Movers and Shakers: People and Positions For October 29, 2010

Is your home ready for the invasion of Halloween spirits?  Better get ready for those tricker-treaters at your house….one of the scariest parts of Halloween is that Americans eat 24.3 pounds of candy per capita consumption in 2009.  After you’ve had your chocolate fix and figured out you need to buy more candy after eating all of it, see this week’s Movers and Shakers to get you out of the sugar crash.  Got announcements?  They’re sweet to us.  Email to [email protected]

 

WellAWARE Appoints Doumas and Duckworth to Team

WellAWARE Systems has announced the appointment of Diane Doumas as Director, Shared Services and Ronda Duckworth as Director, Partner Services.  Doumas brings more than 25 years experience from Sunrise Senior Living with an advanced education in gerontology and organizational development/knowledge management. As Director of Shared Services, Doumas will work closely with the senior and support function staff in both the corporate headquarters and regional territories. She will work with customers and direct users of WellAWARE to develop and implement consistent procedures and policies. Her expertise includes program development, field operations management, training and leadership development. Throughout her career with Sunrise Senior Living, Diane played a key role in creating the organization’s operational policies and procedures, and pioneering programs such as specialized activities for assisted living and memory care residents. For the past two years, Doumas has managed Vantage Advisory Group, a senior living professional services firm based in Virginia. Doumas has a Bachelor of Science in Gerontology Services Administration from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Dallas, TX and a Masters in Science in Organization Development and Knowledge Management from George Mason University.

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Duckworth brings more than 20 years experience in the senior living and health care fields. As Director of Partner Services, Duckworth will manage the customer relationship through the entire service delivery cycle. Her expertise includes leadership roles, sales and marketing and community relations for leading assisted living communities including Juniper Communities and Sunrise Senior Living. She also worked in several health care settings in marketing, provider relations, and operations for Charter Peachford Hospital, Fox Run Hospital and Charter at Cove Forge Health Systems. Duckworth has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Psychology from Georgia State University.

 

Isle at Watercrest Names Kristen Kearnaghan Executive Director

Kristen Kearnaghan has been named executive director of Isle at Watercrest, the assisted living community of Watercrest at Mansfield.  Kearnaghan joins Isle at Watercrest from Watermere at Southlake where she served as executive director. In addition, she served as executive director of Isle at Watermere, the assisted living community on the Watermere at Southlake campus.

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Originally from San Diego, Kearnaghan began her career in the senior housing sales and marketing industry before transitioning into operations. Previously, Kearnaghan worked with Life Care Services in California, North Carolina, Maryland and Hawaii.  She served as Administrator of Hale Ola Kino in Honolulu and during her tenure, Hale Ola Kino was named one of the 25 best employers in Hawaii by Hawaii Business Magazine.  Kearnaghan earned a bachelor’s degree from California Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo, California, and a master’s degree in Gerontology from the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona.  In addition to her professional responsibilities, she is a member of Junior League of Dallas.

 

Meier, Murphy Join New Perspectives

New Perspective Senior Living has announced that Jay Meier has joined the company as the Finance, Accounting and Systems Controller and that John Murphy has assume the position of Director of Training and Development.

Meier will assume the day-to-day management functions for the accounting and finance areas of the business.  Meier comes to New Perspective Senior Living from Sage Capital Advisors, LLC where he served as President and CEO.  He has also held positions at several investment banks including Miller, Johnson, Steichen, Kinnard where he was picked by Forbes as the 8th best stock picker in North American in 2005.

John Murphy assumes the role of Director of Training and Development for the senior living chain.  Murphy’s primary responsibility will be to ensure an increased measure of position proficiency by all of team members of New Perspective Senior Living with particular emphasis on those positions that directly impact the well being and satisfaction of each communities’ residents.  Prior to joining New Perspective Senior Living, Murphy has held senior training positions with The American Cancer Society, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and Hartford Financial.  He is a member of the American Society for Training and Development, the International Society for Performance Improvement and is a certified personnel coach.

 

D’Costa Named Chief Business Development Officer at Pathway Senior Living

Aaron D’Costa has been recently promoted to the position of Chief Business Development Officer for Pathway Senior Living,.  In his new role, Aaron is responsible identification of key management, acquisition and development and consulting opportunities; the formation and implementation of a corporate strategic plan; and oversight of the company’s marketing and brand strategy.

Aaron has 20 years of experience in the senior hosing industry. Prior to joining Pathway, he operated his own strategic marketing and management consulting firm with clients throughout the country benefiting from his marketing and operations experience. He had previously held community- and corporate-based positions with national providers such as Marriott Senior Living Services, Sunrise Senior Living, Classic Residence by Hyatt and Fountains Retirement Communities.

Aaron completed his MBA from The George Washington University and holds dual undergraduate degrees in management and communications from Virginia Wesleyan College. He is currently on the Marketing Roundtable for the Assisted Living Federation of America, is an advisory board member of the American Seniors Housing Association, a board member of HCap, and for 14 years has served as a judge for the Mature Media Awards. Aaron has presented at numerous industry conferences including ALFA, LSN, AAHSA, NIC, AHSA, and the Advanced Senior Housing Sales Summit.