Led by Chairman and CEO William B. Kaplan, Senior Lifestyle Corporation fields a professional team experienced in development, acquisition, management and operation of independent and assisted living communities.
Executive Profiles
William B. Kaplan, Chairman
John Cobb, President and Chief Executive Officer
John B. Evans, Chief Operating Officer
Jerrold H. Frumm, Executive Vice President
Stephen Levy, Senior Vice President/General Counsel
Thomas W. Danker, Chief Financial Officer
Patrick Lee, Vice President Acquisitions
Keven J. Bennema, Senior Vice President of Operations
Terry Lewis, Program Director, Resident Wellness
Robert Gawronski, Vice President Development & Acquisitions
Terry Fay, Director of Resident Programs
David Koelling, Corporate Director of Hospitality and Dining Services
William P. Blouin, Vice President of Human Resources
RonnDa Peters, Corporate Director of Marketing
Mark Francis, Corporate Director of Sales
William B. Kaplan
Chairman
William B. Kaplan is the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of SLC and a member of the Board of Managers. He has been engaged in the seniors housing and development and management business for more than 20 years. Mr. Kaplanand James B. Klutznick co-founded SLC in 1985 to pursue seniors housing activities. In 1993, Mr. Kaplan launched Senior Suites Chicago Corporation to develop affordable independent living seniors housing. There are currently 13 Senior Suites communitiesopen and fully leased and/or occupied throughout the City of Chicago and several Senior Suites communities in various stages of development.Mr. Kaplan has served on numerous boards and committees and has received numerous awards, including: President, Meals on Wheels, Chicago; Chairman (2002-2003) and member of the Executive Committee for the American Seniors Housing Association; Member of the Institute of Real Estate Management, holding theirCertified Property Manager Designation; Member of the Board of Directors of Shelby Williams Industries, A New York Stock Exchange Company; President Emeritus and Member of the Executive Board of the Chicago Fund on Aging and Disability; Former Vice Chairman of the Board of the YMCA Lawson House, Chicago's largest single-room occupancy hotel; Recipient of the City of Chicago's National Council on Aging's Distinguished Acheivement Award; and Recipient of the City of Chicago's 2001 Luminary Senior Award and Seniors' Hall of Fame.
John Cobb
President and Chief Executive Officer
John Cobb manages operations and strategic direction for Senior Lifestyle Corporation and its portfolio of more than 70 properties. Working with SLC’s senior management team, Cobb leads the company’s growth through acquisitions and new development. Before joining Senior Lifestyle in 2008, Cobb spent 10 years at GE Healthcare Financial Services, most recently as senior managing director of the Real Estate Finance division.
Cobb holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Lehigh University and serves on the board of the National Investment Center and the American Seniors Housing Association.
John B. Evans
Chief Operating Officer
John Evans is responsible for the effective, resident-focused operation of all communities owned and operated by Senior Lifestyle Corporation. He brings to his position broad experience in the hospitality and health care industries, and proven acumen for operational efficiency. Before joining Senior Lifestyle Corporation, Evans was divisional vice president of operations for Alterra Assisted Living, where he oversaw 100 multi-use communities.
Evans holds a bachelor's degree in business from United States International University and studied strategic leadership at Dominican College in Marin, California.
Jerrold H. Frumm, Executive Vice President
Jerrold H. Frumm is the Executive Vice President of SLC and a member of the Board of Managers of Senior Lifestyle Management, L.L.C. He is responsible for the strategic growth of SLC, overseeing acquisition opportunities and third-party management contracts, and supervising development and aquisition professionals in property selection, building design and planning, project financing and construction. Since joining SLC upon its inception in 1985, Mr. Frumm has been involved in all aspects of development, acquisition and financing of seniors housing communities. He has served as a consultant to SLC's public and private clients on issues ranging from market analysis and development planning to financial structuring. Mr. Frumm holds a B.A. from The Ohio State University and a law degree from Washington University in St. Louis. Prior to joining SLC, Mr. Frumm, a licensed real estate broker, was associated with Coldwell Banker Commercial Real Estate Services. Mr. Frumm served as a member of the Legislation and Oversight Task Force of the Statewide Summit on Assisted Living in Illinois.
Stephen Levy, Senior Vice President/General Counsel
Stephen J. Levy is the Senior Vice President/General Counsel of SLC and a member of the Board of Managers. He is responsible for all legal matters for SLC and its Affiliates. Mr. Levy also supervises and coordinates the involvement of outside legal counsel in transactional, corporate, litigation, finance and related matters and pursues corporate partnership opportunities for SLC. Prior to joining SLC, Mr. Levy served as a real estate associate at the law firm Katten Muchin Zavis Rosenman in Chicago, Illinois. Prior to joining that firm, Mr. Levy served as a litigation and environmental associate at the law firm Montgomery, McCracken, Walker & Rhoads in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Thomas W. Danker
Chief Financial Officer
Tom Danker, Age 53, has overall financial responsibility for the financial management of SLM and its Affiliates, including accounting, financial reporting, tax, investor relations, information systems and risk management. Mr. Danker joined SLM as Chief Financial Officer in 2007. Prior to joining SLM, Mr. Danker served in the financial management for two organizations within the Senior Housing industry. He served from 2006 to 2007 as the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Kisco Senior Living in Carlsbad, California and served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for The Fountains in Tucson, Arizona from 1998 to 2005. Prior to that, he served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for the Decatur Memorial Health System in Decatur, Illinois from 1993 to 1998.
Mr. Danker is a Certified Public Accountant. He received his Bachelors of Business Administration from the University of Iowa and performed his graduate studies at the University of Colorado – Denver. Mr. Danker has been a speaker at various Senior Housing industry conferences and is a board member for the LTC-100.
Patrick Lee, Vice President Acquisitions
Patrick Lee is responsible for identifying opportunities to expand the company's senior housing portfolio nationwide by acquiring existing communities, leasing such communities and securing third-party property management contracts. In that role he obtains and negotiates financing for acquisitions. Prior to joining Senior Lifestyle Corporation, he managed acquisitions, oversaw property debt financing and participated in senior housing developments for Brookdale Living Communities. Earlier, he directed corporate asset management and reporting for JMB Realty Corporation and was a supervising auditor at KPMG Peat Marwick.
Lee, a Certified Public Accountant, graduated from Loyola University.
Keven J. Bennema, Senior Vice President of Operations
Keven J.Bennema is responsible for driving the success of the Operational and Sales components of all communities owned and operated by Senior Lifestyle Corporation. Prior to joining Senior Lifestyle Corporation in 2007, Mr. Bennema served as Vice President of Operations Development for Summerville Senior Living Services in San Ramon, California. During his career, Bennema has overseen operations of more than 25 senior living communities across the country, including assisted and independent living centers, as well as communities focusing on care for dementia and memory loss.
Mr. Bennema holds a bachelor’s degree from Aurora University and an MBA in health care administration from Cleveland State University. He is a licensed nursing home administrator and is an active member of the Assisted Living Federation of America and the American College of Health Care Executives.
Terry Lewis, Program Director, Resident Wellness
Terry Lewis RNC directs the resident Wellness programs for Senior Lifestyle Corporation. Prior to joining the company, she spent 16 years conducting clinical consulting for skilled nursing units, assisted living communities and wellness programs for Independent senior living housing. Lewis is a licensed nursing home administrator and has an advanced practice certification in gerontology. She has written a copyrighted dementia care program and numerous training materials in the area of skilled and assisted living care of the senior. She has been a speaker at the annual ALFA and Texas Assisted Living conventions on dementia care.
Lewis is a graduate of the Methodist Medical Center/Western Mo. State university nursing program.
Robert Gawronski, Vice President of Development & Acquisitions
Bob Gawronski is responsible for the planning and development of seniors housing communities for Senior Lifestyle Corporation. His activities include overseeing the site selection, financing, entitlement, contracting and construction of the company's affordable, moderate, and market rate seniors housing communities. Prior to joining Senior Lifestyle Corporation in 1994, Mr. Gawronski served as a development manager for First Centrum Corporation and Rural Housing Corporation of East Lansing, Michigan, as a market analyst for Target Market Systems, and as a marketing assistant for Centrum Management Corporation. Mr. Gawronski holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Michigan State University. In 2003, Mr. Gawronski was recognized by Real Estate Chicago Magazine as one of the top 40 real estate professionals under the age of 40 in the Chicago metropolitan area.
Terry Fay, Director of Resident Programs
Terry Fay creates, develops, implements and oversees resident service programs including Fit For Life, The SLC Way to Programming, Legacy Court® and the SLC Resident Satisfaction Survey project. She joined Senior Lifestyle Corporation in 1990, after directing fitness programs, operations and services for condominiums and health spas. She has also taught dance and exercise for more than 25 years, specializing in adult education.
Fay received a B.A. from National-Louis University and attended Keller Graduate School. She is certified in fitness instruction by the American College of Sports Medicine. Additionally, she is a Nationally Certified Activity Consultant, serving on the boards of the International Counsel of Active Aging and The Activity Therapists Association, and has been approved as an Alzheimer's Trainer in the State of Florida.
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David Koelling, Corporate Director of Hospitality and Dining Services
David Koelling spearheads Senior Lifestyle Corporation's renowned food service operations. A nationally known chef, Koelling pioneered fine cuisine in the dinner cruise market, serving as chief operating officer of Odyssey Cruises, active in Chicago, Boston and Washington, D.C. Drawing upon his business acumen, he has consulted for high-profile restaurant and food-service operations such as Michael Jordan Golf Centers, Jack Nicholas' Wynstone Country Club Development and Peapod Grocery. Additionally, he founded highly rated restaurants including The Greenery and Biloxi Grill, both in suburban Chicago.
Koelling was twice nominated for Inc. Magazine's entrepreneur of the year award and has received numerous accolades from Wine Spectator.
William P. Blouin, Vice President of Human Resources
Bill Blouin is responsible for recruitment, employee/labor relations, benefits and compensation for Senior Lifestyle Corporation's 3200 employees. Mr. Blouin has extensive experience in healthcare human resources. Prior to joining SLC, he served as Human Resources Director for Brookdale Living Communities, Inc. Mr. Blouin completed his undergraduate studies at Eastern Illinois University and earned his MBA at Loyola University, Chicago. He is a member of the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM).
RonnDa Peters, Corporate Director of Marketing
RonnDa Peters is responsible for the marketing and sales of all Senior Lifestyle Communities. In this role Ms. Peters manages the regional marketing directors, and provides corporate support for individual community sales teams. Ms. Peters brings extensive experience in the hospitality industry to her position at SLC. Before joining SLC, she served as sales program manager and sales specialist with Alterra Healthcare. Ms. Peters holds a BA in hotel and restaurant management from the University of Wisconsin, Stout.
Mark Francis, Corporate Director of Sales
As Senior Lifestyle Corporation’s Corporate Director of Sales, Mark Francis is currently responsible for the comprehensive development and implementation of sales objectives and standards for the company. He works directly with the regional and community sales and marketing teams, as well as the regional directors of operations to educate and promote the high quality of Senior Lifestyle’s services among its employees.
With more than 15 years experience in the senior living industry, Francis has hands-on knowledge of owning and operating small group homes with an emphasis on wellness and independence. In addition, he worked as a national sales specialist serving hundreds of independent, assisted and skilled communities for Emeritus, Summerville Senior Living and Desert Springs of Nevada.
An active member of the Alzheimer’s Association of America, the Louisiana Jefferson Parish Council on Aging, and numerous senior advocate boards, Francis graduated from the University of Las Vegas with a degree in marketing and communications.
