BREAKING THROUGH: A FOCUS ON WOMEN IN SENIOR LIVING LEADERSHIP “I’m a religious person and I turned it
over to God saying, whatever will be will be. I knew I had created value and been a loyal employee and I just had to trust that everything would come together the way it was supposed to,” she said. When she was ready to return, her old
contacts greeted her with open arms. “I had had a relationship with the OnShift team for about eight years, and when they reached out to me the timing was great. I was ready to learn something new and they saw it as a great opportunity for their company,” she said. ADVICE TO YOUNG WOMEN: “Don’t
just check the boxes: I accomplished being a regional, I accomplished being a VP or a SVP. Take the time to really enjoy those experiences, to learn from them, and to not see it as a race. It’s about being you, being true to your passion, true to your drive and what you really want to accomplish.”
MERCEDES KERR, EVP BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, WELLTOWER
For over a decade Mercedes Kerr has worked her way up the ladder with Well- tower, a massive publicly-held firm with an ownership stake in diverse senior living, health care, and real estate enterprises. In 2016 she joined the firm’s senior manage- ment team. Born and raised in Mexico, Kerr came to
the U.S. for grad school. She says her career success demonstrates just what is possible in senior living. “It’s not just people who have a clear path to success who get to make it,” said Kerr. “Having come from a different country and having started from scratch, I can see that there is a tremendous amount of growth potential for anyone in this industry. Because this is an industry that is still maturing, that gives rise to a lot of potential opportunity for those to want to take advantage of it.” As a business development executive,
Kerr’s job is to guide and strengthen the various businesses within the Welltower portfolio, pairing her business acumen with the operators’ ground-level understanding of how a community functions. “I respect what they do: They are the ones in the com- munities delivering the care,” she said. “I can bring a pragmatic view to complement that, a deeper understanding of the business side. I am not an operator but I know how
16 SENIOR LIVING EXECUTIVE MARCH/APRIL 2019
Anne Campbell (R) and coworker Finch VanDivier celebrate Juniper Anniversary Week with margaritas and a photo booth.
to optimize operations, and I like that I can address both sides of the equation.” Even as she has thrived in that role, Kerr
has wrangled with what she calls the “age- old challenge,” balancing her career against the demands of domesticity, including a husband and two teenaged daughters. “My work is very rewarding to me, I love
the company and what we stand for, but it does require a lot of travel,” she said. “My husband is very supportive and I have a very supportive company as well. And sometimes you just put in that extra effort. There can be a lot of different balls in the air, but you just find a way to juggle. I think I actually work a little better that way. Having that pressure helps to keep me focused and organized.” Focus is key, given the complex demands
of the job. Welltower has a broad portfolio encompassing not just senior living but also post-acute and outpatient facilities and vari- ous real estate holdings. That broad base of experience has been a boon to Kerr, who has leveraged her experience to benefit a range of enterprises. “I can see how the pieces of health care
all fit together,” she said. “Rather than see competing interests, I can view them as complimentary. I can see how all the differ- ent pieces can support one another. Then if
a company is trying to study its growth op- portunities, or trying to update its operating model, these are all conversations that I can be a part of. That’s my job, to give them that governance and that sense of direction.”
GAYLE KVENVOLD, PRESIDENT & CEO, LEADINGAGE MINNESOTA
Minnesota’s Argentum partner and fore- most advocate for senior living, LeadingAge Minnesota turned 50 last year. Gayle Kven- vold has been along for most of that ride: She joined the organization as its second president in 1984 and has stayed in the role ever since. With a background in strategic planning
and grant writing, the leap was a natural one at the time. “I saw an opportunity to affect the policy
around the delivery of services. As a social worker, I had previously been part of the service delivery team—and I loved that! But I also saw that change could be affected on a broader scale by working in the public policy arena,” she said. Kvenvold prides herself on her ability to
build bridges. On her watch, LeadingAge Minnesota has grown from a nursing home association to an organization representing
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