One of senior living’s most influential leaders discusses why he is bullish about investment opportunities in the aging space, and bearish on the ability of many of today’s biggest operators to satisfy new demand.

About Bob

Bob Kramer is Founder and Fellow of Nexus Insights, a thought leadership platform dedicated to the dissemination of ideas and models that challenge the status quo and contribute to the transformation of housing and aging services for older adults. He is also Co-founder, former CEO, and now Strategic Advisor at the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC). Described as an “ice-cutter,” he is masterful at identifying industries and trends that will disrupt the status quo and shape the future of senior housing, aging services, and aging more broadly.

In 1991, he founded NIC to advance access and choice in seniors housing and care by attracting capital to grow the sector. Under his leadership, NIC became the go-to resource for data and analytics for the rapidly expanding seniors housing and care industry and an acknowledged thought leader for new ideas and trends impacting the provision of housing, services, and care for older adults.

Educated at Harvard and Oxford Universities, he holds a Master of Divinity degree from Westminster Theological Seminary.

Key Takeaways

Diane shares insights from her 25 years creating and nurturing solutions for healthy living and aging well. Listen to her favorite innovations in brain entrainment, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality.

About Diane

Diane Doster, MS is a creator, connector and collaborator for living, aging and ending well. She is the Chief Relevance Officer and Founder of Project Relevance, a business to business advisory and collaborations company that engaged with a number of wellness innovation companies including LifeGuidesÔ, an early stage Public Benefit Corp., Taproot Interventions & Solutions, an AI-driven behavioral health caregiver platform for cognitive impairment. She also leads research and innovative for XR Medical Solutions, a digital health company integrating brainwave entrainment, open eye meditation and evidence-based mind/body techniques inside virtual reality.

Diane founded Wellbeyond, Inc.; a company dedicated to designing and licensing outcome-based, integrated exercise and wellness programs, later joining Sodexo as National Director of Quality of Life Services for Senior Living. She is an advisory board member for WHEN, she is an active member of ICAA, she co-chairs the Global Wellness Institute’s Grief & Dying Well Initiative. She earned a Masters of Science in Physiology/Human Performance from the University of Oregon, she is certified as a level practitioner in NLP, Hypnotherapy, and Timeline therapy.

Project Relevance is a boutique advisory group focused on bringing innovative products and services that advance the health and well-being of caregivers, older adults and those navigating end-of-life. Virtual “Sand Circles” match early adopters with emerging aging services and product companies for insightful dialog to drive industry innovation.

Key takeaways

Covid-19 has been an accelerator for a wave of cool new technologies to hit senior living. Listen to Ravi discuss solutions for the aging population using robotics, passive monitoring. conversational AI—even a local biomarker technology that detects health issues from changes in your voice!

About Ravi

Ravi Bala is an AgeTech Evangelist and a startup mentor in AgeTech and Remote Monitoring. He is a Co-Founder and former Board Member at HealthSignals, LLC, a leader in technology solutions for better senior living. An innovator and an expert in mobile health, conversational AI and digital strategy, he has a successful track record of creating and managing teams of independent thinkers. He has a tenacious dedication to compassion and dignity in the workplace as a teacher, a mentor, coach, and advisor who works with many startup ventures.

Ravi is currently Chair of the Capital for Good and board member for Girls First Fund—a global effort to end child marriage—and is on the Advisory Board of CyberSeniors. He is also a mentor with the Silver Moonshots accelerator, a member of the Drexel University AgeWell Collaboratory, and has taught courses in Digital Strategy in multiple MBA programs in Philadelphia. His latest passion is changing the model of eldercare with the aid of Conversational AI, Robotics and Passive Monitoring.

Key Takeaways

Widely known as the “Queen of Culture” in senior living, Denise Boudreau-Scott knows how to create places where people want to live, and staff want to come to work every day and give their best. Learn how concentrating on culture develops a deeper alignment of purpose across your organization, and an improved bottom line.

About Denise

Denise Boudreau-Scott is President of Drive, which helps aging services organizations improve the resident and staff experience and the bottom-line, through more engaged leaders and employees.

A former nursing home and assisted living administrator, Denise is a serial volunteer. She co-founded and serves as a Board Member for the non-profit New Jersey Alliance for Culture Change. She is the current Chair of NAB’s Member Relations and Outreach Committee and a former member of the LNHA and RCAL Exam Writing Committees. Denise is also a former board member of the Pioneer Network.

Denise received her Bachelor of Science in Gerontology from the University of Scranton. She obtained her Master in Health Administration from Cornell University where she is currently a lecturer, student mentor and serves as an Executive in Residence for the inaugural Executive Master of Health Administration program, the youngest person to be invited in the history of Cornell’s Health Administration program.

Key Takeaways

A “Global Leading Woman in Wellness” offers her take on how purpose-built, resident-driven communities with a focus on health and wellbeing will impact senior living, and her new passion project: love a beacon for post pandemic business.

About Mia

Mia Kyricos is a globally respected thought-leader in the business of wellness, wellbeing and hospitality with a specialty in brand strategy and communications. She has developed, operated, and marketed wellness-driven brands and facilities across 100+ countries, most recently as Senior Vice President & Global Head of Wellbeing for the Hyatt Hotels Corporation, as well as Spafinder Wellness, Inc., Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, EXOS, and Kyricos & Associates LLC, her own strategic advisory firm.

In 2019, Mia was named both “Global Leading Woman in Wellness” and “Cornell Alumna of the Year” by the Global Wellness Summit and Cornell University respectfully. Her work and expertise have been featured in popular business and trade publications including The New York Times, LA Times, CN Traveller, Smart Money, Skift, Travel & Leisure, Real Simple, Travel Weekly, Spa Business, Market Watch and more. She sits on the advisory boards of Wellness for Cancer and the Global Wellness Institute™, a 501c3 non-profit educational foundation which she helped to found. Mia aspires to help people live well, and given her latest research, to love more.

Key Takeaways

Known as senior living’s Ambassador of Play, Jessica Daily talks about the value of finding more opportunities for joy, laughter, and fun. She also discusses career opportunities and the progression of her profession from activities and recreation to programs and experiences.

About Jessica

Jessica Daily is the National Director of Resident Programs for Senior Lifestyle Corporation, a senior living management company based in Chicago IL. Jessica pursued circus arts and clowning for much of her youth. When she enrolled in the recreation program at SUNY Cortland, she disovered she could combine her love of the outdoors and passion for bringing joy to others.  She earned a BSE degree in Recreation, Parks and Leisure Studies in 2001. She began her career as a Therapeutic Recreation Specialist in a skilled care setting.

She then spent 14 years at Walden Place, an assisted living community: 10 years as Director of Resident Programs, 4 years as Sales and Marketing Director.  In 2017 Jessica transitioned from Walden Place to the management company of Senior Lifestyle in a position of Divisional Director of Memory Care and Programming and was promoted to her current position in February of 2019.

Jessica is a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS), Certified Laughter Yoga Instructor, and graduate of the ICAA Leader in Wellness Management Program (2019).  She has been leading programs for older adults for 18years.  Jessica enjoys bringing purpose, passion and a sense of playfulness to programming for people of all ages.

Key Takeaways

Traci shares how Sunland’s home care services help older adults safely stay in their homes and combat loneliness during Covid-19, and how a cancer diagnosis allows her to go deeper with her clients.

About Traci

Traci Ahlstrom Beagley has been the Managing Partner of Sunland Home Care since its inception. In 1958, her great-grandfather and grandfather, Joe and Ross Farnsworth, built the first 55+ active adult community in the East Valley in Arizona. Since then, her father, Craig Ahlstrom, Sr. has developing several active adult communities in Mesa. Many of her memories growing up, involve serving and working with seniors. Sixty years later, she is following her family legacy.

Traci graduated with a Bachelor’s of Interdisciplinary Studies Degree from Arizona State University with an emphasis on Business and Communication. In 2009, Traci opened Accent! Window Treatments. Her entrepreneurial spirit built a successful company that sold after five years. Then, in 2016, she was ready to start another company, Sunland Home Care. She has been actively involved in all aspects of the business.

In 2018, Traci was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. Although it has been difficult to fight the disease, she feels the experience has given her insight with seniors in a deeper and more meaningful way.

Key Takeaways

Boomer expert Matt Thornhill shares why he believes close-knit, intentional communities are the future, and how Cozy Home Community™ is partnering with nonprofit, faith-based senior living providers to fulfill their missions.

About Matt

For almost 40 years Matt has been studying consumer behavior—as a Madison Avenue advertising executive, an interactive marketer, and more recently as a futurist and founder of the Boomer Project and the Institute for Tomorrow.

As an expert on Boomers, Matt saw the significant unmet need for housing. He took his message on the road delivering the presentation, “The Future of Senior Living: How to be Netflix in a Blockbuster World.” The next step in the evolution is bringing the Cozy Home Community concept to life.

Recent and past speaking clients include Walmart, Google, Verizon, P&G, Lowes, Samsung, Wells Fargo and Lincoln Financial. Frequently in the media, Matt has been featured in stories on NBC Nightly News, CBS Evening News, CNBC, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and on NPR.

Key Takeaways

From humble roots as a maintenance assistance in senior living to operator of a national healthcare firm serving 2,000 residents, Avi shares his insights “from the ground up.” He candidly talks Covid-19 casualties and the bright spots that have spurred industry innovation.

About Avi

Avi Satt is President & Co-founder of Sage Healthcare Partners & Allegria Senior Living. He is a growing and experienced healthcare operator on the East Coast, overseeing 2,000 residents and 1,000 employees. Sage operates within the full spectrum of Senior Living including Home Care, Independent Living, Assisted Living, Memory Care, and Skilled Nursing facilities.  Sage and Allegria currently operate in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, with expansions in other states in the pipeline.

In 2009, while still in college, Avi took a job in an Assisted Living facility as a maintenance assistant. He quickly found a love for the industry and has never looked back. He went on to the recreation department, then marketing and sales, and eventually, healthcare administration—experiencing all aspects of the senior loving field. Avi has also implemented programs for children with cancer and adults with special needs, behavioral, and cognitive issues.

Key Takeaways

Thank you to our Season 3 Sponsor Project Relevance! 

Project Relevancea boutique advisory group focused on bringing innovative products and services that advance the health and well-being of caregivers, older adults and those navigating end-of-life. Collaborating with a diverse and dynamic group of providers, professionals, consumers and funding sources, we help our innovators connect, solve and evolve in unique and relevant ways.

Learn how engagement increases conversion from lead to lease. The principals of LE3 Solutions share techniques for creating an efficient and timely engagement process, and wellness programs that originate from research and collaboration with residents, staff, families, and prospects.

About Sara and Kelly

Sara Kyle, Ph.D, Founder & Principal, LE3 Solutions

Sara Kyle has spent the last 12 years researching, designing, writing, and implementing resident well-being programs across the continuum of care. thrives in challenging settings, from leading and overseeing programming across 108 skilled nursing, assisted living and memory care communities to overseeing the charge for Holiday Retirement to transform their resident program in 260 communities. She is relentless when it comes to urging individual point solutions to integrate and share resident data.

LE3 Solutions proprietary Organizational Culture of Wellness Readiness Assessment benchmarks organization readiness for current and future consumer needs and desires and recommends steps to move forward.

Kelly Stranburg, M.Ed., Principal

Kelly Stranburg has worked with aging adults for over 20 years, with 12 of those specific to the senior living industry. Over the years Kelly has supported over 30 CCRCs and many AL/MCs. Her most successful roles have been positions she has created from the ground up which has enabled her to analyze, identify needs and gaps, and create and implement solutions for the greater good of the residents which in turns supports the operators. Kelly is the creator of the award-winning Argentum Best of the Best Wellness Program for 2010, 2011, and 2012. She has been a featured columnist in the Journal on Active Aging and a selected speaker at national senior living and active aging conferences.

Key Takeaways

Thank you to our Season 3 Sponsor Project Relevance!

Project Relevance is a boutique advisory group focused on bringing innovative products and services that advance the health and well-being of caregivers, older adults and those navigating end-of-life. Collaborating with a diverse and dynamic group of providers, professionals, consumers and funding sources, we help our innovators connect, solve and evolve in unique and relevant ways.