Movers & Shakers – People & Positions for March 2012

Early spring temperatures have given rise to the promise of summer.  While spring blooms maybe on the horizon, sprouts in the job world of senior housing are starting to appear in 2012.

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Maconachy and Lavender join HFF Dallas

HFF, L.P. announced that the team of Ryan Maconachy and Chad Lavender has joined the firm’s Dallas office to lead HFF’s charge into the seniors housing investment sales business.  The two producers will be a part of HFF’s National Seniors Housing Group and will focus on seniors housing investment sales nationally.

Maconachy, who joins HFF as a managing director, has more than six years of experience in the seniors housing market and was most previously the national director of ARA’s National Seniors Housing Group. Prior to that, he was the vice president of acquisitions for a private equity firm that purchased seniors housing and multi-housing properties. Maconachy holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance and Marketing and a Masters in Business Administration from Loyola Marymount University’s Hilton School of Business.

Lavender, who will be a director at HFF, was also a producer and integral part of ARA’s National Seniors Housing Group. Prior to ARA, he worked at Harwood International, most recently as the director of acquisition and dispositions. Lavender graduated from The University of Alabama with a Bachelor of Finance degree.

Caring.com Hires Karen Cassel as Executive Vice President and General Manager

Caring.com recently announced the arrival of Karen Cassel as executive vice president and general manager of performance marketing. In this new role, Cassel is responsible for scaling Caring.com’s business. A veteran of the online advertising industry, with expertise in lead generation, social networking, ad networks, and Web publishing, Cassel has helped companies reach prospective customers online since 2002. Cassel held senior leadership positions at online vertical marketing pioneer QuinStreet, social media giant Tagged, and, most recently, digital media company Ziff Davis B2B Focus.

Cassel began her career as an actuarial assistant at John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company, where she focused on developing and pricing features for the company’s then-nascent long-term care insurance products. She has a MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business and a B.S. in mathematics and quantitative economics from Tufts University.

The Ensign Group Announces Addition of New Director

The Ensign Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENSG), parent company of the Ensign group of skilled nursing, rehabilitative care services, assisted living and home health and hospice companies, announced that the Board of Directors has appointed Daren J. Shaw as the newest member of Ensign’s board, bringing the number of directors from six to seven directors.

Shaw has served for more than 32 years in leadership capacities with several financial services firms. He most recently served for 15 years in the Investment Banking Group at D.A. Davidson & Co., a middle-market full-service investment banking firm with approximately 1,100 employees, $30 billion under management, and operations throughout the U.S., where he is currently a Managing Director. He also served for 12 years with Pacific Crest Securities (formerly known as Gallagher Capital Corp.), in various roles including Managing Director.

During his term as Managing Director at D.A. Davidson & Co., Shaw has been the lead investment banker in a wide variety of transactions including public stock offerings, private placements, and mergers and acquisitions. He has also served as a member of the board of directors of Agri-Service, Inc., an agricultural equipment dealer based in Twin Falls, Idaho, since 2010, and as a member of the board of directors of Cadet Manufacturing, a zonal electric heater manufacturer based in Vancouver, Washington, since 2005.

Leisure Care HR Director Tracy Sudman Promoted to Vice President

Leisure Care’s Tracy Sudman has been promoted from human resources director to vice president, human resources. Sudman has been a part of the Leisure Care team for the past eight years and provides advisory oversight for Leisure Care’s human resources department.

Before joining Leisure Care, Sudman was associate director of human resources at KCTS-TV.  Prior to that, she worked her way up to human resources director at Schwartz Brothers, managing the company’s training program and helping to open restaurants worldwide.  She has a Bachelor of Arts in human resource management from the University of Washington.

Fresno Senior Living Community Names New Director of Sales and Marketing

The Terraces at San Joaquin Gardens has announced the promotion of Stephen Case as the new director of sales and marketing for the Fresno senior living community. In his new position, Case is responsible for educating seniors and family members about the comprehensive lifestyle offered at The Terraces, along with the exciting additions that are coming soon to the continuing care retirement community.

Prior to his promotion, Case was the community’s director of lifestyle enrichment, and has been serving residents as the fitness director and foundation supervisor since 2008. Before joining The Terraces at San Joaquin Gardens’ team, Case was a varsity basketball coach and physical education instructor for Sanger High School in Sanger, Cal. Case is a graduate of California State University in Fresno, where he received a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology. He received a master’s degree in educational leadership from National University in Fresno. Case is also a certified personal trainer.

Claridge Court Names New Marketing and Wellness Directors

Claridge Court, a not-for-profit senior living community in Johnson County, Kan., has invested in two new team members to continue their mission to provide a quality living experience to residents.  Selene Madrid joins Claridge Court as marketing director.  Madrid has nearly 10 years of marketing experience in the Kansas City area. She most recently served as the director of marketing and sales for Armour Oaks Senior Living Community. Her experience includes several years with Heartland Home Health and Hospice in Kansas City, Mo. and Southview Homecare in Kansas City, Kan.

Catherine Solie is the community’s new wellness director.  Solie is a Certified Health Education Specialist and previously worked as a health educator for the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation in Minneapolis, Minn. She received her bachelor of arts degree in health fitness and health education from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn.

Sunrise Appoints McDuffie to SVP & Co-Head of Operations

On February 29, 2012, the board of directors of Sunrise Senior Living, Inc. (NYSE:SRZ) appointed Laura McDuffie, the Company’s then-Senior Vice President and Co-Head of Operations, as the Company’s Head of Operations. McDuffie joined the Company’s Acquisitions Group as an analyst in 2002 and was promoted to Vice President in 2005. In her role as Vice President, McDuffie participated in several significant acquisitions and recapitalizations and worked closely with the operations team and various capital partners. In January 2010, McDuffie was promoted to Senior Vice President and Co-Head of Operations. In this role, she oversaw operations for approximately 200 of our communities in North America and the United Kingdom.

Prior to joining the Company, McDuffie served in a number of accounting, real estate and merger and acquisition roles at Marriott Corp., a hospitality company, Cogent Communications, an internet service provider, and Nextel (Sprint) Communications, a telecommunications company.

The Stayton at Museum Way Names Medical Director

The Stayton at Museum Way has named Janice Knebl, D.O., as medical director. Dr. Knebl will continue to serve as the Dallas Southwest Osteopathic Physicians, Inc., Endowed Chair in Clinical Geriatrics, Chief, of the Division of Geriatrics and a professor of internal medicine at the UNT Health Science Center.  She specializes in geriatric care and was named one of the Top DOCS by Fort Worth, Texas magazine in 2011.  Texas Monthly magazine also named her a 2011 Texas Super Doctors. She has been past President of the Texas Medical Directors’ Association and the Texas Geriatrics Society.

Integral Senior Living Announces Executive Promotions

Integral Senior Living (ISL) recently announced the promotion of Chris Kasulka to Chief Executive Officer/Chief Operating Officer and Tracee DeGrande to President/Chief Financial Officer. Sue Farrow, previously Chief Executive Officer and President, will assume the role of Executive Chairman.

As CEO/COO, Kasulka will be responsible for overseeing the company’s operations, interacting with the various owners and ownership groups as well as helping develop new business opportunities for ISL. She joined the company in 2004 as Vice President of Operations and is currently the Chief Operating Officer. Kasulka has more than 20 years of experience in the senior housing and hospitality industries. Before joining ISL, she served as Senior Vice President of Operations for ARV/Atria Senior Living.

As President/CFO, DeGrande will continue to oversee the company’s financial matters and long term financial strength, partner with Kasulka to coordinate and interact with ISL’s various ownership groups, identify new business opportunities and negotiate the company’s role in these ventures. DeGrande joined ISL in September of 2009 as the company’s CFO. Over the course of her career, she has attained more than 26 years of finance experience, with a number of those years specifically as a CFO in the senior living industry. Her strong industry and professional experience includes tenure at Aegis Living, Regency Pacific and Hillhaven Corporation (now Kindred).

Farrow, in her role as Executive Chairman/Owner, will remain active in business development and she will be a key member of the Due Diligence team as ISL explores new business contracts.

Mirador Names Dr. Susan Tower as Director of Rehabilitation Physician Services

Mirador has named Susan Tower, MD, CMD, WCC, DWCC as Director of Rehabilitation Physician Services.  Dr. Tower serves as a Rehabilitation and Wound Care Consultant for multiple healthcare centers around Texas. Prior to her consulting role, she served as Medical  Director – Rehabilitation Services for Christus Spohn Health System – Corpus Christi. She received her undergraduate degree from The University of Pennsylvania and her doctorate of medicine from The Medical College of Pennsylvania. She completed her residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center. Dr. Tower is wound care certified with a specialty certification in diabetic wound care. She recently received her CMD designation as a certified medical director for long term care.

Toni McClay Transitions to COO of Simpson Senior Services; Linda Wilmot to Succeed Her as Executive Director of Jenner’s Pond

Simpson Senior Services has announced that Toni McClay has retired as CEO of Jenner’s Pond after 15 years of service. She will take up the post of chief operating officer at Simpson Senior Services, of which Jenner’s Pond is an affiliated community. Linda Wilmot has been named the new executive director of Jenner’s Pond.

In 1996, McClay joined Southern Chester County Hospital, now Jennersville Regional Hospital, as vice president. In that role, she served as the nursing home administrator at the hospital and opened the skilled nursing unit and oversaw the newly established Jenner’s Pond retirement community. She was named executive vice president of Southern Chester County Medical Center and COO of Jenner’s Pond in 1998, during which time she opened the assisted living unit at the retirement community. When Jenner’s Pond separated from the hospital, McClay was named president/CEO. Shortly thereafter, she led the process that resulted in the affiliation with Simpson Senior Services.

McClay’s responsibilities as COO will include oversight of campus operations of all five communities of Simpson Senior Services.  As McClay transitions to her new role, Linda Wilmot assumes the duties of executive director of Jenner’s Pond. Wilmot brings extensive experience to the role, and prior to this announcement served as vice president of business and regulatory management at the retirement community.

Erickson Living Names Upul Sarathchandra the IT Site Manager for Riderwood

Erickson Living has named Upul Sarathchandra the IT Site Manager for Riderwood, a continuing care retirement community in Silver Spring, Md.  Sarathchandra has more than 14 years of desktop, network and system administration experience. For the past year, he worked as a desktop analyst for Capita ITS located in London, England.  Prior to that, he spent 10 years with Harrow Council, also located in London, where he performed desktop support, worked as an infrastructure transition consultant and technical architect. Sarathchandra has a Bachelor of Science in Electronic Engineering, from City College in London, and also possesses both ITIL Foundation and Microsoft certifications.

Health Care REIT, Inc. Announces Promotion of Scott Brinker to Executive Vice President – Investments

Health Care REIT, Inc. (NYSE:HCN) recently announced the promotion of Scott Brinker to the position of Executive Vice President – Investments. In his expanded role, Brinker will continue to provide leadership in these areas, and will also play a central role in executing the company’s strategic objectives. Brinker’s industry experience spans the continuum of health care real estate, including seniors housing, skilled nursing, medical office buildings and acute-care facilities.

Brinker has served as Senior Vice President – Underwriting and Research and as Vice President – Underwriting and Research from January 2006 to January 2009. Since July 2001, he has served in various capacities with the company. Brinker received his undergraduate degree from Yale University and an MBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.

Oak Grove Capital Expands Team

Oak Grove Capital has announced that Jeffrey Ringwald has joined the St. Paul-based mortgage lender as senior vice president of seniors housing. Prior to joining Oak Grove Capital, Ringwald, who is based in Dallas, was employed by RED Capital Group as a managing director of its seniors housing group, Prudential Mortgage Capital Company, and Guaranty Bank. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University before beginning his career in commercial and mortgage banking.

Linked Senior Appoints Kristin Petersen as VP of Corporate Accounts

Linked Senior Inc. recently announced that it has appointed Kristin Petersen as Vice President of Corporate Accounts.  Petersen will be responsible for handling corporate accounts, direct and indirect marketing strategy, and will implement sales processes to scale with Linked Senior’s accelerating customer acquisition. Petersen brings to Linked Senior more than 20 years industry experience in launching new products and quality improvement processes to benefit the Long Term Care Market Segment.

Petersen spent more than 11 years with Novartis Medical Nutrition where she served as a National Account Executive. Kristin was responsible for launching a continuum of care program to support the Home Care market segment. At Kronos Talent Management, as a Vice President of Client Partnerships, Petersen assisted in the vertical market launch of a talent acquisition program designed specifically for the Long Term Care market. At BGS Pharmacy partners, Petersen was a part of the management team involved in pharmacy due diligence and acquisition, operations, and managed sales for six regional long-term care pharmacies.

The Congress Companies Appoints Denny as Director of Business Development

The Congress Companies, a construction management and development company specializing in the Senior Living, Health Care, and Multi-Family market sectors throughout New England, New York, and New Jersey, recently announced that Kenneth E. Denny has joined the company as the Director of Business Development.  In his role as Director of Business Development, Denny will lead client services, retention, and growth within the current dynamic Health Care, Senior Living, and Multi-Family housing construction and development markets throughout the northeastern United States. Denny brings more than 30 years of diverse experience serving the architecture, engineering, and construction industries. A LEED Accredited professional, Denny is adept at numerous facets of real estate development and specializes in fostering and maintaining long-term client relations while generating revenue within private and public sectors throughout the New England region.

Before joining the Congress team, Denny held the role of Business Development Manager at EMJ Corporation of Waltham, MA, a nationally-based general contractor. He previously served as a Business Development Principal at Cubellis, Inc. of Boston, a nationally-based architecture, engineering, and interior design firm; Vice President of Business Development at Parsons Brinckerhoff of Boston, a global planning, engineering, and program and construction management organization; and as an Owner’s Representative and Capital Project Manager at Boston University.

Denny holds an M.S. in Urban Affairs/Urban Planning from Boston University and a B.S. in Architectural Engineering Technology from Wentworth Institute of Technology. He is a member of the Construction Managers Association of America (CMAA) and is affiliated with the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), American Institute of Architects (AIA), Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), and the North Shore Chamber of Commerce.