Twenty-one elite executives in skilled nursing, senior living and home care are being inducted into the McKnight’s Women of Distinction Hall of Honor this year. Organizers announced the members of the 2023 class Thursday morning.
The program is a joint effort of McKnight’s Long-Term Care News and sister media brands McKnight’s Senior Living and McKnight’s Home Care.
New inductees will be celebrated May 22 in Chicago at the McKnight’s Women of Distinction and Forum.
The Hall of Honor category honors women who are at a level equivalent to vice president or higher; also being honored at the awards banquet will be members of the Rising Stars and Veteran VIP classes, who were announced Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
“The judges and those of us at McKnight’s continue to be impressed with the impacts made by Hall of Honor inductees on long-term care in general and on their colleagues, residents, patients and clients in particular,” said McKnight’s Editorial Director, Vice President and Associate Publisher John O’Connor. “They and the other honorees this year exemplify the passion that makes long-term care special,”
The 2023 Hall of Honor inductees are:
LaShuan Bethea, Executive Director, National Center for Assisted Living, Washington, DC
Gale Boice, Chief Financial Officer, Principle LTC, Raleigh, NC
Amy Bucher, Director of Operations, Marquis Companies, Milwaukie, OR
Andrea Devoti, Executive Vice President, National Association for Home Care & Hospice, Washington, DC
Shelley Esden, President and CEO, Sonata Senior Living, Orlando, FL
Genevieve Gipson, RN, MEd, Director and Founder, National Network of Career Nursing Assistants, Norton, OH
Kirsten Goulde, Senior Vice President of Human Resources, Oakmont Management Group, Irvine, CA
Collette Gray, President & CEO, Integral Senior Living and Solstice Senior Living, Carlsbad, CA
Holly Harmon, Senior Vice President, Quality, Regulatory and Clinical Services, American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living, Washington, DC
Donna Kelsey, CEO, American Senior Communities, Indianapolis
Cindy Longfellow, Vice President, Business Development, Sales and Marketing, Juniper Communities, Bloomfield, NJ
Patricia Lutzky, Senior Vice President of Independent Living, Peconic Landing, Greenport, NY
Kelly MacNeill-Cooney, President, National Association of Rehab Providers & Agencies, Washington, DC
Aimee Middleton, Vice President, Operations, Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, Sioux Falls, SD
Kimberly Nystrom, President of Skilled Home Health, Elara Caring, Dallas
April Payne, Chief Quality and Regulatory Affairs Officer, Virginia Health Care Association/Virginia Center for Assisted Living, and Executive Director, VCAL, Richmond, VA
Lori Porter, CEO and co-founder, National Association of Health Care Assistants, Carl Junction, MO
Tina Sandri, CEO, Forest Hills of DC, Washington, DC
Jill Sorenson, Senior Vice President/Senior Director of Operations, LCS, Des Moines, IA
Rayvelle Stallings, MD, DABFM, Senior Vice President, Physician Services and Corporate Medical Officer, PruittHealth, Norcross, GA
Shelly Sun, CEO, BrightStar Care, Gurnee, IL
More award announcements coming
The McKnight’s Women of Distinction awards program was judged by a national, independent panel of industry experts. Overall, 26 states are represented by the honorees across the three major awards categories that have been announced to date.
In addition to the Hall of Honor, the Rising Star category honors women who are 40 or younger or have less than 15 years’ experience in their respective field; the Veteran VIP category celebrates women who have more than 15 years of experience but are below the vice president or equivalent level.
The 2023 program, as in years past, also will bestow a Lifetime Achievement Award. Its recipient, as well as those chosen for special Spirit Awards, will be announced later.
Awards dinner, educational event set for May 22
All of this year’s honorees will be celebrated Monday, May 22, during an in-person cocktail reception, dinner and awards presentation at the JW Marriott in Chicago.
The presentation of awards will be preceded by the fourth annual McKnight’s Women of Distinction Forum, which will offer educational sessions featuring industry thought leaders
All events are open to the entire long-term care industry, family members and friends of winners, and anyone else interested in attending.
For more information and to register for either or both events, visit https://www.mcknightswomenofdistinction.com/. Anyone with questions about the events should contact Anna Naumoski, senior event manager at the parent company of the McKnight’s brands, Haymarket Media, at [email protected].
Keep up to date with McKnight’s Women of Distinction news on the McKnight’s Long-Term Care News website. See a list of previously honored women by year and category here or an alphabetical list at mcknightswomenofdistinction.com (scroll down).
PointClickCare is the Diamond sponsor of this year’s event. PharMerica is the Silver sponsor. Additional sponsors include Healthcare Services Group, Omnicare, Sentrics and ShiftKey.
