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, US
  • 71-A. Best Practices for Scaling Person-Centered Care

    • Sunday, November 02, 2025

    1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

    71-A. Best Practices for Scaling Person-Centered Care

    Providing person-centered care comes naturally to many providers of aging services. Yet, these providers can still find it challenging to create processes and systems that enable consistent care delivery at scale. Representatives of Genworth Financial Inc., a LeadingAge Gold Corporate Partner, will lead this session alongside leaders of CareScout, a Genworth company focused on helping older adults and families plan for long-term care needs. Presenters will share best practices from care providers that are successfully integrating person-centered supports into their intake processes, standard operating procedures, and hiring strategies. You’ll gain tips for serving residents and clients in ways that incorporate their values, preferences, and goals into the care they receive.

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
  • 90-B. Bringing Health and Wellness Programming to Affordable Housing

    • Sunday, November 02, 2025

    2:45 – 3:45 p.m.

    90-B. Bringing Health and Wellness Programming to Affordable Housing

    Older adults living in subsidized housing have a greater risk of hospitalization and costly nursing care utilization compared to their peers in the community. This session will introduce you to three affordable housing communities working to change these outcomes. Presenters will outline their strategies for improving resident health and well-being, which include establishing a multi-physician medical clinic to address the needs of residents and non-residents, aligning housing-based health programs with the eight dimensions of wellness, and using technology to connect healthcare providers and clients of a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). You’ll gain tips for establishing housing-based programs that save healthcare dollars while increasing health equity for older adults wishing to age well and in place.

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-G. Engaging, Strengthening, and Compensating Board Members

    • Tuesday, November 04, 2025

    8:30 – 9:30 a.m.

    33-G. Engaging, Strengthening, and Compensating Board Members

    Creating a high-performing nonprofit board of directors entails more than simply selecting individuals to serve. Organizations must also strive to enhance the impact of board members once they are recruited. This session will examine the holistic Board Lifecycle Program implemented by Sun Health Communities in Surprise, AZ. Presenters will describe program features, including strategic recruitment aligned with effective board engagement, an onboarding process designed to help new board members contribute and thrive, and a board rotation policy that encourages fresh perspectives while maintaining institutional knowledge. The Board Lifecycle Program also features board compensation to boost recruitment, raise expectations, and enhance engagement. Get ready to access practical tools that will help you develop a high-impact board.

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.