Julie Apold

VP of Quality and Performance Excellence
LeadingAge Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN
  • 77-C. Building a Culture of Quality: The ELITE Quality Program

    • Sunday, October 25, 2026

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    77-C. Building a Culture of Quality: The ELITE Quality Program

    A growing number of aging services organizations are building systems to consistently improve outcomes and experiences for the older adults they serve and their families. This session will showcase the ELITE Quality Program, a national initiative that helps organizations strengthen leadership alignment, embed continuous improvement practices, and build a strong culture of quality. Presenters will share how ELITE provides the foundational framework organizations need to proactively identify risks, improve quality and safety, and strengthen stakeholder confidence. You’ll gain practical insights from leaders who are implementing the program and learn strategies you can use to build sustainable systems that support exceptional care.

John Ardovini

Vice President of Business Development
Hampden Park Capital & Consulting, LLC
Longmeadow, MA
  • 39-C. The Housing Challenge: Building Resilience in Complex Times

    • Sunday, October 25, 2026

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    39-C. The Housing Challenge: Building Resilience in Complex Times

    Affordable housing developers often struggle to fulfill their missions as funding sources evolve, interest rates fluctuate, and compliance requirements grow more complex. This session will help providers navigate the challenges and opportunities shaping the sector today, including new federal initiatives, financing hurdles, and sustainability imperatives. Presenters will share insights into emerging financial trends reshaping project feasibility, long-term asset management, and organizational sustainability. They’ll offer practical strategies for responding to capital market shifts, restructuring deals, and leveraging new funding while maintaining transparency. You’ll be reminded that resilience in affordable housing requires both innovation and a firm purpose and you’ll gain the tools to achieve both.

Adam Arker

Managing Director
Hartman Executive Advisors
Timonium, MD
  • 11-K. Let’s Stop Talking about AI and Start Using It

    • Wednesday, October 28, 2026

    10:00 – 11:00 a.m.

    11-K. Let’s Stop Talking about AI and Start Using It

    Tired of talking about Artificial Intelligence (AI)? Ready to start using AI to improve care, empower staff, and drive better outcomes? This session is for you. Two senior living executives will outline how AI is already helping their organizations streamline operations, make smarter decisions, and enhance the resident experience. They’ll also discuss how AI is likely to shape senior living over the next five years. Discover how providers can use AI for automated clinical documentation, medication and fall-risk detection, workforce scheduling, and more. You’ll learn how to prepare your data environments for AI, scale AI adoption, and ensure your technology investments align with organizational goals.

Dawn Armstrong

VP, IT Infrastructure and Cyber Security
HumanGood Inc.
Duarte, CA
  • 12-L. Beyond the Hype: AI’s Future in Aging Services

    • Wednesday, October 28, 2026

    11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

    12-L. Beyond the Hype: AI’s Future in Aging Services

    Artificial Intelligence (AI) is gaining recognition worldwide. But what is AI’s real impact on aging services providers today, and how could it shape the future of care? This session will cut through the hype to answer the questions on every provider’s mind: Which parts of AI are real? Which are a waste of resources? A panel of senior living leaders will share how they’ve used AI to improve operational efficiency, support team members, and engage residents more effectively. They’ll also explain how AI helps them manage data security, integrate organizational systems, and enhance operations and services. You’ll discover AI’s transformative possibilities and learn how to develop your own AI implementation plan.

Adam Bai

Chief Strategy Officer & Chief Client Officer
Panoplai
Brooklyn, NY
  • 72-K. Using Trapped Data to Understand What Consumers Want Most

    • Wednesday, October 28, 2026

    10:00 – 11:00 a.m.

    72-K. Using Trapped Data to Understand What Consumers Want Most

    Many senior living providers struggle to design communities that reflect older adults’ priorities because information about the factors shaping consumer decisions remains trapped in their data systems. This session will show you how to free that data. Presenters will explore how a multisite senior living organization unified its internal data including survey responses, referral information, and wellness engagement statistics to uncover the drivers of senior living decisions. They’ll share what the organization learned from its siloed data about consumer preferences, show you how to free your own data, and offer strategies for using it to design new programs and consumer outreach initiatives.

Ed Balkovich

Resident
Ingleside at King Farm
Rockville, MD
  • 6-F. Building an Integrated System for Resident Engagement

    • Monday, October 26, 2026

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    6-F. Building an Integrated System for Resident Engagement

    Life plan communities offer residents myriad opportunities to participate in rich programming across a range of digital platforms. But how can providers prevent technology saturation and uneven adoption? This session will highlight one provider’s technology-enabled engagement system, which integrates digital communication platforms, automation, data and analytics, and artificial intelligence tools. Presenters will describe the system’s components, including streaming, video libraries, and in-house digital channels; dashboards that help community leaders understand engagement patterns; and automation solutions that reduce manual tasks for program staff. You’ll return home with a framework for viewing resident engagement as a scalable system rather than a collection of disconnected tools.

Jasmine Banks

Executive Director
Tradition Senior Living Community
Brooklyn Park, MN
  • 140-G. The ROAD to Building Your Workforce Through Internships

    • Tuesday, October 27, 2026

    8:30 – 9:30 a.m.

    140-G. The ROAD to Building Your Workforce Through Internships

    Senior living communities seeking to strengthen their workforce must take deliberate steps to reach younger workers who may not yet view aging services as an attractive career path. This session will highlight a program that can help. The Rotational Operations and Development (ROAD) talent development model invites young interns to explore the full range of career opportunities in aging services through internship rotations across various departments such as operations, dining, marketing, resident services, and more. LeadingAge members who are using the ROAD model, along with interns who’ve participated in it, will share their experiences. You’ll gain the tools you need to attract Gen Z team members to your organization and to our field.

George Barker

Executive Director
Edgewood Summit
Charleston, WV
  • 80-E. Optimizing Dining Operations Amid Workforce Challenges

    • Monday, October 26, 2026

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    80-E. Optimizing Dining Operations Amid Workforce Challenges

    A senior living community’s dining program shapes residents’ daily experience and signals organizational stability and operational efficiency. Unfortunately, high staff turnover, driven by low compensation, often leads to inconsistent service quality and undermines resident satisfaction. This session will provide practical tools to maintain your dining program’s quality, consistency, and service standards. Presenters will share management practices including coaching frontline supervisors and standardizing expectations that build resilience in dining departments. You’ll also learn to improve the dining experience through menu innovations, structured leadership training, outcome measurement, and operational systems that sustain quality. Make your dining experience a reliable, mission-critical touchpoint despite ongoing workforce challenges.

Katy Barnett

Director, Home Care & Hospice Operations and Policy
LeadingAge
Washington, DC
  • 101-F. Surviving Uncertainty to Fulfill the Home Health Promise

    • Monday, October 26, 2026

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    101-F. Surviving Uncertainty to Fulfill the Home Health Promise

    Home health agencies have faced significant financial, regulatory, and program integrity challenges for years. At the same time, demand for home-based services among Medicare beneficiaries has grown exponentially, straining the already limited capacity of home health providers. This session will explore how we reached this point. Presenters will examine threats to the sector’s sustainability, including the declining number of home health providers, the six-month nationwide moratorium on new Medicare enrollments for home health agencies, and ongoing negative payment adjustments. You’ll gain a clearer understanding of these threats and learn about new policy opportunities that could spur a reimagination of the home health benefit.

  • 104-I. Hospice Under Scrutiny: The Impact of Federal Oversight

    • Tuesday, October 27, 2026

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    104-I. Hospice Under Scrutiny: The Impact of Federal Oversight

    Hospice programs nationwide have been singled out this year as examples of fraud in the Medicare program. This session will review federal efforts to strengthen regulatory safeguards in the hospice field and share LeadingAge’s position on the need to address fraud while reducing the burden on legitimate providers who deliver essential services. Presenters will examine how fraud concerns have impacted the ability of high-quality hospice providers to expand and serve the most vulnerable older adults. They’ll detail the challenges facing nonprofit hospice agencies, highlight bright spots in the fight against fraud, and describe promising efforts to preserve a meaningful hospice benefit.

  • 106-J. Identifying Risk and Strengthening Compliance

    • Wednesday, October 28, 2026

    8:30 – 9:30 a.m.

    106-J. Identifying Risk and Strengthening Compliance

    Identifying your organization’s fraud and abuse risks and building effective programs to mitigate them can be challenging. Fortunately, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services can help. This session will review a set of voluntary, nonbinding resources the OIG compiled to help providers strengthen their compliance programs, understand their fraud and abuse risks, and prepare for new compliance expectations. Presenters will review OIG’s general compliance guidance, examine its sector-specific guidance for skilled nursing and managed care, and discuss hospice guidance currently being updated. You’ll gain practical insights to help your organization enhance the quality of care, strengthen internal controls, and foster a culture of organizational integrity.

Tom Bartlett

Senior Associate + Managing Landscape Architect
THW Design
Atlanta, GA
  • 126-F. Reimagining Outdoor Space as a Healthy Aging Infrastructure

    • Monday, October 26, 2026

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    126-F. Reimagining Outdoor Space as a Healthy Aging Infrastructure

    Traditional wellness and therapy spaces often fall short of meeting the needs of older adults, especially those with mobility limitations or cognitive decline. Fortunately, that’s changing. This session will explore how SeniorScapes, Inc., is creating environments that help older adults move, socialize, and thrive outdoors with dignity and safety. Presenters will showcase the nonprofit’s flagship project at Asbury Communities in Frederick, MD, and explain how it supports fitness, mobility, and brain health. You’ll learn which design and program elements to include in age-friendly public spaces and explore the broader role of parks as social infrastructure that promotes connection and equity for older adults.

Jennifer Bartscht

Chief Marketing Officer
ThriveMore
Winston Salem, NC
  • 121-A. Tiny Home, Massive Lifestyle: Selling Studio Apartments

    • Sunday, October 25, 2026

    1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

    121-A. Tiny Home, Massive Lifestyle: Selling Studio Apartments

    Does your life plan community have small studio apartments that it’s struggling to fill because they can’t be expanded or combined with larger units? This session may offer some solutions. A chief marketing officer, an interior designer, and a senior living advisor will share how they successfully marketed and quickly filled five studio apartments that had been sitting empty or used for storage. They did so by tapping into the current interest in stylish, functional tiny-home residences and giving the units a facelift with updated designs and size-appropriate furnishings. You’ll see before-and-after photos showing how the community redesigned and marketed the studio apartments as part of its successful “Tiny Home, Massive Lifestyle” campaign.

John Bassounas

President
Varsity
Wormleysburg, PA
  • 9-I. A Mission-Aligned Roadmap for Artificial Intelligence

    • Tuesday, October 27, 2026

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    9-I. A Mission-Aligned Roadmap for Artificial Intelligence

    Are you intrigued by the possibilities of Artificial Intelligence (AI) but concerned about adopting it responsibly? Let representatives from a life plan community walk you through the process they used to deploy AI while staying true to their nonprofit values. This session’s presenters will describe how they launched a structured, mission-aligned AI initiative to enhance the resident experience, improve workforce efficiency, and strengthen operational resilience. You’ll learn how they conducted visioning workshops, cross-departmental discovery sessions, and data-readiness assessments, and how they addressed governance, ethics, and long-term sustainability. By the end of this session, you’ll feel empowered to launch an ongoing, measurable, and responsible AI transformation at your organization.