Sara Marcq

Manager
Baker Tilly
Chicago, TX
  • 34-K. Let’s Talk: Adding Communications to Your Strategic Planning Process

    • Wednesday, October 28, 2026

    10:00 – 11:00 a.m.

    34-K. Let’s Talk: Adding Communications to Your Strategic Planning Process

    Strategic planning often falters when stakeholders don’t understand their role in the process or feel their voices aren’t being heard. This session will propose a powerful yet often-overlooked solution: supporting the strategic planning process with a robust communications plan. Presenters will share case studies of organizations that have led transparent, forward-thinking strategic planning processes by communicating effectively with residents, families, staff, board members, and community partners. You’ll learn how to implement collaborative planning approaches, determine the timing and depth of stakeholder involvement, build trust, and sustain momentum. Whether you’re preparing for your next strategic planning cycle or managing organizational change, this session will help you use clear communication to lead with clarity and confidence.

Adam Marles

President & CEO
EverTrue
Saint Louis, MO
  • 55-K. The Growth Imperative: If the Market is Ready, Why Aren’t We?

    • Wednesday, October 28, 2026

    10:00 – 11:00 a.m.

    55-K. The Growth Imperative: If the Market is Ready, Why Aren’t We?

    Independent living occupancy has surpassed 90% nationally, even as inventory growth has reached record lows. With demand projected to accelerate, life plan communities must ask a critical question: If the market is ready for growth, why aren’t we? This session will help you become more comfortable with organizational growth. Presenters will guide you in assessing when to grow, when to wait, and which indicators matter most. They’ll share step-by-step processes to build alignment on growth across your organization and show you how to reduce uncertainty and accelerate progress. Learn to differentiate between healthy risk awareness and counterproductive risk avoidance, and get ready to take meaningful action to grow your organization.

Judy Martin

International Engagement Director
JMGlobal Connect
Balmain East, NSW
  • 150-P. Age Readiness: A Global Imperative

    • Saturday, October 24, 2026

    9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

    150-P. Age Readiness: A Global Imperative

    Join innovators, policymakers, researchers, and service providers for this full-day summit exploring how to build societies ready for longevity. The program will feature global perspectives and cross-disciplinary dialogue to help participants challenge traditional assumptions about ageing, explore emerging innovations and best practices, and identify opportunities to prepare organizations, communities, and societies for the realities and possibilities of demographic change. Don’t miss this opportunity to join colleagues from around the world as they explore innovative approaches to supporting lifelong wellness, creating age-ready environments, harnessing technology to transform the aging experience, sustaining high-quality care through workforce development, and advancing the policy changes needed to shape aging-friendly communities.

Travis Masonis

CIO & Vice President of Information Technology
Jewish Home
Rochester, NY
  • 5-E. Maximize the Benefits of Bidirectional Data Exchange

    • Monday, October 26, 2026

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    5-E. Maximize the Benefits of Bidirectional Data Exchange

    Bidirectional data exchange the process of sending and receiving data across organizations and care sectors is increasingly common nationwide thanks to federal interoperability initiatives. This session will show how aging services providers can maximize the benefits of this exchange for care delivery and business operations. Presenters will discuss how their life plan communities use health information exchanges to support coordinated care during care transitions, enhance emergency preparedness, and better serve older adults with multiple chronic conditions. You’ll also learn how data exchange supports health plan contract negotiations, population outcome reporting, and point-of-care interventions.

Michael Matthews

President
Matthews Development Company
Charlottesville, VA
  • 131-K. Acquiring and Repositioning to Meet Consumer Expectations

    • Wednesday, October 28, 2026

    10:00 – 11:00 a.m.

    131-K. Acquiring and Repositioning to Meet Consumer Expectations

    What does it take to successfully acquire, reposition, and transform a senior living community in today’s competitive market? This session will explore how a multisite organization repositioned a fifth campus to meet residents’ evolving needs, promote holistic well-being, and ensure long-term sustainability. Presenters will share how they identified the acquisition opportunity, partnered with a financial services firm to craft the winning bid, and developed a phased master plan that balances innovation, resident appeal, and operational sustainability. They’ll explain why the organization declined to acquire the new campus’s skilled nursing component and how it intentionally designed other parts of the campus to support physical, social, and intellectual wellness.

Matt Mauthe

CEO
Illuminus
Watertown, WI
  • 136-C. Promising Pathways to Aging Services Careers

    • Sunday, October 25, 2026

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    136-C. Promising Pathways to Aging Services Careers

    Young people pursue various pathways to launch careers in aging services. Which of these pathways work well, and where are the gaps? This session will offer evidence-based answers to those questions. Presenters will share findings from new national research on academic programs, internships, mentorships, and Administrator-in-Training (AIT) programs that have helped students pursue careers in aging services and gerontology. They’ll also share strategies and case studies to help you create similar programs. You’ll hear success stories about how organizations with modest budgets have attracted new talent. You’ll also take home a clear, customizable framework to reduce vacancies, strengthen career pathways, and develop the next generation of aging services leaders.

Jim Maxwell

President and CEO
Rockwood Retirement Communities
Spokane, WA
  • 38-B. Capital-Efficient Pathways to Meet Needs and Advance Mission

    • Sunday, October 25, 2026

    2:45 – 3:45 p.m.

    38-B. Capital-Efficient Pathways to Meet Needs and Advance Mission

    Nonprofit providers of aging services must scale their organizations to serve an older population that continues to grow each year. But how can growth be achieved when land options are limited, and expansion appears cost-prohibitive? This session will showcase a group of single-site and multisite organizations exploring capital-efficient pathways to meet local needs and advance their missions. Presenters will provide an inside look at how these organizations developed new campuses, implemented phased expansions, engaged in adaptive reuse of existing buildings, and established satellite communities. Learn how successful organizations use disciplined planning and evaluation to identify opportunities and mitigate risk. Get the guidance you need to achieve sustainable growth and capital-efficient expansion in constrained markets.

Sean McMahan

Chief Engineer
Horizon House
Seattle, WA
  • 74-A. Electrify Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow

    • Sunday, October 25, 2026

    1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

    74-A. Electrify Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow

    Is your senior living organization feeling pressure from rising utility costs, aging infrastructure, accelerating climate regulations, and residents who expect to live in an environmentally responsible community? It may be time to electrify. This session will share details of a life plan community’s three-year transition from near-total reliance on fossil fuels, such as natural gas and direct steam, to a system that uses electricity to supply 50% of the community’s heat and domestic hot water. Presenters will introduce you to a replicable electrification master plan that organizations of any size can implement, even with aging buildings, limited internal engineering capacity, or constrained capital budgets.

William McMorran

Sr. Partner
Green Oak Consulting Group
Los Angeles, CA
  • 47-G. Fostering a Culture of Philanthropy in Life Plan Communities

    • Tuesday, October 27, 2026

    8:30 – 9:30 a.m.

    47-G. Fostering a Culture of Philanthropy in Life Plan Communities

    Faith-based senior living organizations can no longer rely solely on congregational support for financial sustainability. Instead, they must build internal fundraising capacity by fostering a culture of philanthropy among residents, many of whom don’t realize their monthly fees don’t cover all expenses. During this session, a life plan community’s chief growth officer will share how their organization and its foundation built relationships with key stakeholders and improved donor engagement. Presenters will explain why their fundraising efforts succeeded and how they plan to enhance them. You’ll discover how resident engagement, a strong gift structure, and AI-powered technology boosted their fundraising and could do the same for your organization.

Denise McQuaide

Chief of Middle Market Innovation
2Life Communities
Brighton, MA
  • 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.

Amanda Mead

Director, Workforce Policy
LeadingAge
Washington, DC
  • 92-A. Updates on Federal Funding and Policy

    • Sunday, October 25, 2026

    1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

    92-A. Updates on Federal Funding and Policy

    Are you seeking up-to-date information on how federal funding and policy decisions are likely to affect your service lines? Or are you simply curious about the broader policy landscape shaping the aging services field? Either way, you’ll leave satisfied after attending this speed round of Washington updates. The LeadingAge Policy Team will be on hand to fill you in on the latest developments affecting Medicare and Medicaid, workforce policy, affordable housing, and the federal legal landscape. You’ll also receive advocacy tips to ensure your voice is heard in Washington, DC.

  • 98-D. Growing the Domestic Workforce: Federal Policy Developments

    • Monday, October 26, 2026

    8:30 – 9:30 a.m.

    98-D. Growing the Domestic Workforce: Federal Policy Developments

    Federal policy is increasingly focused on strengthening the domestic workforce to address persistent recruitment and retention challenges across the aging services continuum. This session will provide an overview of key workforce policy developments, including those affecting training and education pathways, worker supports, funding opportunities, and emerging regulatory requirements. Presenters will explain how these changes are likely to affect aging services organizations and where new challenges may arise. Join us for a timely, balanced conversation about how federal policy is shaping and at times complicating the future of the aging services workforce. You’ll take away practical tips to help you engage in the national conversation.

Tommy Medina

Chief People Officer
Glencroft Center for Modern Aging
Glendale, AZ
  • 137-D. Intergenerational Housing Could Strengthen Your Workforce

    • Monday, October 26, 2026

    8:30 – 9:30 a.m.

    137-D. Intergenerational Housing Could Strengthen Your Workforce

    Looking for a housing option that meets older adults’ needs while attracting young workers to help them live independently? This session will introduce an intergenerational housing model that addresses the aging services workforce crisis, the affordable housing shortage, and the loneliness epidemic affecting young and old alike. Presenters will describe a unique intergenerational community model that provides affordable housing to older adults and hires young people who have “aged out” of the foster care system to work in the community. They’ll review market trends driving the growth of intergenerational living, its potential to strengthen your workforce, and architectural guidelines to help you bring this housing option to your campus.