WHAT BROUGHT YOU HERE
way with these senior ladies and their families. I was learning how to become a part of their environment in a helpful, meaningful way and to bring them value. I learned how to be sincere, sensitive and open minded with the people I worked with.” Mwangi’s career has included positions as a manager of a biomedical laboratory and as a client care coordinator for a home caregiving company. She later served as a director of sales and marketing for a continuing care retirement community before moving into her current position as a community relations director at Morningside Place, an Anthem memory care community in Overland Park, Kansas. Mwangi said she comes to work knowing that she often will
meet families who are “in crisis mode,” confused about memory care and what lies ahead, and Mwangi loves the opportunity to serve as a guide and help them better understand the support and services available to help their loved ones continue to enjoy a high quality of life. In addition to helping families and residents, Mwangi works with colleagues within Anthem on “how to connect with families, educate them and provide value to them.” Mwangi said those contending with dementia – both those afflicted with it and their families – need a lot of help to manage the experience. “Being able to be an advocate for our seniors and for the dementia population is something that’s always been very true to my heart and something that I felt very connected to,” commented Mwangi. “I’m very honored to be able to serve the population of people that we do and do it with a company that I admire.” Mwangi said there were times early in her career when she
felt as though she was avoiding a career in senior living, but “the industry kept pulling me back in.” “I had to open my heart and my arms and embrace the fact that
this is a true calling for me,” Mwangi said. “I feel as though this work was really meant for me. And it’s very, very rewarding work.”
Amy DePreker, vice president of sales and marketing, Artis Senior Living
When Amy DePreker was 10
years old, a senior living facility opened around the corner from her home in Rochelle Park, New Jersey. Even at that young age, she decided to volunteer at the home. She immediately was hooked. “That’s where my passion started,” she said. “I really loved to be around seniors,” DePreker said. “I loved
seeing that I was making a difference for them. It was intergen- erational. They were always so happy to see me. I was doing a lot of stuff in life enrichment and activities when I was volunteering, and I loved playing the games as much as they did. Seeing the smiles that I could help put on their faces was very rewarding to me. I always bonded with older people in that environment. It was a very special experience.”
12 SENIOR LIVING EXECUTIVE SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022
Amy De Preker, with regional sales team members. DePreker later worked as a receptionist at the same senior living
facility in high school. Then, in college, she majored in public health and gerontology, completing an internship during that time at a memory care assisted living home. The internship led to a job as the business office manager. Subsequent jobs in the field included positions in both sales and operations, including seven years as an executive director at a facility. Today, she serves as vice president of sales and marketing at Artis Senior Living, where she has been the past seven years. When DePreker started at Artis, the company had three com-
munities. Today, the company has 27. She feels proud to have been part of that growth as the company builds its brand, culture and mission from scratch. “It’s been invigorating for me,” she said. The COVID-19 pandemic forced DePreker and Artis, among
others, to step back, reassess their approach and consider a new path forward. DePreker mentioned her background on both the sales and operations sides of senior living has helped her consider the perspectives of “all aspects of the field,” ensuring she does not have a blinkered view of her work that does not extend beyond the sales realm. “I love everything about this business,” she said. “What makes a community successful is a well-rounded ap-
proach,” DePreker said. “You have to understand operations, you have to understand health and wellness, you have to understand the life enrichment team, and I think that has given me the ability to coach and support teams that coexist and get along while work- ing for a common goal. I think that’s been huge for me.” DePreker’s interest has long been focused on memory care
and serving older adults with dementia. Too often, people with memory impairment receive a diagnosis of dementia and “be- come their disease” in the eyes of others, DePreker said. “They lose who they are, they lose their identities, and I love to
be a part of allowing them to continue to be who they are, who they want to be and not become just that diagnosis,” DePreker said. “We can help them continue to live the lives that they want to live.”
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