Alex Piriz Mookerjee

Director, Engagement Strategy
Westminster Communities of Florida, Inc.
Orlando, FL, US
  • 118-H. Modernizing Your Approach to Affordable Housing Operations

    • Tuesday, November 04, 2025

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    118-H. Modernizing Your Approach to Affordable Housing Operations

    *Closed to Press* Affordable housing providers will soon be required to navigate significant changes in the rules governing who lives in federally subsidized communities, the federal rental assistance each household receives, and how providers communicate with, screen, and accommodate applicants and residents. This session will encourage you to view these upcoming changes as opportunities for modernization and optimization. Presenters will introduce effective practices to help you achieve the mission of affordable housing while adhering to new rules and policies. They will discuss mission-driven approaches to implementing the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA), recommend adjustments to criminal background screening, and help you foster positive resident outcomes and streamline workflows for housing staff.

Laura Powell

Director of Volunteer Services
Bridgewater Retirement Community
Bridgewater, VA, US
  • 19-G. A Resident-Led Model for Purpose and Partnership

    • Tuesday, October 27, 2026

    8:30 – 9:30 a.m.

    19-G. A Resident-Led Model for Purpose and Partnership

    By empowering residents to serve others, life plan communities can strengthen their organizational culture, enhance engagement, and support leadership development. That’s the lesson one community learned when it established a resident-directed Community Connections Team to plan, promote, and evaluate outreach initiatives. This session will explore the community’s service model, which inspires residents to contribute more than 1,000 hours of service each year to hunger initiatives, intergenerational reading partnerships, and other outreach efforts. Presenters will share practical strategies for generating outreach ideas, evaluating service projects, mitigating risk, and collaborating across the campus. Learn how to deepen resident engagement within your community and across your region.

Kim Pratt

Vice President/Chief Human Resources Officer
Brookhaven at Lexington
Lexington, MA, US
  • 24-I. Operationalizing a Culture of Inclusion and Belonging

    • Tuesday, November 04, 2025

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    24-I. Operationalizing a Culture of Inclusion and Belonging

    Many organizations struggle to create inclusion and belonging initiatives that are impactful and sustainable. During this session, representatives from Brookhaven at Lexington, a life plan community in Lexington, MA, and Orange Grove Consulting, a talent management consultant, will demonstrate how to enhance inclusion by evaluating your organization’s levels of belonging and measuring its progress in achieving key inclusion goals. Presenters will provide an overview of the data collection process they used to evaluate Brookhaven’s current culture of inclusion and belonging, including its talent management practices. With Brookhaven as your guide, you’ll discover how to launch similar initiatives that will enable your organization to operationalize a culture of inclusion and belonging.

Melissa Preston

Associate Executive Director
Rogue Valley Manor
Medford, OR, US
  • 144-J. Rural Life Plan Communities Can Address Provider Shortages

    • Wednesday, October 28, 2026

    8:30 – 9:30 a.m.

    144-J. Rural Life Plan Communities Can Address Provider Shortages

    Accessing quality and consistent primary care is increasingly difficult for older adults in rural areas, largely due to challenges associated with contracting, credentialing, workforce shortages, and sustaining geriatric-focused primary care. This session will explore how a life plan community addressed these challenges by establishing an on-site primary care clinic that integrates care across all its service levels. Presenters will outline the clinic’s development and explain how it addresses provider shortages, payer complexities, and resident wellness. You’ll take away practical strategies for designing sustainable, resident-centered healthcare models that strengthen and improve access, continuity, and satisfaction. You’ll also appreciate the critical role partnerships play in supporting sustainable, resident-centered healthcare.

Nicole Pretre

President & Chief Executive Officer
Cedar Community
West Bend, WI, US
  • 26-C. Leveraging Your Leadership Team to Move the Needle on Benevolence

    • Sunday, October 25, 2026

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    26-C. Leveraging Your Leadership Team to Move the Needle on Benevolence

    Everyone is a fundraiser. That’s the message of this session, which will help you support key strategic priorities in your senior living community by connecting donors, both emotionally and programmatically, to specific activities or divisions on your campus. Presenters will show you how to leverage the strategic vision of your board, executive team, divisional leaders, and key frontline staff to move the needle on benevolence. You’ll learn to build relationships with diverse team leaders across all care levels and lifestyle divisions, then work together to prioritize fundraising opportunities that align with donor interests and your strategic plan.

Lorna Prophater

Sr. Director, Care Professional Services
Alzheimer’s Association
Chicago, IL, USA
  • 101-I. Implementing Evidence-Based Practices to Improve Person-Centered Dementia Care

    • Tuesday, November 04, 2025

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    101-I. Implementing Evidence-Based Practices to Improve Person-Centered Dementia Care

    The Alzheimer’s Association Dementia Care Practice Recommendations offer 56 guidelines for professional care providers working with individuals living with dementia. This session will review the report’s recommendations, which are based on a comprehensive review of evidence, best practices, and expert opinions. Presenters will explore several programs across the country that are implementing practices to enhance the quality of care for residents living in residential care settings. You’ll get a close-up look at one coaching program that helps long-term care communities implement system-changing best practices in dementia care. Don’t miss this chance to explore the successes, challenges, and lessons learned from coaching initiatives in both urban and rural communities.

Louis Prues, MBA, DMin, PhD

Immediate Past Board Chair
Presbyterian Villages of Michigan
St. Clair Shores, MI, United States
  • 29-F. Strengthen Your Board Through Planned Enrichment

    • Monday, October 26, 2026

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    29-F. Strengthen Your Board Through Planned Enrichment

    Knowledgeable, experienced, and engaged board members are essential to the success of senior living organizations. Yet few board members arrive at their first board meeting with all the knowledge needed to fulfill their roles. This session will explore how one organization expanded board members’ capacity by dedicating the first 60-90 minutes of its bimonthly board meetings to a wide range of enrichment activities. Presenters will outline how they implemented the revised board agenda and how it improved the board’s effectiveness. You’ll learn strategies for assessing board members’ current knowledge and addressing gaps. Discover how enrichment sessions can strengthen your board and help its members become confident change agents and change makers.

Chris Pugliese

Head of Interoperability
MatrixCare
Morrisville, NC, US
  • 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.

Lola Rain

Strategist
Sequoia Living
San Francisco, CA, US
  • 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.

Paula Rathgaber Gomez

VP Sales and Marketing
Sequoia Living
San Francisco, CA, US
  • 135-B. Build Your Workforce by Improving the Employee Experience

    • Sunday, October 25, 2026

    2:45 – 3:45 p.m.

    135-B. Build Your Workforce by Improving the Employee Experience

    Senior living organizations are navigating a workforce environment marked by staffing shortages, rapid onboarding, rising recruitment costs, and shifting expectations among new and seasoned team members. This session will explore how thoughtful experience design and strategic technology use can reshape the employee experience and foster lasting commitment. Presenters will share workforce-strengthening strategies that adapt customer-experience methods to the aging services workplace. They’ll outline the advantages of treating employees as “internal customers” by offering internships, mentoring programs, community-building initiatives, data-driven coaching tools, and streamlined career pathways. You’ll learn practical steps to reduce turnover and make workforce investments more predictable and measurable, even with resource constraints.

Cindy Ray

Senior Communications Specialist
  • 96-G. Body & Soul: Connecting Spirituality, Health, and Wellness

    • Tuesday, November 04, 2025

    8:30 – 9:30 a.m.

    96-G. Body & Soul: Connecting Spirituality, Health, and Wellness

    Spiritual care helps older adults find purpose, increase resilience, build coping mechanisms, and address concerns about suffering and mortality. This session will explore innovative approaches to meeting residents’ increasingly diverse cultural and religious needs. Presenters will discuss activities that nurture spirituality, such as nature outings, organized social interactions, and dedicated spaces for prayer or meditation. They’ll also demonstrate how training staff to provide high-quality spiritual care can positively impact employee morale, job satisfaction, and personal growth. You’ll gain a deeper understanding of the link between spirituality and health, the benefits of integrating residents’ spiritual preferences into their care plans, and the value of making high-quality spiritual care a strategic and mission priority for your organization.

Vic Rayner

Chair of the Global Ageing Network and CEO
National Care Forum
UK