Zehra Abid-Wood

President & CEO
Lasell Village
Auburndale, MA, US
  • 20-E. Every Voice: Creating Inclusive Senior Living Communities

    • Monday, November 03, 2025

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    20-E. Every Voice: Creating Inclusive Senior Living Communities

    Lasell Village in Newton, MA, is implementing a resident-driven, employee-engaged framework called “Every Voice” that fosters inclusion and belonging by integrating voices across generations, backgrounds, and identities. This session will describe how residents and team members of the life plan community worked together to embed belonging into daily life through inclusive policies, respectful dialogue, and change-oriented programming. Presenters will offer guidance to help you build a culture of inclusion that aligns with your organization’s values, engages community members, and measures progress. You’ll return home with the tools you need to ensure that your community reflects the richness of the world while it continues working toward a more diverse future.

Addie Abushousheh

Gerontologist Consultant
Murrieta, CA, USA
  • 133-G. Integrating Intergenerational Principles into Your Projects

    • Tuesday, November 04, 2025

    8:30 – 9:30 a.m.

    133-G. Integrating Intergenerational Principles into Your Projects

    Intergenerational connections can enhance both the design and operation of senior living environments. This session will offer practical strategies to help you create meaningful and sustainable multigenerational environments that give owners, developers, and designers a competitive edge in today’s evolving market. Presenters will share a roadmap developed by the Joint Intergenerational Task Force convened by SAGE, AIA Design for Aging, and the Center for Health Design. They will unveil the task force’s new findings, case studies, and actionable strategies. You’ll gain valuable insights into the challenges you may encounter as you integrate intergenerational principles into your projects and operations. You’ll also gain strategies that can lead to successful outcomes.

Alyssa Adam

VP of Sales and Marketing
Buckner Retirement Services, Inc.
Dallas, TX, US
  • 59-C. How Important are Placement Agencies to Your Marketing Program?

    • Sunday, November 02, 2025

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    59-C. How Important are Placement Agencies to Your Marketing Program?

    Placement agencies can help senior living communities attract new residents. They can also serve as a valuable resource to older adults seeking housing, services, and supports. How can providers evaluate an agency to ensure it shares their values and goals? This session will help you answer that question. Presenters will examine the influence of placement agencies on the senior living sector, the benefits and drawbacks of using these agencies, and strategies for establishing mutually beneficial partnerships with them. A panel representing placement agencies and providers will discuss common challenges related to agency fees, competition, market dynamics, transparency, and resident choice. Discover how to effectively collaborate with placement agencies to streamline the referral process and increase your occupancy rate.

Anita Adkins

Director Strategic Growth
Westminster Canterbury Richmond
Richmond, VA, US
  • 49-F. Strategic Success: Engage Stakeholders and Measure Progress

    • Monday, November 03, 2025

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    49-F. Strategic Success: Engage Stakeholders and Measure Progress

    Westminster Canterbury Richmond took deliberate steps to enhance transparency and collaboration during its 2022 strategic planning process, which laid the groundwork for a major campus expansion. During this session, the organization’s chief executive and director of strategic growth will describe how they engaged workgroups of organizational leaders, board members, residents, and staff to set organizational priorities and identify desired outcomes. Presenters will showcase the accountability tool they used to check in regularly with more than 35 of the organization’s leaders. They’ll also present two case studies detailing the organization’s recommitment to strategic growth and its evolving approach to wellness and fitness. Learn how to implement a strategic planning process that engages stakeholders, measures progress, and ensures accountability.

Tom Akins

President & CEO
LeadingAge North Carolina
Durham, NC, US
  • 27-A. Leading in a Crisis: Lessons from Hurricane Helene

    • Sunday, November 02, 2025

    1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

    27-A. Leading in a Crisis: Lessons from Hurricane Helene

    On September 27, 2024, Hurricane Helene brought unprecedented challenges to western North Carolina as it destroyed homes, caused severe flooding, and left thousands without electricity, cell service, or water. During this session, a panel of CEOs from three senior living organizations in the storm’s path will reflect on their experiences during and after the storm and share the essential leadership lessons they learned. Listen as they recount how they supported one another, how they adapted or rewrote their emergency plans in real-time to address the storm’s catastrophic impacts, and how assistance from other LeadingAge members helped them navigate the crisis. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain valuable insights into the critical role leaders play in guiding their organizations through natural disasters.

  • 120-I. Can State Statutes Protect Life Plan Communities from Bankruptcy?

    • Tuesday, November 04, 2025

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    120-I. Can State Statutes Protect Life Plan Communities from Bankruptcy?

    *Closed to Press* The rare occurrences of bankruptcy among life plan communities in recent years have raised a compelling and provocative question: What role should state laws play in protecting these communities from insolvency? This session will explore that question. Presenters will provide an overview of the bankruptcy protections that certain states extend to life plan communities through existing statutes. They will also discuss the effects of state actions that either prevent a life plan community’s bankruptcy or worsen a community’s fragile financial position. Don’t miss this opportunity to join experts in the field as they delve into thought-provoking questions about the financial health of life plan communities.

Srini Alagarsamy

CTO
Lifespace Communities, Inc.
Dallas, TX, US
  • 4-C. How Artificial Intelligence is Transforming Aging Services

    • Sunday, November 02, 2025

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    4-C. How Artificial Intelligence is Transforming Aging Services

    Three years ago, few people were aware of large language models like ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence (AI) tool capable of understanding, generating, and manipulating human language. This session will explore how far we have progressed in 36 months. Presenters will provide an overview of how AI is reshaping aging services by enhancing efficiency, communication, and workforce support. They will also highlight how providers use AI to streamline operations, improve the resident experience, and empower staff. Whether new to AI or looking to refine your approach, you’ll gain a practical perspective on leveraging these powerful technologies to enhance your operations.

Sophia Allwood

Corporate Director of Clinical Services
Transforming Age
Bellevue, WA, US
  • 129-D. The Built Environment: A Tool for Preventing Falls

    • Monday, November 03, 2025

    8:30 – 9:30 a.m.

    129-D. The Built Environment: A Tool for Preventing Falls

    Senior living providers have an obligation to protect residents and staff from falls while helping them maintain their autonomy and enhancing their quality of life. This session will explore essential, yet often overlooked, tools to help you meet that obligation: the buildings where residents and team members live and work. Presenters will demonstrate how simple modifications to existing structures or new construction in your skilled nursing, transitional care, assisted living, and memory care settings can prevent falls and improve outcomes for residents and staff. Join this session to pinpoint specific elements of your organization’s built environment that can help you prevent, detect, and protect against falls and their adverse outcomes.

Todd Andrews

President, Community Living at Asbury Communities
Asbury Communities, Inc.
Frederick, MD, US
  • 1-A. Smart Living Showcase: Bringing Technology to Senior Living

    • Sunday, November 02, 2025

    1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

    1-A. Smart Living Showcase: Bringing Technology to Senior Living

    Imagine owning a television that uses artificial intelligence to provide social connection. You might want eyeglasses that provide real-time captions of your conversations, or a scale that assesses your risk of falling. These and other technology solutions are displayed in a Smart Living Showcase, developed by Asbury Communities in collaboration with the AgeTech Collaborativeu2122 from AARP. Attend this session for an eye-opening overview of how the showcase is helping Asbury investigate emerging technologies and understand older adults’ preferences and readiness to embrace technology. Presenters will guide you through the showcase’s collection, offer tips for implementing technology solutions in senior living, and discuss the impact of technology innovation on market perception and sales.

Dora Anim

Board Member
Episcopal Retirement Services
Cincinnati, OH, US

Jason Asp

Corporate Director of Marketing and Program Innovation
United Church Homes
Marion, OH, US
  • 62-E. Boost Consumer Engagement with Thoughtful Website Design

    • Monday, November 03, 2025

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    62-E. Boost Consumer Engagement with Thoughtful Website Design

    Every senior living organization has a website that provides essential information about its programs and services to older adults and their caregivers. The most effective websites incorporate user-engagement features that enable prospective residents to navigate the site easily, find the information they need, and request additional details. This session will demonstrate how to design accessible and intuitive websites tailored to your target audiences. Presenters will draw on their experiences designing websites for senior living and affordable housing communities to provide actionable insights into web accessibility features, explain how to optimize content for users and search engines, and offer tips for designing intuitive navigation pathways. You’ll appreciate the impact of thoughtful web design on engagement and satisfaction.

Martha Atwood

Chief People Officer
Sequoia Living
San Francisco, CA, US
  • 148-H. How to Cultivate a Culture of Growth and Inclusivity

    • Tuesday, November 04, 2025

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    148-H. How to Cultivate a Culture of Growth and Inclusivity

    Studying the characteristics of senior living communities with healthy organizational cultures can help providers shape thriving workplaces of their own. This session will showcase how a two-year workforce-strengthening initiative at San Francisco’s Sequoia Living reduced turnover and enhanced resident satisfaction. Presenters will detail how the initiative encouraged residents and team members to embrace a growth mindset that respectfully challenges the status quo, foster an inclusive environment where all voices are heard, and exercise accountability and care to increase engagement and outcomes. You’ll discover how the initiative reduced Sequoia Living’s turnover to an all-time low of 17% and improved the “culture score” the organization receives from its employees.

Kevin Bagley

Owner
Kevin Bagley Strategic Consulting, LLC
  • 110-C. The Future of Medicaid

    • Sunday, November 02, 2025

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    110-C. The Future of Medicaid

    *Closed to Press* Medicaid has been in the limelight during 2025, a year marked by significant policy debates and changes that will shape the priorities of state programs for years to come. This session will provide updates on federal Medicaid policy and how states are beginning to respond to recent changes. Presenters will also analyze the impact of federal Medicaid policy on providers across the aging services continuum. You’ll gain a clearer understanding of the challenges and opportunities you can expect to encounter as you work to sustain, expand, and enhance services for older adults.