Carly Bruski

Assistant Director, Strategic Partnerships
The Jewish Federations of North America
Washington, DC, USA
  • 145-E. How a Trauma-Informed Approach Can Promote Workforce Wellness

    • Monday, November 03, 2025

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    145-E. How a Trauma-Informed Approach Can Promote Workforce Wellness

    Many older Americans will experience at least one traumatic event that affects their physical, mental, and social health. This session will propose that trauma also affects the people who care for older adults, and that a person-centered, trauma-informed (PCTI) approach can enhance the health and well-being of these caregivers. Presenters will describe the implementation of PCTI, highlight the model’s potential to improve workforce wellness, and offer solutions to reduce staff vacancies, decrease turnover, and attract new talent. You’ll take home practical tips for integrating PCTI principles into organizational policies and procedures that benefit team members, care recipients, family caregivers, volunteers, and organizations providing care.

Kenya Bryant

Executive Director
Ingleside at King Farm
Rockville, MD, US
  • 17-B. Ouch! That Stereotype Hurts: Practical Tools to Address Bias

    • Sunday, November 02, 2025

    2:45 – 3:45 p.m.

    17-B. Ouch! That Stereotype Hurts: Practical Tools to Address Bias

    Addressing everyday stereotypes and biases can create a more respectful and inclusive culture in senior care organizations. This session will provide practical tools and strategies for fostering effective communication and navigating difficult conversations about bias. Presenters will help you identify subtle biases and stereotypes and respond to them constructively. Senior living leaders will share their experiences implementing bias workshops, and you’ll view a video demonstrating workshop best practices and techniques. Explore how culture change can help you challenge stereotypes and build stronger, more respectful relationships among team members and between staff and residents.

Natasha Bryant

Senior Director of Workforce Research & Development, LTSS Center
LeadingAge
Washington, DC, US
  • 141-B. How Direct Care Supervisors Can Improve Employee Retention

    • Sunday, November 02, 2025

    2:45 – 3:45 p.m.

    141-B. How Direct Care Supervisors Can Improve Employee Retention

    Nursing supervisors in aging services play a critical role in motivating, teaching, and mentoring certified nursing assistants (CNAs) who provide direct care to nursing home residents. A strong, positive relationship between a nurse supervisor and a CNA boosts job satisfaction and reduces turnover. This session will explore actions that nursing supervisors can take to develop the leadership skills they need to work with CNAs so that the entire team can deliver high quality care. Presenters will also emphasize the critical role that a supportive organizational culture, aligned structures and policies, and consistent reinforcement from leadership play so that supervision strategies are effectively integrated into daily practice. Learn about programs that help nursing supervisors create a supportive workplace culture and become effective leaders of CNAs and teams.

Zac Bryant

AVP, Property Broker
Jencap Insurance Services
Atlanta, GA, USA
  • 79-F. What Rising Insurance Rates Mean for Your Property

    • Monday, November 03, 2025

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    79-F. What Rising Insurance Rates Mean for Your Property

    Today’s property market remains fractured, unstable, and increasingly expensive. This is especially true for properties in geographic regions at greater risk for severe natural disasters or other events that can cause significant damage and lead to double-digit increases in property insurance rates. This session will help you understand the current property market, how insurance rates are determined, and strategies for combating rising costs. Panelists will share their predictions for the future and outline the opportunities that a chaotic insurance market might present for your organization.

Tim Buist

Chief Strategic & Implementation Officer
The Reserves at Spring Hill
Spring Hill, TN, US
  • 52-H. How to Identify Your Organization’s Growth Path

    • Tuesday, November 04, 2025

    3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

    52-H. How to Identify Your Organization’s Growth Path

    How do progressive organizations adapt to meet growing market demand? This session will explore two approaches. You’ll learn how a Florida-based single-site life plan community implemented a strategic growth plan to establish a satellite campus, and how a Tennessee-based multi-site organization’s growth strategy led it to expand an existing campus. While both growth initiatives were similar, each organization employed unique strategies to achieve its goals. Presenters will guide you in formulating key questions to ask yourself, your board, and other stakeholders when developing market-based, mission-aligned growth strategies. You’ll also learn how market analysis, vision setting, and strategic repositioning contribute to successful growth. Don’t miss this opportunity to identify your organization’s growth path.

Lisa Buksbaum

CEO & Founder
Soaringwords
New York, NY, USA
  • 91-C. Cultivate Well-Being for Residents, Staff, and Families

    • Sunday, November 02, 2025

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    91-C. Cultivate Well-Being for Residents, Staff, and Families

    Are you interested in learning how to help residents, team members, and families develop a deeper appreciation for life and a greater ability to move forward after setbacks and trauma? This session will introduce you to an award-winning program designed to help everyone in your senior living community achieve these goals. Presenters will describe the SOARING Into Resilience workshop they developed and share research documenting the program’s success in helping staff, residents, and their families experience a heightened sense of belonging, connection with peers, meaning, and purpose. They’ll also offer you an opportunity to participate in immersive exercises aimed at enhancing individual, organizational, and communal well-being.

Diane Burfeindt

Managing Principal
Trilogy Connect
Cogan Station, PA, USA
  • 28-B. Interested in Growth? Make Sure Your Board is Prepared

    • Sunday, November 02, 2025

    2:45 – 3:45 p.m.

    28-B. Interested in Growth? Make Sure Your Board is Prepared

    Growth is a popular topic among leaders of aging services organizations striving to meet the needs of the rapidly expanding older population. However, these leaders must remember that growth brings the prospect of significant change for organizations and the boards that govern them. This session will help ensure that your board is fully prepared for growth, whether your organization is expanding its services, footprint, or customer base. Presenters will offer strategies to help guide your board as it evaluates your organization’s capacity for growth, determines how it should grow, and develops the decision-making processes needed to manage growth. You’ll return home with practical strategies to help your organization establish the strategic governance required for future success.

John Burns

President & CEO
Westminster Canterbury Richmond
Richmond, VA, USA
  • 49-F. Strategic Success: Engage Stakeholders and Measure Progress

    • Monday, November 03, 2025

    4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

    49-F. Strategic Success: Engage Stakeholders and Measure Progress

    Westminster Canterbury Richmond took deliberate steps to enhance transparency and collaboration during its 2022 strategic planning process, which laid the groundwork for a major campus expansion. During this session, the organization’s chief executive and director of strategic growth will describe how they engaged workgroups of organizational leaders, board members, residents, and staff to set organizational priorities and identify desired outcomes. Presenters will showcase the accountability tool they used to check in regularly with more than 35 of the organization’s leaders. They’ll also present two case studies detailing the organization’s recommitment to strategic growth and its evolving approach to wellness and fitness. Learn how to implement a strategic planning process that engages stakeholders, measures progress, and ensures accountability.

Libby Bush

President and CEO
Deerfield Episcopal Retirement Community Inc
Asheville, NC, US
  • 27-A. Leading in a Crisis: Lessons from Hurricane Helene

    • Sunday, November 02, 2025

    1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

    27-A. Leading in a Crisis: Lessons from Hurricane Helene

    On September 27, 2024, Hurricane Helene brought unprecedented challenges to western North Carolina as it destroyed homes, caused severe flooding, and left thousands without electricity, cell service, or water. During this session, a panel of CEOs from three senior living organizations in the storm’s path will reflect on their experiences during and after the storm and share the essential leadership lessons they learned. Listen as they recount how they supported one another, how they adapted or rewrote their emergency plans in real-time to address the storm’s catastrophic impacts, and how assistance from other LeadingAge members helped them navigate the crisis. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain valuable insights into the critical role leaders play in guiding their organizations through natural disasters.

  • 28-B. Interested in Growth? Make Sure Your Board is Prepared

    • Sunday, November 02, 2025

    2:45 – 3:45 p.m.

    28-B. Interested in Growth? Make Sure Your Board is Prepared

    Growth is a popular topic among leaders of aging services organizations striving to meet the needs of the rapidly expanding older population. However, these leaders must remember that growth brings the prospect of significant change for organizations and the boards that govern them. This session will help ensure that your board is fully prepared for growth, whether your organization is expanding its services, footprint, or customer base. Presenters will offer strategies to help guide your board as it evaluates your organization’s capacity for growth, determines how it should grow, and develops the decision-making processes needed to manage growth. You’ll return home with practical strategies to help your organization establish the strategic governance required for future success.

Lindsey Buzzard

Director of Home Health and Hospice
LeadingAge Ohio
Columbus, OH, US
  • 106-A. Hospice Agencies: It’s Time to Sharpen Your Survey Skills

    • Sunday, November 02, 2025

    1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

    106-A. Hospice Agencies: It’s Time to Sharpen Your Survey Skills

    The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) employs surveys as a primary tool in its fight against hospice fraud. With changes to the Hospice Special Focus Program on the horizon, now is the perfect time to deepen your understanding of the hospice survey process and sharpen your survey skills. Join this session to learn what types of fraud CMS and its survey contractors look for during a survey. You’ll gain insights and tips for using mock surveys to prepare your hospice team for its next survey.

Ben Caffey

Corporate Director of Revenue Enhancement
EverTrue
Saint Louis, MO, US
  • 46-D. Keep Your Brand Fresh While Preserving What Sets You Apart

    • Monday, November 03, 2025

    8:30 – 9:30 a.m.

    46-D. Keep Your Brand Fresh While Preserving What Sets You Apart

    EverTrue, formerly Lutheran Senior Services, is proud of its 165-year legacy of caring for older adults. However, this legacy hasn’t prevented the nation’s 12th-largest nonprofit aging services provider from embarking on a transformative journey driven by innovation. This session will highlight how the St. Louis-based organization expanded housing options and in-home services to serve a broader demographic, implemented innovative service models like palliative care, diversified its revenue streams, adjusted its residential mix, embraced technology, and adopted systems to manage data more efficiently. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear the EverTrue management team discuss how they embraced the future while honoring their organization’s past. You’ll take home valuable tips for keeping your brand fresh while preserving what makes you special.

Linda Calabrese

Senior Vice President of Operations
Ontario Long Term Care Association
Toronto, ON, Canada