BY PATRICK CONNOLE E
ESMERELDA LEE SHARES HER STORY ON ADVANCING FROM ADMINISTRATOR TO THE C-SUITE
smerelda Lee, chief operating officer/executive vice president, Centu- ry Park Associates, started her career in the long-term care profession as an administrator in the skilled nursing setting, advancing to her current high-level executive role in senior living through hard work
and by displaying leadership skills recognized by peers throughout her journey. Lee, speaking during one of the regular Argentum Women in Leadership
(WIL) calls, detailed her rise through the ranks and what she views her job is now as somewhat of a curator. “I help curate the way our teams focus for the most part, because we have such amazing leaders throughout the company. There are so many priorities m coming their way, along with the external noise that comes at them every day. So, I feel like my role is to curate bite size areas that we focus on and then help coach, inspire and mentor the teams to focus on those areas.”
Faith and Family First Driven to succeed by her faith, Lee said it also helps her keep things in perspec- tive. “I feel like a job, or a career is only a vehicle that is used to impact the lives of others. And so, I feel like it keeps my life in perspective, and it also helps me in the way I view people and reminds me that your actions need to speak louder than your words. “Her family is also a foundation for her -- a husband and three children – with her youngest Ellie a surprise and a focal point in how she views the world, including the business world. “I would say she has become a huge driver in my life. I feel like as a woman within leadership or just a woman in general, part of my legacy is to create a better world for her,” Lee said. “She's a biracial 13-year-old. I want her to be brave. I don't want her to be
perfect. I want her to make mistakes. And the only way she learns to do that is by watching her mother make some big mistakes and grow from it and be better because of it. Every day I judge my decisions by as to what she thinks because decisions have consequences.” A third driver, after faith and family, is contributing to people. “I want to be
a leader that leads by values, who is transparent. And I hope my team feels that I'm authentic and transparent,” Lee said. “I feel like we are put on this earth to contribute to each other. And if I can
just add value to one person in this world by being intentional with them, in developing them then that's what drives me. Work is the vehicle that allows us to make those contributions in the lives of people that we would never meet if it were not for the vehicle of work.”
32 SENIOR LIVING EXECUTIVE MAY/JUNE 2023
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