CALA/ISLE 30th ANNUAL
Conference & Trade Show
Thursday, March 20, 2025
The Aqua Turf Club
Keynote Speakers:
Tom Grape, Founder/CEO, Benchmark Senior Living
Jon Paul Venoit, President and CEO, Masonicare
Lisa Clark, President, McLean
Steve Woodward, VP Operations, Brookdale Senior Living
Keynote Session Title: 30 Years of Caring: Glancing Back, Looking Forward
Session Description: As we celebrate CALA’s 30th Anniversary, please join us for a look back at our industry and invigorating prognostications as to where we are going in the future from seasoned senior living leaders. CALA provider members have much to celebrate over these past 30 years and, given where we have been, where we are and where we are going, this session looks to be one of nostalgia, reflection and carving a bright future for our residents and the individuals who care for them.
Tom Grape
Founder/CEO, Benchmark Senior Living
Tom Grape founded Benchmark in 1997 and grew the Waltham, MA-based company into a leading provider of senior living in the nation, with 67 communities in eight states. Tom has led Benchmark and its more than 6,500 associates to reach $3 billion in assets under management and revenues of over $665 million. He was a founding board member of the Connecticut Assisted Living Association (CALA), served on the first Governor’s Council to Address Aging in Massachusetts and is a founder and past Chairman of the National Assisted Living Association, Argentum. Tom received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Massachusetts Assisted Living Association
Lisa Clark
President, McLean
Lisa Clark is the President of McLean. Lisa joined McLean in February 2002. She became the Administrative Director of Home Care and Hospice in 2000, Vice President/ Administrator of the Nursing Home in November 2009, and President of McLean in July 2022.
Jon-Paul (JP) Venoit,
President and CEO, Masonicare
JP began his career at Masonicare at the age of 16, working in dining services. Thirty years later, he stands at the head of the largest not-for-profit senior care company in the state. Leading an organization through an industry in flux, turned upside down by a global pandemic, to one of the organization’s most successful years in operation, Venoit has been recognized and celebrated as a distinguished leader. Recently, JP was recognized as the CEO of the year for a large organization by The Hartford Business Journal.
Steve Woodward
Vice President of Operations, Brookdale Senior Living
Steve has been working in the senior living industry for 25 years. He got his start with Sunrise Senior Living as an Executive Director in 1999, operating three different communities in Connecticut during his nine years with Sunrise. In 2008, Steve took a regional operations position with Sunwest Management. When Emeritus Senior Living acquired Sunwest in 2010, he was kept on as a Regional Director of Operations, and came to Brookdale Senior Living when Emeritus and Brookdale merged in 2014. Steve was promoted to Vice President of Operations in 2021, and currently oversees 83 communities from New Hampshire to Ohio. He has served on the CALA board on and off since 2010.
AGENDA
REGISTRATION & CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST - 8:00 - 9:00 am
KEYNOTE PANEL OPENING SESSION – 9:00 – 10:15 am
As we celebrate CALA’s 30th Anniversary, please join us for a look back at our industry and invigorating prognostications as to where we are going in the future from seasoned senior living leaders. CALA provider members have much to celebrate over these past 30 years and, given where we have been, where we are and where we are going, this session looks to be one of nostalgia, reflection and one of carving a bright future for our residents and the individuals who care for them.
Session Title: 30 Years of Caring: Glancing Back, Looking Forward
Speakers:
Tom Grape, Founder/CEO, Benchmark Senior Living
Jon Paul Venoit, CEO, Masonicare
Lisa Clark, CEO, McLean
Steve Woodward, Vice President Operations, Brookdale Senior Living
TRADE SHOW - 10:15 - 11:15 am
MORNING BREAKOUT SESSIONS - 11:15 - 12:30
BREAKOUT 1
Session Title: Managing Difficult Family Members and Customers
Speakers:
- Terry Jackson, Executive Director, Brookdale Chatfield
- Bonnie Pollard-Johnson, Director, Quality Assurance, Benchmark Senior Living
BREAKOUT 2
Session Title: Power Up Your Workforce: Energize and Elevate Your Mindset to Attract New Team Members and Retain Current Employees
Speakers:
- Annie Hoefferle, Executive Director, Masonicare at Chester Village
BREAKOUT 3
Session Title: Managing Preferences and Dietary Needs: It’s Not All Meat and Potatoes
Speakers:
Brianne Brathwaite, CEO, Eat For Success, LLC
Jeremy Tavares, Chief Experience Officer, Nexdine Hospitality
BUFFET LUNCH - 12:30 - 1:15 pm
TRADE SHOW - 1:15 - 2:00 pm
AFTERNOON BREAKOUT SESSIONS - 2:00 - 3:15 pm
BREAKOUT 1
Session Title: Where We’ve Been and Where We Are Going: A Regulatory and Clinical Perspective
Speakers:
- Heather O. Berchem, Partner, Murtha Cullina
- Annette Cochefski, RN, Executive Director, Village at South Farms
- Sonja Newland, RN, Wellness Director, Bridges by Epoch of Trumbull
BREAKOUT 2
Session Title: Transforming Telecom Expense to Resident Investment: How Secure, Streamlined Connectivity Empowers Staff, Protects Data, Cuts Costs, Protects the Community and Fuels Resident-Focused Programs
Speakers:
- James Smith, President, Universal Connectivity
- Justin Franklin, Network Operations Specialist, Universal Connectivity
- Heather Munigle, Head of Marketing, Universal Connectivity
30th Anniversary Celebration w/Champagne & Dessert - 3:15 pm
Register Online for CALA's 30th Annual Trade Show & Conference
SPONSORS
LANYARD SPONSOR
SUPPORTING SPONSORS
RECEPTION SPONSORS
100 Halls Road, P.O. Box 483, Old Lyme, CT 06371
Phone: 860-434-5760. FAX: 860-434-5790