Tamorra Sims

Executive Director
Validation Training Institute, Inc.
Pleasant Hill, OR
  • 89-J. Validation: Engaging Residents Living with Cognitive Change

    • Wednesday, October 28, 2026

    8:30 – 9:30 a.m.

    89-J. Validation: Engaging Residents Living with Cognitive Change

    Can providing good care lead to operational gains for your senior living organization? This session’s presenters will answer with a categorical “yes.” They’ll describe the Validation method, a caregiving strategy that fosters engagement between caregivers and residents living with cognitive change. A Validation trainer and a LeadingAge member will explain how the method uses centering, attunement, emotion matching, and other simple practices to emphasize the care recipient’s reality rather than imposing facts. You’ll hear evidence that Validation increases cooperation, reduces the use of as-needed medication, and improves staff confidence and retention. You’ll gain simple tools to help your teams embed Validation in their standard work.

Missy Smith

Senior Director of Marketing and Sales
Galloway Ridge, Inc.
Pittsboro, NC
  • 1-A. Using AI to Measure Resident Well-Being

    • Sunday, October 25, 2026

    1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

    1-A. Using AI to Measure Resident Well-Being

    Community engagement teams at aging services organizations prioritize the resident experience because they know residents’ voices help shape their communities. Unfortunately, not every resident speaks up. That’s where “Happy Aging” comes in. Powered by artificial intelligence (AI), the survey-driven prediction tool measures 23 observed indicators of resident well-being. This session will focus on the experiences of two life plan communities that engaged residents in a two-year research project to co-develop the “Happy Aging” tool. Presenters will describe the technology’s development process and residents’ participation in it. You’ll discover how objective behavioral data, when paired with AI, can accurately predict resident well-being and enable engagement teams to plan timely interventions.

Michael Smith

President and CEO
LiveWell
Plantsville, CT
  • 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.

Rebekah Smith

Executive Director
Labor Mobility Partnerships (LaMP)
Washington, DC
  • 150-P. GAN Summit: Age Readiness: A Global Imperative

    • Saturday, October 24, 2026

    9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

    150-P. GAN Summit: 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.

Katie Smith Sloan

President and CEO & Executive Dir. The Global Ageing Network
LeadingAge
Washington, DC
  • 150-P. GAN Summit: Age Readiness: A Global Imperative

    • Saturday, October 24, 2026

    9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

    150-P. GAN Summit: 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.

Helen Smits MD

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.

Jennifer Sodo

Senior Living Market Leader
Eppstein Uhen Architects
Milwaukee, WI
  • 49-H. Beyond the Continuum: Serving a Broader Spectrum of Older Adults

    • Tuesday, October 27, 2026

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    49-H. Beyond the Continuum: Serving a Broader Spectrum of Older Adults

    Leading nonprofit senior housing providers are expanding their missions to serve a broader spectrum of older adults with diverse lifestyles and affordability needs. During this session, you’ll meet representatives from one organization that built an active adult development one mile from its existing full-continuum campus, and from another that integrated low- to middle-income housing into its broader development strategy. You’ll take away tips for designing and financing a range of projects that fall outside the traditional continuum while complementing existing campus offerings. Here’s your chance to reflect on your growth and consider new projects that could strengthen your market position and advance your mission.

Michelle Spadola

Senior Product Manager
MatrixCare
Bloomington, MN
  • 3-C. Unlocking the Power of Interoperability

    • Sunday, October 25, 2026

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    3-C. Unlocking the Power of Interoperability

    As the country’s healthcare system becomes more interconnected, the need for interoperable data exchange across care settings has never been more critical. Yet interoperability is often hindered because its meaning and benefits are unclear to the providers who could gain the most from it. This session will clear up the confusion. Presenters will demonstrate the practical advantages of interoperability and help you assess your organization’s readiness to implement it. They’ll also offer practical strategies for connecting data systems, enabling seamless data exchange with other care settings, and supporting integrated workflows. You’ll learn how one organization used interoperability to transform its operations, boost staff morale, and strengthen referral networks.

Maddie Spearman

Attorney
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings
Nashville, TN
  • 99-E. SNF Regulations: Get the Clarity You Need to Succeed

    • Monday, October 26, 2026

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    99-E. SNF Regulations: Get the Clarity You Need to Succeed

    Regulatory changes and survey trends affect all skilled nursing facilities nationwide. During this session, two attorneys will review and evaluate significant regulatory developments from the past year. They will also examine current survey trends by analyzing the top citations issued at the regional and national levels. Throughout the session, you’ll be encouraged to discuss common regulatory challenges and share best practices for staying current with regulatory developments and survey trends. You’ll also learn to anticipate and prepare for future regulatory developments and surveys.

Jamie Spencer

CFO
Ingleside
Rockville, MD
  • 57-L. It’s All About the Outlook: Navigating Rating Directions

    • Wednesday, October 28, 2026

    11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

    57-L. It’s All About the Outlook: Navigating Rating Directions

    Interested in where credit quality for life plan communities may be headed in the near future? This session will translate Fitch Ratings’ published criteria into practical guidance on the factors driving outlook changes for these communities. Presenters will clarify the difference between outlooks and ratings and explain why outlooks matter. They’ll also highlight specific Fitch criteria that merit your attention, including operating performance, occupancy drivers, sales pipeline quality, entrance fee refunds, liquidity, and debt mix. Life plan community financial officers will present case studies of organizations that stabilized and improved their outcomes despite an unstable outlook. Learn how to identify the factors triggering outlook shifts and translate outlook signals into positive management actions.

Terry Spitznagel

Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer
United Church Homes
Marion, OH
  • 88-I. Service Coordination: The Cornerstone of Senior Housing

    • Tuesday, October 27, 2026

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    88-I. Service Coordination: The Cornerstone of Senior Housing

    As partnerships among housing, healthcare, and community-based service providers deepen, service coordinators have become the cornerstone of affordable housing for older adults. This session will trace the evolution of service coordination and its role in helping older adults age well in the community. Presenters will provide an overview of the profession’s roots, its proven value, trends reshaping the field, and opportunities to elevate its role. Join this session to explore how emerging models, technology, and data tools are expanding the service coordinator role and how evolving funding approaches can sustain and strengthen this work. A LeadingAge member provider will describe an innovative service coordination program and share lessons for replication.

Pat Sprigg

Instructor
Carol Woods Retirement Community
Chapel Hill, NC
  • 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.