Ashley Wade

Executive Director
Broadview-Senior Living at Purchase College (UC)
Rye Brook, NY
  • 20-G. Back to School: Planning a Community for Future Consumers

    • Tuesday, October 29, 2024

    8:15 – 9:15 a.m.

    20-G. Back to School: Planning a Community for Future Consumers

    Broadview at Purchase College takes full advantage of its location on a sprawling college campus in upstate New York to offer residents access to myriad learning opportunities. But the life plan community has its own lessons to teach about how to incorporate the needs of tomorrow’s residents into today’s retirement communities. This session will focus on how developers used strategic planning, data analysis, market research, focus groups, and crowdsourcing to design a community that emphasizes intergenerational, life-long learning, and uses amenities and access to Purchase College’s 500-acre campus to enhance resident quality of life for residents from all income levels.

Dick Wager

CEO
St. James Place
Baton Rouge, LA
  • 73-A. Three Critical Components of a Successful Sales Program

    • Sunday, October 27, 2024

    1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

    73-A. Three Critical Components of a Successful Sales Program

    After years of high inflation, it’s more important than ever for your senior living community to maximize its revenue by rebuilding and maintaining high census levels. There is no single strategy for accomplishing this goal. Instead, your organization must ensure that all facets of its marketing and sales programs work together to maximize sales and revenue. This session will examine three critical components of a successful sales program: developing a solid brand, ensuring consistently strong lead generation, and maintaining strong sales practices. Presenters will focus on how two life plan communities dramatically increased their independent living census by successfully implementing strategies to improve all three elements.

Heidi Wagner

Photographer/Creator
THE PASSIONS PROJECT
Racine, WI
  • 31-E. You Belong Here: Creating Inclusive Spaces For LGBTQ+ Older Adults

    • Monday, October 28, 2024

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    31-E. You Belong Here: Creating Inclusive Spaces For LGBTQ+ Older Adults

    In 2011, photographer Heidi Wagner created a portrait series called the Passions Project to capture the unwavering spirit of older adults who are redefining aging. This session will feature an inclusive conversation between Wagner and three LGBTQ+ older adults she photographed during the project. Take this opportunity to hear directly from LGBTQ+ older adults about their experiences and how they deal with issues of race and gender identity. Attendees will receive a toolkit of questions, conversation formats, and resources they can use to host similar inclusive conversations in their communities.

Janel Wait

Co-CEO
AgePop
  • 81-H. Targeted Digital Media: The Secret to Marketing Success

    • Tuesday, October 29, 2024

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    81-H. Targeted Digital Media: The Secret to Marketing Success

    John Knox Village, a life plan community in Kansas City, MO, has succeeded in increasing the engagement of prospective residents, optimizing lead quality, increasing sales, and boosting marketing results. During this session, the community’s sales and marketing team will share the secret to its success: advanced technology and targeted digital media. Marketing and financing experts will join the conversation to describe how senior living communities nationwide can use technology tools and digital landscape navigation to generate leads, foster engagement, and guide prospects through the sales cycle. Presenters will also share lessons to help you equip and train your sales team to leverage the power of technology.

MaryBeth Watson

Divisional Operations Leader of Hearthstone
Abe’s Garden
Nashville, TN
  • 116-L. Engagement for the Full Continuum of Memory Challenges

    • Wednesday, October 30, 2024

    11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

    116-L. Engagement for the Full Continuum of Memory Challenges

    Are you looking for better ways to serve people with dementia who live outside of your memory care program but are not benefiting from traditional activity programs? Then this session is for you. Presenters will introduce you to an evidence-based model called the Continuum of Cognitive Health (CCH), which you can use to provide high levels of engagement and support to residents and clients in all service lines as their cognitive needs change. Let presenters educate you about the evidence base for adapting engagement experiences for the full continuum of memory challenges. Review case studies demonstrating the effectiveness of this approach from an operational, marketing, and quality-of-life perspective.

Len Weiser

Board Member
LeadingAge PA
Philadelphia, PA
  • 39-A. How to Gain Resident Buy-In on Substantive Changes

    • Sunday, October 27, 2024

    1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

    39-A. How to Gain Resident Buy-In on Substantive Changes

    Is your life plan community planning a substantive change that needs buy-in from residents? Then this session is for you. Senior Living experts in operations, strategy, communications and marketing will fill you in on a strategic process that stresses the importance of transparent and frequent communication, education, and resident involvement. Learn the importance of raising awareness and understanding to build resident support when you announce a prospective change and maintain community engagement. Take home evidence-based recommendations and best practices that will prepare you to implement positive and lasting change within your organization.

Rod Wendt

Resident
Piper Shores
Scarborough, ME
  • 63-F. Two Campuses, One Community: The Piper Shores Story

    • Monday, October 28, 2024

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    63-F. Two Campuses, One Community: The Piper Shores Story

    Piper Shores, Maine’s first and only nonprofit life plan community, experienced solid growth, impressive financial performance, and positive Fitch ratings during its first 21 years of operations. After evaluating the community’s long-term stability, the Piper Shores board of directors and senior management decided that it made sense to expand the organization by building a new 45-acre campus called The Meadows across the street. This session will showcase the strategic, development, financial, and operational plans that preceded this major expansion. Presenters will share how they made decisions about the expansion and how residents worked together to build a sense of community across two campuses.

Marsha Wesley Coleman

Senior Consultant
Praxis Consulting Group
Philadelphia, PA
  • 26-A. Helping Frontline Caregivers Navigate Microaggressions

    • Sunday, October 27, 2024

    1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

    26-A. Helping Frontline Caregivers Navigate Microaggressions

    Many frontline professional caregivers have experienced microaggressions at one time or another while working in senior living organizations. These everyday slights, insults, and putdowns generally come from well-intentioned individuals who may be unaware they have engaged in demeaning ways. Intended or not, microaggressions can profoundly impact individuals across a wide range of identities. This session will delve into the nature of microaggressions and offer actionable strategies to help individuals and leaders address them. Presenters will demonstrate a mindfulness technique that helps professional caregivers proactively address and cope with microaggressions. You’ll return home better able to recognize the manifestations and impact of microaggressions and create a proactive and supportive environment for frontline caregivers in your organization.

Ian Wiesner

Senior Vice President of Facilities Advancement
Presbyterian Villages of Michigan
Southfield, MI
  • 95-H. Developing New Section 202 Housing: A Primer for Providers

    • Tuesday, October 29, 2024

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    95-H. Developing New Section 202 Housing: A Primer for Providers

    Looking for ways to develop affordable housing through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Section 202 program? Then this session is for you. A financing expert and housing consultant will walk you through the Section 202 application process, explain scoring criteria, review estimated timelines, and examine the variety of financing sources that can come together to fill out a project’s capital stack. Presenters will pay special attention to the benefits of combining Federal Housing Administration-insured 221(d)(4) debt with a new Section 202 Capital Advance and the importance of the RAD for PRAC Conversion program in structuring new Section 202 developments. Learn how owners and developers have used the Preservation Rent Increase to overcome gaps in funding or reduce deferred developer fee requirements.

Ty Wiggins

Global Lead, CEO and Transitions Practice
Russell Reynolds Associates
  • 46-G. How to Excel as a New C-Suite Leader

    • Tuesday, October 29, 2024

    8:15 – 9:15 a.m.

    46-G. How to Excel as a New C-Suite Leader

    Becoming a C-suite leader can be an exciting and daunting career milestone. Rising leaders may have proven themselves to be exceptional and trustworthy mid-level managers. Still, they may be unfamiliar with how to carry out unique C-suite responsibilities like growing and developing their team, delegating appropriately, and nurturing relationships with horizontal colleagues. This session will offer guidance on how C-suite leaders can adopt a learning orientation that allows them to develop the social capital they need to thrive. Ty Wiggins, an expert in leadership transitions and executive onboarding, will offer session participants the advice, support, and insight they need to excel as they carry out their new C-Suite responsibilities.

Kimberly Wilkinson

President
Creating Results, Inc.
Woodbridge, VA
  • 82-I. Pay Attention to Your Sales Team

    • Tuesday, October 29, 2024

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    82-I. Pay Attention to Your Sales Team

    Who’s working on the front lines, helping your organization maintain its resident census and remain financially healthy? It’s your sales team, and they deserve your attention. During this session, sales and marketing experts will share their experiences leading and motivating sales teams. Presenters will discuss strategies you can use to encourage your sales team to do its best work, such as offering compensation and incentive programs to motivate the team and implementing effective staffing practices that can improve productivity, increase lead-to-sale conversion rates, shorten sales cycles, and increase occupancy. Learn how to recruit and retain sales team talent and create a motivational work environment for the team working hard to help your organization succeed.

Sonya Williams

Recreational Therapist
A.G. Rhodes Health & Rehab Cobb
Marietta, GA
  • 113-I. Community Partnerships That Advance Person-Directed Care

    • Tuesday, October 29, 2024

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    113-I. Community Partnerships That Advance Person-Directed Care

    How can providers of aging services develop mutually beneficial community partnerships that enhance resident engagement, encourage team building, and expand volunteer opportunities? This session will show you how. Representatives of A.G. Rhodes in Atlanta, GA, will describe how they partnered with a youth development organization to create an intergenerational program that could fit any organization’s structure and goals. Presenters will identify factors that make for a thriving community partnership and offer tips for incorporating the principles of person-directed care into volunteer programs. You’ll be surprised by how you can enhance quality of life for residents and employees by being more intentional about forming meaningful partnerships with other community-based organizations.