Kevin Salminen

Chief Financial Officer
Pinnacle Living
Glen Allen, VA, USA
  • 34-H. Enhancing Your Board’s Financial Expertise

    • Tuesday, November 04, 2025

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    34-H. Enhancing Your Board’s Financial Expertise

    Good governance entails more than simply assembling a diverse group of board members with the skills and background necessary to advance your organization’s mission. It also requires organizational leaders to help board members fully grasp their fiduciary responsibilities. During this session, you’ll discover strategies for enhancing the financial acumen of board members, enabling them to develop a thorough understanding of your organization’s financial and operational health. This understanding will allow all board members to engage in strategic planning, participate in nuanced discussions about the ramifications of financial decisions, and make informed decisions. If your board is seeking ways to promote open, informed discussions that foster effective governance and accountability, this session is for you.

Lisa Sanders

Vice President, Communications and Media Relations
LeadingAge
Washington, DC, US
  • 61-D. Master the Art of Storytelling to Shape the Media Narrative

    • Monday, November 03, 2025

    8:30 – 9:30 a.m.

    61-D. Master the Art of Storytelling to Shape the Media Narrative

    Public relations professionals in aging services play two roles when sharing stories about their organizations with the media: they communicate relevant facts to reporters and assist those reporters in crafting compelling narratives that bring those facts to life. This session will introduce LeadingAge members to the art of storytelling. A panel of reporters and communications experts will help you understand journalistic concepts and public relations strategies. You’ll learn how to generate story ideas about your organization, pitch those ideas to the media, and engage with reporters. You’ll also gain tools and tactics to help you navigate damaging media storms or ride the exhilarating waves of favorable coverage.

Tom Sanders

Owner | Author
Tom Sanders Photography & Films
  • 60-C. Manage Your Online Images to Minimize Liability

    • Sunday, November 02, 2025

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    60-C. Manage Your Online Images to Minimize Liability

    Standout photography and high-quality graphics can enhance your organization’s brand awareness, especially when prominently displayed on your website. But what happens when your online images don’t reflect the diversity required by Fair Housing regulations or lack proper alternative text or “alt tags” that improve website accessibility? This session will help you minimize liability related to accessibility and compliance. Presenters will outline steps you can take to coordinate an on-location photo shoot, select the right photos for your website and other marketing materials, and understand how individuals with disabilities interact with your brand online. You’ll learn how to create an optimal web experience for all prospective residents.

Katherine Santos

Chief Strategy Officer
Legacy Lifecare
Peabody, MA, US
  • 56-L. Stronger Together: Securing Your Future through Affiliation

    • Wednesday, November 05, 2025

    11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

    56-L. Stronger Together: Securing Your Future through Affiliation

    Affiliation has become an indispensable tool for nonprofit senior living organizations facing complex challenges. This session will include case studies where organizations enhanced operational efficiency, stabilized finances, improved care quality, and strengthened recruitment and staff development after affiliating with a network of charitable, nonprofit senior care organizations. Presenters will provide practical strategies for examining various collaborative models. You’ll take home a framework for evaluating when affiliation might be beneficial, criteria for identifying and selecting suitable partners, and tips for ensuring that an affiliation aligns with your organization’s mission and goals. Don’t miss this opportunity to explore a strategy that could help secure your organization and its mission.

Jeremy Sawvel

Regional Vice President
CareScout Powered by Genworth
Glen Allen, VA, United States
  • 79-D. Future-Proof Your Organization with a Quality Framework

    • Monday, October 26, 2026

    8:30 – 9:30 a.m.

    79-D. Future-Proof Your Organization with a Quality Framework

    Investing in quality can future-proof your aging services organization against regulatory, reimbursement, and demographic changes. The reason is simple: Discerning consumers assess providers based on whether their quality is trustworthy and measurable. This session will highlight the quality metrics that matter most to consumers and families when selecting aging services providers. You’ll learn how to use a standardized quality framework to strengthen workforce culture, improve recruitment, and reduce turnover. You’ll also discover how your organization’s quality performance can set it apart in the marketplace, build robust referral pipelines, and expand partnerships. This is your chance to transform quality from a compliance requirement into a growth strategy.

Richard Scanlon

Managing Director, Senior Living Finance
Ziegler
Saint Petersburg, FL, USA
  • 48-E. Acquisitions and Divestitures: Perspectives on Buying and Selling Assets

    • Monday, November 03, 2025

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    48-E. Acquisitions and Divestitures: Perspectives on Buying and Selling Assets

    The senior living sector has experienced significant growth in acquisitions and affiliations over the past few years. This session will highlight trends in mergers and acquisitions while exploring how for-profit and nonprofit buyers differ in their approaches to valuing assets and implementing ownership changes. You’ll hear the stories of a Dallas-based senior living organization that acquired a senior living community in Fort Worth and a Florida-based multi-site organization that divested several campuses. Get the guidance you need to navigate the acquisition/disposition process, including steps you should take after concluding that certain components of your organization are not contributing value to the enterprise.

Marilyn Schairer

Reporter/Producer
WGBH News
Boston, MA, USA
  • 61-D. Master the Art of Storytelling to Shape the Media Narrative

    • Monday, November 03, 2025

    8:30 – 9:30 a.m.

    61-D. Master the Art of Storytelling to Shape the Media Narrative

    Public relations professionals in aging services play two roles when sharing stories about their organizations with the media: they communicate relevant facts to reporters and assist those reporters in crafting compelling narratives that bring those facts to life. This session will introduce LeadingAge members to the art of storytelling. A panel of reporters and communications experts will help you understand journalistic concepts and public relations strategies. You’ll learn how to generate story ideas about your organization, pitch those ideas to the media, and engage with reporters. You’ll also gain tools and tactics to help you navigate damaging media storms or ride the exhilarating waves of favorable coverage.

Amy Schectman

Saul and Gitta Kurlat Chief Executive Officer
2Life Communities
Brighton, MA, US
  • 125-E. Co-Locating Affordable and Middle-Income Housing

    • Monday, October 26, 2026

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    125-E. Co-Locating Affordable and Middle-Income Housing

    Providers of affordable senior housing have long aimed to serve both low- and middle-income older adults. This session will showcase a housing project that achieved both goals by co-locating a new middle-income life plan community with an existing affordable housing community and linking the buildings through a shared amenity space. Presenters will explain how the shared campus fosters a more equitable community and offers services and staff that go beyond what either community could provide independently. You’ll discover the architectural and spatial implications of building an income-inclusive community and learn why the local market was receptive to this new concept.

Alison Schroeder

Arts Coordinator
Goodwin House Alexandria
Alexandria, VA, US
  • 100-I. Supporting the Grieving Process with Creative Arts

    • Tuesday, November 04, 2025

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    100-I. Supporting the Grieving Process with Creative Arts

    Grief and loss are integral to the human experience. This is particularly true for older adults and their caregivers, who may become vulnerable to social isolation and depression if they don’t process the emotional upheaval of late-life transitions like changes in physical mobility, cognition, or lifelong relationships. This session will explore how the creative arts can help. Presenters will demonstrate how music, art, dance, drama, and poetry can provide emotional support while facilitating self-expression. A music therapist and creative arts coordinator from a Virginia-based life plan community will show you how they engage with the creative arts. You’ll be encouraged to extend your learning by participating in a creative art-making experience.

Cathy Schweiger

Director, Health Care and Life Sciences
CLA
Charlotte, NC, US
  • 33-J. Aligning Executive Compensation with Strategic Priorities

    • Wednesday, October 28, 2026

    8:30 – 9:30 a.m.

    33-J. Aligning Executive Compensation with Strategic Priorities

    Today’s nonprofit senior living organizations must balance mission-driven care with financial sustainability, address workforce shortages, and meet evolving resident expectations. Strategic planning can help organizations address these and other challenges, but it is not a standalone solution. Organizations must also align short- and long-term goals with executive compensation so that top leaders are rewarded for achieving desired outcomes. This session will show you how. A senior living executive and board chair will share how they adopted a strategic plan that aligned multiple compensation elements with specific strategic goals. You’ll learn to map goals to compensation levers and develop a pay structure that balances short-term execution with long-term mission impact.

  • 65-E. Early Advantage Programs: Put Your Wait List to Work

    • Monday, October 26, 2026

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    65-E. Early Advantage Programs: Put Your Wait List to Work

    Innovative service models are gaining traction as life plan communities navigate shifting consumer expectations and competitive pressures. This session will examine one such model: Early Advantage programs that allow waitlisted individuals to become “residents” before moving in. Two providers, an actuary, and a strategic consultant will describe these programs, which often charge consumers a fee in exchange for priority waitlist placement or early access to healthcare services. Presenters will explore how these programs benefit providers and the challenges related to pricing, operations, and policy-setting. You’ll learn what motivates prospective residents to join these programs, lessons learned by providers, and risk factors for boards to consider.

Allison Sekuler

President and Chief Scientist
Center for Aging + Brain Health Innovation
North York, ON, Canada

Joe Serrano

Senior Sales Specialist
UST
Oxnard, CA, US
  • 150-I. Workforce Solutions to Lower Unemployment Expenses

    • Tuesday, November 04, 2025

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    150-I. Workforce Solutions to Lower Unemployment Expenses

    Nonprofit providers of aging services strive to use their budgets to fulfill their missions to serve older adults. However, these organizations may be surprised to learn that operational expenses, including those related to unemployment costs, can drain their budgets of valuable funds that could be better utilized in other areas. During this session, UST Workforce Solutions u2013 a LeadingAge Gold Corporate Partner u2013 will present a unique approach and demonstrate how you can streamline your human resource processes, ensure regulatory compliance, and create operational efficiencies so your team can direct more resources toward serving your community. You’ll learn about various unemployment funding options, including a little-known federal exemption that can lower unemployment costs while building a financial asset that benefits your organization.