Marsha Wesley Coleman

Principal
Marsha Wesley Coleman Consulting, LLC
Plymouth Meeting, PA
  • 138-E. Unlock the Leadership Potential of Your Frontline Workforce

    • Monday, October 26, 2026

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    138-E. Unlock the Leadership Potential of Your Frontline Workforce

    Frontline caregivers are the heart of every aging services organization, yet most have limited opportunities to develop their leadership skills. During this session, a panel of human resources and leadership development professionals from LeadingAge member organizations will highlight promising programs that harness the leadership potential of the frontline workforce, enhance organizational culture, increase retention, and help caregivers contribute more effectively to their organizations. Presenters will share learning modules that have resonated with frontline learners and offer tips for adapting them to diverse learning needs and day-to-day operational challenges. You’ll gain practical strategies for launching or strengthening a frontline leadership program that benefits all levels of your organization.

Rick Westermann

SVP, Chief Marketing Officer
LCS
Des Moines, IA
  • 141-H. What if You Could Prevent Employees from Leaving Their Jobs?

    • Tuesday, October 27, 2026

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    141-H. What if You Could Prevent Employees from Leaving Their Jobs?

    In today’s labor-constrained environment, senior living organizations need more than hindsight. They need actionable foresight. This session will showcase a tool that LCS built that can help. You’ll hear about Retention Radar, a predictive workforce intelligence solution that identifies departments with employees most at risk of leaving their jobs and recommends targeted, practical interventions to support engagement and stability. By analyzing indicators such as benefits participation, scheduling alignment, supervisor stability, and PTO utilization, this innovative tool helps community leaders focus their efforts where they can have the greatest impact. Presenters will explain how Retention Radar equips Executive Directors, Administrations, Human Resources teams, and other operations leaders to interpret workforce trends and make data-informed decisions. Users of the tool will share strategies for translating predictive analytics into targeted retention interventions and explain how Retention Radar is helping to reduce turnover while enhancing the resident experience.

Asa Whitcomb

COO
Vermont Veterans’ Home
Bennington, VT
  • 109-A. Supporting Human Connection through Intimacy Policies

    • Sunday, October 25, 2026

    1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

    109-A. Supporting Human Connection through Intimacy Policies

    Many organizations recognize the importance of honoring residents’ rights, yet few have clear guidelines for supporting intimate expression, especially when decision-making capacity is impaired. This session will introduce you to a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach to developing an intimacy and sexuality policy. Presenters will highlight how one nursing home worked with a medical ethicist, staff, residents, and families to develop a framework that safeguards vulnerable adults while affirming their fundamental human need for connection, companionship, and intimate expression. You’ll take away information to help you support residents’ intimacy responsibly and compassionately, honor individual rights, and enhance overall quality of life, all while complying with regulations.

Bridget Williams

AVP, Quality and Clinical Excellence
Vi at Highlands Ranch
Highlands Ranch, CO
  • 108-L. Identify and Address Risks Before the Survey Team Arrives

    • Wednesday, October 28, 2026

    11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

    108-L. Identify and Address Risks Before the Survey Team Arrives

    The survey environment for long-term care providers is growing more complex as federal and state agencies refine guidance, raise expectations, and adjust priorities. This complexity often turns annual recertification and complaint surveys into disruptive, high-stress events that expose gaps in practice, documentation, and oversight. Using QAPI as a framework, this session will equip organizational leaders with the tools to stay survey-ready every day. Presenters will review emerging national and state survey trends and highlight common citations and surveyor priorities. They’ll show you how to focus on high-risk processes, develop performance improvement projects, and monitor corrective actions. You’ll get the support you need to build day-to-day practices that identify and address risks before the survey team arrives.

Sonya Williams

Recreational Therapist
A.G. Rhodes Cobb
Marietta, GA
  • 114-F. Creative Programs That Connect Generations

    • Monday, October 26, 2026

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    114-F. Creative Programs That Connect Generations

    Intergenerational programs and community partnerships can enhance the well-being of older adults across care settings. This session will introduce purpose-driven engagement options that improve residents’ quality of life and enable them to share their wisdom with younger generations. Presenters will describe a summer camp for teens and older adults that offers opportunities for connection and storytelling; a LEGO-based engagement initiative; and a classroom experience that enables college students to conduct research informed by older adults. You’ll learn how to develop and scale these purpose-driven practices by identifying the right community partners, tailoring engagement strategies to residents with diverse cognitive and physical abilities, and integrating engagement into daily life.

Thomas Willis

Partner & Co-Founder
Phoenix Performance Partners
Brighton, MI
  • 20-H. Flip the Script on Accountability

    • Tuesday, October 27, 2026

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    20-H. Flip the Script on Accountability

    Most organizational leaders unknowingly sabotage their teams by treating accountability as punishment. This fear-based approach to managing teams carries hidden costs, including stifled innovation, talent exodus, and decision-making paralysis. This session will introduce you to a growth-oriented alternative called “Supportive Accountability,” which encourages team members to make voluntary commitments to an organization based on intrinsic satisfaction, curiosity, or enjoyment rather than fear of punishment. Presenters will examine why traditional accountability approaches fail and explore the science behind what truly drives responsibility. You’ll return home with a 10-step guide to implementing a supportive accountability system that builds trust, accelerates growth, and creates thriving teams.

Jen Wilson

Vice President of Well-Being
Carol Woods Retirement Community
Chapel Hill, NC
  • 18-F. How Residents and Caregivers Perceive Inclusive Dementia Care

    • Monday, October 26, 2026

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    18-F. How Residents and Caregivers Perceive Inclusive Dementia Care

    Aging services providers recognize the benefits and challenges of enabling residents with varying cognitive abilities to live together, rather than segregating residents with dementia in memory care areas. Yet few studies have examined the care delivered in inclusive residential settings. This session will help fill that gap. Presenters will share their research on how residents and team members perceive inclusive living environments; residents’ perceptions of their well-being and experiences of care; and the extent to which professional caregivers feel supported in problem-solving and collaboration. Join this session to see inclusive long-term care settings through the eyes of those who live and work there.

Keith Wilson

Practice Manager
HKS
Chicago, IL
  • 69-H. Customizing Apartment Design Within Timelines and Budgets

    • Tuesday, October 27, 2026

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    69-H. Customizing Apartment Design Within Timelines and Budgets

    Imagine your organization is building a large-scale independent living project for clients with discerning tastes. You know residents want to customize their new apartments. But how do you offer a wide range of options while ensuring a smooth, timely process? This session will provide a blueprint for success. Presenters will outline key elements of a successful customization process, including standardized procedures for engaging residents, technology-enabled tools to support the design process, transparent pricing and deadlines, and clear roles for project team members. You’ll return home with strategies for balancing your desire to provide a personalized experience with the need to maintain project timelines and budgets.

Paul Winkler

Volunteer/Senior Advisor
Age-Friendly Greater Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA
  • 25-B. A Dose of Inspiration: Servant Leaders Tell Their Stories

    • Sunday, October 25, 2026

    2:45 – 3:45 p.m.

    25-B. A Dose of Inspiration: Servant Leaders Tell Their Stories

    Strong leaders persuade, anticipate the future, and guide their organizations toward results. Strong “servant leaders” also build and nurture trust, deepen relationships, and develop team members so they can make a lasting impact. This session will feature servant leaders working to improve the field of aging services and the lives of older adults. Panelists will describe their involvement in a variety of movements, including dementia inclusion, LGBTQ+ affordable housing, and age-friendly cities. They’ll share how they apply their talents and wisdom to promote equity, access, and inclusion within and beyond their organizations. Join this session for a dose of inspiration and leave feeling motivated to consider your own mission and legacy.

Max Winters

Senior Designer
RLPS Architects
Lancaster, PA
  • 127-G. Beyond Memory Care: Designing Brain-Healthy Communities

    • Tuesday, October 27, 2026

    8:30 – 9:30 a.m.

    127-G. Beyond Memory Care: Designing Brain-Healthy Communities

    Do current dementia care approaches reinforce separation in senior living communities, or do they position brain health as a unifying priority for all residents? This session will highlight one organization committed to the latter. Organization leaders will describe how their community invited people living with cognitive change to co-design the environments, services, and operational decisions that define its campus. They’ll examine how this approach shifted the community’s design to support autonomy, normalcy, and shared community life while challenging assumptions about risk, elopement, and safety. Join this session to broaden your understanding of how evidence-based brain health practices can inform senior living campus design.

Isa Woods

Regional Operations Manager
CSI Support & Development COOP (California)
Warren, MI
  • 53-J. The Social Benefits of Embracing the Cooperative Housing Model

    • Wednesday, October 28, 2026

    8:30 – 9:30 a.m.

    53-J. The Social Benefits of Embracing the Cooperative Housing Model

    Most of us are familiar with “co-ops,” multi-unit residential buildings collectively owned and democratically managed by their occupants. This session will examine how a nonprofit senior living organization adopted this commercial real estate model to empower “resident members” of its housing communities to govern themselves. Leaders of the organization will explain how residents participate in decision-making through councils and committees and volunteer to assist with or lead day-to-day operations in collaboration with the property manager. You’ll take home a structured outline of the cooperative housing management model and a new understanding of how this level of active participation helps resident members take pride in their housing and lead healthier, more enriched lives.

Candice Yagmin

Owner, Chief Strategy Officer
Rally
Kansas City, MO
  • 61-B. Let Current Residents Help You Identify Future Residents

    • Sunday, October 25, 2026

    2:45 – 3:45 p.m.

    61-B. Let Current Residents Help You Identify Future Residents

    Life plan communities seeking new feeder markets beyond their local area need look no further than their own residents to identify ideal prospects. In this session, a panel of marketing experts will explain how a multisite senior living organization partnered with a marketing agency to improve outreach to local consumers and reach qualified prospects beyond its immediate area. Presenters will describe how the organization’s marketing team used information about current residents including their affiliations and personal passions to conduct targeted outreach to prospective residents with similar interests. You’ll learn how to boost lead quality by crafting innovative strategies to reach prospects seeking a new home where they genuinely belong.