LCS’ upcoming leadership changes will see Chris Bird become CEO, Joel Nelson remains board chair
LCS CEO Joel Nelson will step down from that role, and current President and Chief Operating Officer Chris Bird will step into it, effective Jan. 1, 2025, the Des Moines, IA-based company announced Thursday. Nelson will remain chairman of the LCS board and a member of the Investment Committee.
Nelson has been CEO of LCS since 2018, one of only four people who have held the title since the company’s start in 1971.
His entry into the senior living industry began when he started with LCS Operations in 1986. After serving in various officer and executive-level roles, Nelson was chosen to launch a new LCS company, LCS Real Estate, in 2011. He was promoted to the position of president and COO in 2015 before becoming president and CEO in 2018.
Nelson is immediate past chairman of the Argentum Board of Directors and also will complete his term with that body.
Bird joined LCS in 2018 to lead the company’s rental division. In 2020, he was promoted to executive vice president/COO, and in 2022, he added president to his titles.
At LCS, he oversees Life Care Services, CPS, legal, IT and onboarding operations, and he is a member of the board of LCS Holding Company LLC. Outside of the company, Bird has been active on the Argentum Advisory Council and the Argentum Chief Operating Officer Roundtable.
Bird’s career also includes positions with Marriott Senior Living Services, Sunrise Senior Living and Brookdale Senior Living. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Memphis, Memphis, TN.
LCS is the nation’s third-largest senior living provider, according to Argentum’s 2024 list of largest providers. It is the third-largest senior living operator and 12-largest senior living owner according to the American Seniors Housing Association’s ASHA 50 for 2023. The company serves approximately 40,000 older adults at 132 communities across 31 states. The LCS family of companies serves the senior living industry through management, development, real estate, group purchasing and insurance.
Brazos Presbyterian Homes promotes Deidre Kinsey to CEO
Deidre Kinsey had been promoted to the role of CEO at Houston-based Brazos Presbyterian Homes Holding Inc.
The 30-year veteran of the senior living industry had been serving as chief operating officer for the past two years. Other previous roles in the industry include nursing administrator, assisted living administrator and executive director.
In her new role, Kinsey will lead the not-for-profit organization’s three continuing care retirement / life plan communities: Brazos Towers at Bayou Manor and The Hallmark in Houston and Longhorn Village in Austin. She was the CEO and executive director of the latter community for 12 years. Kinsey plans to unite the organization by leveraging each community’s strengths, a broader talent pool, shared resources, collective knowledge and unified policies.
Kinsey pursued a master’s degree in senior living hospitality at the University of Southern California’s Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and earned a hospitality certificate from Cornell University.
Buckner appoints Ken Robbins interim president
Ken Robbins began serving as interim president of Dallas-based Buckner Retirement Services, effective Aug. 15. He will help with a transition in leadership as the faith-based, nonprofit senior living and care provider seeks a replacement for Charlie Wilson, who has served the organization for 24 years, following his resignation as president, effective Aug. 31.
Until then, Wilson will work closely with Robbins to bring him up to speed on the organization and the seven continuing care retirement / life plan communities it operates.
As interim president, Robbins brings more than 30 years of leadership experience in nonprofit, faith-based senior living communities. He currently is the president and founder of Scott Senior Services, where he operates a consulting company specializing in development assistance, strategic planning and operational support.
Most of Robbins’ career was spent working for Trinity Senior Living Communities in Michigan, where he worked from 1998 until 2016, starting as a regional director and retiring as president and CEO.
Robbins holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and a Master of Arts degree in public administration, both from Northern Michigan University. He is a veteran of the US Air Force, serving as an air traffic control operator, supervisor and officer from 1981 to 1992.
Jeff Gentry, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Buckner International, which operates Buckner Retirement Services, will oversee the search for Buckner Retirement Services’ next president.
Buckner Retirement Services holds the No. 43 position overall on the 2023 LeadingAge Ziegler LZ 250 list of largest not-for-profit multi-site senior living and care organizations, with a total of 1,688 units. The organization ranked No. 29 for independent living units, No. 52 for assisted living units and No. 78 for nursing care beds.
Distinctive Living welcomes Shelley Esden as EVP and COO
Shelley Esden has been appointed executive vice president and chief operating officer at Freehold, NJ-based national senior living management and development company Distinctive Living.
Esden, a 2023 McKnight’s Women of Distinction Hall of Honor inductee, brings a wealth of industry experience to her new position. That experience includes her role as founder and CEO of Lexor Living and her 15-year tenure at Sonata Senior Living, where she advanced from the position of senior vice president of operations to COO and, ultimately, CEO.
With Esden’s appointment comes the addition of Lexor Living to the Distinctive Living family of brands, bolstering the company’s offerings in the luxury senior living category.
“Bringing Shelley on as COO will allow us to expand the Distinctive brand while focusing on operational execution of our current portfolio’s integrity,” Distinctive Living Chair and CEO Joe Jedlowski said.
The organization currently operates 46 communities and has 14 under development via its development services platform, Distinctive Living Development LLC.
The Williamsport Home adds Rebecca Fogleman, Megan Hazel as administrators
Rebecca Fogleman has been hired as an administrator and Megan Hazel has been hired as a personal care home administrator at The Williamsport Home.
Fogleman previously served as nursing home administrator for WeCare HCC – WeCare of Loyalsock and HCR ManorCare Williamsport North. She is a licensed nursing home administrator, and earned a bachelor of science in health policy and administration from the Pennsylvania College of Technology.
Hazel returns to TWH after serving as resident care director at Heritage Springs Memory Care and as director of nursing for Wolf Run Village. She previously worked as a nursing assistant at TWH before earning her nursing degree from Central Susquehanna Career Center.
Morning Pointe of Frankfort names Amber Stansberry executive director
Amber Stansberry has been named the executive director of Morning Pointe of Frankfort.
Starting her career as a medical assistant, Stansberry worked at physician’s offices for seven years before earning her bachelor’s degree in management with a healthcare concentration. She went on to earn a master’s degree in business with a healthcare concentration and started working in senior care.
Brandon Wilde adds Craig LaPonzina as executive chef
Craig LaPonzina has been named the executive chef of Brandon Wilde.
LaPonzina attended the Culinary Institute in Atlanta and has spent much of his career working in renowned restaurants and traveling the world, including an internship in Canberra, Australia. Most recently, he contributed his talents to the Augusta Marriott and Frog Hollow Hospitality Group.
NIC board of directors re-elects officers
The National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care board of directors recently re-elected the following directors to serve one-year terms as officers on its Executive Committee:
- Chair: Susan Barlow, co-founder and managing partner, Blue Moon Capital Partners LP
- Vice Chair of Communications: Ken Segarnick, CEO, Harmony Senior Services
- Vice Chair of Strategy: Fee Stubblefield, founder and CEO, The Springs Living
- Treasurer: Imran Javaid, managing director, BMO Harris Bank
- Assistant Treasurer: Aron Will, vice chairman, CBRE
- Secretary: John Rijos, co-founder and operating partner/CEO, CPF Living Communities, Chicago Pacific Founders
- Assistant Secretary: Bre Grubbs, partner and chief strategy officer, Leisure Care
LeadingAge Southeast adds Cypress Living CEO Troy Churchill to board
Troy Churchill, president and CEO of Cypress Living, has been added to the LeadingAge Southeast board of trustees.
Churchill, who currently serves as president and CEO at Cypress Living, has almost 20 years of healthcare experience, with 10 of those years dedicated to serving the Southwest Florida community.
Retirement Unlimited’s Paola Fusaro joins PALA board
Paola Fusaro, regional director of operations for Retirement Unlimited, Inc., joined the Pennsylvania Assisted Living Association’s board of directors.
Fusaro has been with the company since 2008 serving in Pennsylvania as an executive director before moving into her current role as regional director of operations in January of this year. In her current role she oversees 11 communities throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Mass-ALA bestows awards at annual gala
The Massachusetts Assisted Living Association honored an outstanding group of assisted living professionals representing various levels of the industry at their annual Excellence Awards Dinner on July 31.
Awardees included Andrea Bates, Sophia Beaver, Anna Bilodeau, Paul Casale Sr., Mary Ellen Driscoll, Alex Duda, Laura Maynard, Sue McKenna, Lucie O’Brien, Carlos Rodriguez and Etta Sullivan.
CVS Health names Heidi Capozzi EVP, chief people officer
Heidi Capozzi has been named the executive vice president and chief people officer at CVS Health, the parent company of long-term care pharmacy Omnicare.
Prior to joining CVS Health, Capozzi was at McDonald’s, serving as executive vice president and global chief people officer. Prior to McDonald’s, Capozzi held senior roles in human resources at Boeing, including as senior vice president, human resources.
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