was named the 2016 Leader of the Year for Eagle’s Trace and was recognized with other award winners from around the nation at the Erickson Living annual meeting March 6 in Baltimore.

She has an undergraduate degree in social work from Texas Christian University and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Houston.

Angie Pryor of Asbury Place Maryville earns RAC-CT certification

Angie Pryor, an MDS coordinator at Asbury Place continuing care retirement community in Maryville, TN, recently earned resident assessment coordinator certification.

RAC-CT is the nationally recognized gold-standard for resident assessment in the long-term care nursing profession. By earning it, individuals have shown their expertise in skilled nursing facility prospective payment system and minimum data set assessment.

“Angie does an excellent job at Asbury Place, and we’re proud of her for diligently working to earn this highly regarded certification,” said Carolyn Neil, healthcare administrator and regional director of clinical services at Asbury Place. “We are fortunate to have associates like Angie who constantly strive to do the best job possible for those we serve.”

Pryor, who rejoined the company in 2008, said she sought the certification to help her better serve the CCRC’s residents.

East Ridge at Cutler Bay names Fiduciary Trust managing director to lead corporate advisory board

Thornton “Thorny” E. Hoelle, managing director of Fiduciary Trust Co. International, a global investment manager and wholly owned subsidiary of Franklin Resources, has been elected to chair the corporate advisory board for East Ridge at Cutler Bay, a not-for-profit retirement community south of Miami.

East Ridge leadership uses the board’s counsel to inform strategic direction, guide quality improvement and assess organizational effectiveness in advancing East Ridge’s mission to enrich the lives of every senior the community serves.

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