OUR MANAGEMENT

Keven J. Bennema
President and CEO

After a humbling but formative beginning as a caregiver, Keven rose to executive ranks in the senior living sector, working for several large national providers. He worked in every functional department of a skilled nursing community before ultimately earning his Nursing Home Administrator License in the state of Ohio. Concurrently, he completed his MBA in Health Care Administration from Cleveland State University. Keven continued his career in several senior living companies, serving as Executive Director, Regional Director and eventually becoming Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer of Senior Lifestyle Corporation in Chicago.

Now, with 28 years of experience, his own company underway and 43 properties in 13 states under his direct leadership, Keven is focused exclusively on advancing his team-inspired vision for senior living under the Charter banner.

Jayne Sallerson
Chief Operating Officer/Partner

Jayne Sallerson, a seasoned veteran in the senior living industry, joined Charter Senior Living as investor, partner and Chief Operating Officer. Sallerson oversees all facets of operations for the company. For the past 25 years, she has served in various senior management roles for both large and small senior living organizations, exposing her to over 750 communities throughout the United States. She has developed and executed sales and operational infrastructures where the net result has been increased revenue, reduced expenses and improved NOI. Her unique blend of both sales and operations experience allows for a balanced approach of driving NOI while keeping customer and employee satisfaction at the core of operating strategies. Most recently, she served as Executive Vice President of Sales & Operations for Benchmark Senior Living and spent seven years as Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Emeritus Senior Living prior to the Brookdale merger. Jayne is well-recognized within the senior housing industry. She has served on multiple Argentum roundtables and is a frequent presenter on a variety of topics for the senior living industry’s major national senior living conferences.

Bruce Waxman
Chief Financial Officer

Bruce Waxman provides business and financial strategy consulting to growth-stage businesses and has more than 25 years’ experience counseling entrepreneurs in all facets of business development. A graduate of the University of Missouri – St. Louis, Bruce has served as Controller, Treasurer, Chief Financial Officer and has held financial management positions for private and publicly held companies. He earned his BSBA from the University of Missouri – St. Louis with concentrations in Accounting and Finance. Bruce has served as the fractional CFO to diverse health care organizations, including physical therapy, home health agencies, long-term care pharmacies, specialty physician practices and technology companies. 

Kim Bennema
Executive Administrator

Kim currently serves as the Executive Administrator for Charter Senior Living. She is the Lead Project Manager and Designer for all Charter renovations and also coordinates administrative functions at the corporate level. She has earned a degree in Meeting and Event Planning, as well as an Associate degree in Applied Science – Travel and Tourism – from the College of DuPage. Kim’s passion and empathy for the senior living industry is exemplified by her enthusiasm for providing the best environmental design standards, levels of care and state-of-the-art products and programs for the residents and staff that represent the Charter family. Kim and Keven have been married for 24 years, and are raising three children of their own.

Cathy Hampton
Sr. Regional Director of Operations

Cathy has served in the senior living industry for 26 years and began her career as a Licensed Practical Nurse in a skilled nursing facility. She advanced quickly into leadership positions including Nursing Home Administrator and Corporate Quality Assurance/Risk Management Director for USA Healthcare-Alabama and Iowa. Cathy also served as Executive Director and Executive Director Transition Specialist for the southeast division of Brookdale Senior Living during her tenure with them. From there, she accepted a role as the Regional Director of Operations for Somerby Senior Living. Under her leadership, the regional team oversaw operations, sales/marketing, clinical and regulatory compliance for eight (8) communities, representing 1,237 units (IL, AL, MC) across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina. Additionally, Cathy managed the development and execution of pre marketing activities and start-up operations for two new luxury communities (200 units) in Georgia and Tennessee.

Most recently, Cathy worked with Senior Source Consulting Group, providing market analysis and recommendations to some of the industry’s most prominent and respected providers in over 100 communities across the United States. Her expert recommendations and action plans were instrumental to superior positioning in each of the targeted markets. Cathy has developed a unique ability to quickly assess situations, make sound recommendations and take decisive actions that drive performance. She is an effective liaison, team-builder and has an inimitable ability to build productive and lasting partnerships across sales and operational departments. Most importantly, Cathy is a strong mentor and promotes leadership qualities in others. Her passion for building teams of integrity and confidence support Charter’s culture, where excellent care and service are provided to our seniors and staff alike.

Hilary King
Operation Systems & Development

Hilary King joined Charter Senior Living as an Operations Specialist in September 2017 and currently serves as a Regional Director of Operations. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in both Economics and Political Science from Vanderbilt University. Hilary has worked in senior living for over 10 years, but has been involved in the industry her entire life, as she was raised on the campus of a non-profit CCRC, where she volunteered and worked as early as eight years old. During her eight-year tenure at Senior Lifestyle, she held various positions as Property Manager, Area Manager and Executive Director. While at Senior Lifestyle, she attended the School of Executive Development, which only six leaders a year were chosen to attend. Hilary acted as an Executive Director at Harbor Retirement Associates for over two years and holds her Administrators License in the states of South Carolina and Tennessee. Prior to starting her career in senior living, Hilary had a background in instructional design and training. She has used this skill to develop policies and training documentation to teach and drive best practices in sales, business operations, hospitality and resident care.

Leslie K. Eldridge
Regional Director of Operations

Leslie K. Eldridge has over 25 years of experience in senior living and she currently serves as the Regional Director of Operations for Charter Senior Living. Her previous roles have included working as a Nursing Home Administrator, an Executive Director and a Regional Director of Operations for an array of supportive living, private pay and new development communities. Leslie has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business from Kansas State University as well as a Master of Business Administration and a Doctorate of Management in Organizational Leadership from the University of Phoenix. She has been involved in local civic organizations, serving on the board of directors for a variety of associations, including serving as the President of the Southern Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce for three years. Leslie loves spending time with her family and believes in what she does to the core. In fact, she states that she has learned so much from her coworkers and seniors – including how to be a better person.

Kelley Steiner
Executive Assistant

Kelley joined Charter Senior Living in June 2018 as Executive Assistant. She has over 25 years of experience in C-Suite support and office management. As Executive Assistant at Sherpa CRM, LLC for the past two and a half years, she gained knowledge and a growing passion for the senior housing industry. The scope of her job responsibilities range from everyday clerical duties to office management to event planning. She also identifies needs and puts systems into place that improve efficiency and stakeholder satisfaction. Recognized as an effective communicator, she works well both one-on-one and in groups to achieve strategic goals.

Zack Bennema
Financial Analyst

Joining Charter in June of 2019, Zack Bennema serves as a Financial Analyst, where his focus is primarily business development and operations analysis. On the business development side, he specializes in pro forma development and modeling for all potential development and acquisition opportunities presented to Charter. On the operations side, he is fully involved in the budgeting process for each Charter community and is keenly apt to evaluate all financial aspects of operational performance. While earning his degree in finance from Baylor University and serving as quarterback and letter winner on the football team, he honed his skills as a leader and developed an unmatched work ethic during his tenure. Zack is currently based in Chicago, Illinois.

Lori Jordan
Vice President of Ancillary Services

Lori Jordan joins Charter as Vice President of Ancillary Services with 15+ years of senior housing experience working with multiple departments including operations, wellness, facilities, culinary and human resources. Lori started her senior housing career with Horizon Bay Senior Living in Tampa Florida, reporting to the Chief Operating Officer. When Horizon Bay was acquired by Brookdale, she relocated to the Nashville area to join Brookdale’s southeast division leadership team.  Lori then joined Vitality Senior Living at inception as part of the founder’s circle where she managed acquisitions and dispositions, worked with operations to support their regional teams, designing State required employee training, survey-ready preparation, company policy & procedures, and disaster planning. 

Lori is motivated by people who work hard and are passionate about what they do.  So many of these inspirational people can be found in our communities.  “My goal is to drive a positive experience for seniors, families, and our employees through team collaboration to enhance the human spirit of the residents we serve.”  

Lori’s inspiration for senior housing comes from her dad.  For years, he was the primary caregiver for his wife of 20 years as she bravely fought Alzheimer’s at a young age. He was her constant champion, and he tirelessly supported her every need.  Full-time male caregivers are so rare, and my dad set the bar at the highest level.  From my experience, I was able to guide them through senior housing resources and I got a first-hand view of what our families struggle with when it’s time to reach out for additional support. 

Tammy Sunderman
Vice President of Sales and Marketing

Tammy comes to Charter Senior Living with over 25 years of experience in senior living sales and marketing. She began in skilled nursing facilities as an Admissions and Marketing Director and became Vice President of Sales and Marketing in assisted living, securing an array of experience from strategic marketing and lead generation to hands-on sales training to help assist and coach sales professionals to occupancy success. Tammy is deeply passionate about leading a team to embrace a sales process that is focused on relationship selling. She approaches the sales process with compassion and empathy, knowing that building a trusting relationship is key.

Tammy has a Bachelor of Science degree and an Associate degree in nursing, giving her the ability to relate to health concerns with families and residents, and in 2006, she won the Outstanding Marketing Director of the Year given by Indiana Assisted Living Federation of America.

Nick Lemke
Senior Director of Facility Operations

Nick Lemke joins Charter Senior Living with over 25 years of experience. Nick has spent the last 12 years in Senior Living working in Procurement, Facilities and Asset Management for Brookdale Senior Living and Enlivant Senior Living. Nick grew up in Lakeville, MN, and attended Winona State University, where he received his Bachelor’s degree and then relocated to Chicago where he received his Master’s degree in Business Administration. He has an incredible passion for the Senior Housing industry and serving residents. He finds it is rewarding to know that he can help make a resident’s home a better place. Nick has two children, Owen and Graham. Owen recently graduated UW-Madison  with a degree in Economics and is currently substitute teaching high school math. Graham is a sophomore, also at UW-Madison, majoring in Economics. When not working, Nick enjoys fishing, hockey and spending time with family and friends.

Katie Rodriguez
Director of Dining Services

Katie joined Charter in August 2021 with 35 years of experience in the senior living dining services world. She began her career in Michigan at age 16 washing dishes in a long-term care community and has continued to work in senior living ever since. Her career has included various roles over the years, including dietary manager, regional certified dietary manager (CDM), assistant director of dining, and corporate director of dining. Katie attended Oakland University and continued her education to become a CDM in 1994.

Her grandma has always been one of the most special people in her life, so the senior living environment proved to be the place Katie could really make a difference for many special grandmas and grandpas. She quickly realized the joy she could bring with food from the heart and the connection to each individual resident. She has harnessed her passion for cooking and residents to create dining programs that focus on quality and resident satisfaction. Throughout her career, she has worked in many senior settings, including long-term care, assisted living, memory care and sub-acute care, using each facility to gain knowledge and learn best practices to help create amazing dining programs that focus on what is most important: the people entrusted to our care.

She has been happily married to her husband, Dan, for 30 years and has two amazing daughters, Ashley and Elizabeth. She has lived for 24 years with her husband in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida (and Granny lives across the street at 94 years young). Her proudest accomplishments are her children: Ashley, who lives in Navarre, Florida, and is a graphic designer for an architectural firm; and Elizabeth, who lives in Jacksonville and is a speech pathologist in the schools.

Stephanie Pfingsten, BSN, RN
Vice President of Health & Wellness

Stephanie joined Charter Senior Living in August 2020 with over 22 years of experience in senior living and currently serves as the Vice President of Health and Wellness.  She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Human Development & Family Studies from the University of Missouri-Columbia and Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from University of Missouri-St. Louis.  She worked as a Counselor for Developmentally Disabled Adults and Life Enrichment Director prior to dedicating her career to nursing.  Her unique blend of life enrichment and nursing allows for a balanced approach to driving quality of care performance outcomes and promoting person-directed care culture initiatives. 

She is an experienced clinical leader that has driven quality excellence across the healthcare spectrum in acute care, long term care, memory care, and assisted living.   Stephanie has served at various levels of leadership including: Director of Nursing, Regional Director, and Senior Management for both large and small senior living organizations.  She started her nursing career in critical care and moved into a leadership role as Director of Nursing for over a decade.  She advanced to the regional level where she gained significant cross-country, multi-state experience serving various types of senior living communities modeling and influencing continuous improvement in quality of care performance standards. 

Stephanie’s most recent experience was in Senior management as the Director of Clinical Services.  She provided clinical guidance and leadership to 37 communities across 6 states driving clinical and regulatory compliance and optimizing clinical practice through person-directed policy and system development in current and newly acquired communities.

Stephanie is passionate about people and about making personal connections with residents, families, and associates to enrich the quality of care, quality experience, and quality outcomes within each community.  She adores her family and fur babies which includes her husband Matt of 18 years, son Ryan 15, daughter Leslie 11, 2 cats and 1 dog.  She is actively involved in health care associations and regulatory agency platforms in multiple states to continue to bring best clinical practice to Charter Senior Living.

Russ Conrad
Regional Director of Operations

Russ Conrad joins the Charter Senior Living team as Regional Director of Operations. He has been serving seniors for over 22 years, beginning as director of dining services with Morrison Management Specialists, working  with senior communities and health care systems in Columbia, SC; Columbus, Ohio; Springfield, Ohio; Atlanta, GA; and Cincinnati, Ohio. His experience in dining established his high standards of providing excellent service and hospitality. He has spent the last 11 and a half years as Executive Director of communities in the Cincinnati market, managing independent living, assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing services. His most recent role has been as Regional Director of Operations, overseeing communities throughout the Midwest. Russ grew up in north central Ohio on a large 4th-generation family dairy farm that is still going strong. Growing up on a farm gave Russ a strong work ethic and made him very resourceful. He received his Bachelor of Science from Eastern Michigan University and his Master’s degree from the University of South Carolina in Hospitality Administration. Russ currently lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with his children Sophie (11) and Bennett (8), who attend Nativity School; he has been married to his beautiful wife Angela for 13 years. As a family, they enjoy participating in Nativity sports, traveling, and spending time with family and friends. Russ believes in building strong relationships with solid communication, good follow-up and feels strong empathy is key to sustainable success.

Bradley Scoggins
Regional Sales & Marketing Director

Brad Scoggins brings a wealth of experience to Charter, coming to us as an award-winning Sales Director for the largest independent senior living company in the country. Brad’s warm, enthusiastic, and relationship-centered approach has made him a national leader in his field. He has helped build numerous senior communities from the ground up – taking projects from construction to capacity. Having worked in retirement communities since his youth, Brad has an in-depth understanding of nearly every facet of the senior living industry. He has a special knack for identifying promising prospects and working with teams to develop novel marketing strategies and systems. Above all, Brad is a natural-born people person. He was inspired to enter the elder care field after his grandmother passed away and his grandfather required assisted living placement.

Tara Tosh
Regional Sales & Marketing Director

Regional Sales and Marketing Director Tara Tosh was a rare and valuable acquisition for Charter. Tara’s background as a Licensed Practical Nurse, her degree in business administration and her experience in senior living operations make her a uniquely well-rounded member of our team. Tara’s entire career has been centered on elder care. She started from humble beginnings, working in food service at a retirement community. From there, she quickly climbed the professional ladder with continuing education and on-the-job leadership. One of the many strengths Tara brings to the table is her bird’s eye view of the industry. Her personal experience serving in so many different care capacities has endowed her with exceptional insight into sales and marketing. She combines a naturally competitive drive with an equal gift for teamwork, achieving results through her contagiously positive mindset. At her core, Tara is still motivated by a deep and abiding love for the residents she serves and places. A sales rock star, she admits she sometimes misses the one-on-one interaction she enjoyed during her nursing days.

Christa Shugan
Regional Director of Health and Wellness

Christa joins Charter Senior Living with twenty plus years of experience in Skilled Nursing, Acute care, and Senior living and will be serving as Regional Director of Health and Wellness. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Nursing along with a bachelor’s degree in Advanced Legal Studies with a Healthcare emphasis. She also holds a master’s degree in nursing -nurse educator track along with a Post Masters for Family Nurse Practitioner with Board
certification.

She is an experienced clinical leader with a focus in quality outcomes across the healthcare continuum. Christa has served at various levels of leadership including Director of Nursing, Regional Director, and Senior Management in Skilled Nursing and Assisted Living.

Christa is passionate about our residents, and families, along with the associates we serve with an emphasis on Quality of Care and good outcomes. Family is so important to her which includes her 2 Boys and 2 Grandbabies along with her three puppies and her husband Ron of 31 Years.

Melanie Scott
Regional Health & Wellness Director

Melanie has been a nurse for 23 years. She has experience in skilled nursing, long-term care, and assisted living, and she was a Case Manager for the Oklahoma ADvantage Waiver program assisting senior Oklahomans with staying in their homes safely. She knew as a little girl that she wanted to be a nurse, and as a teenager, she found a passion for seniors while working as a Certified Nursing Assistant at a nursing home. She has served in various leadership roles in senior living, including Health and Wellness Director, Clinical Specialist, and Divisional Director of Health and Wellness. She has a deep love for seniors, especially those with dementia, and is passionate about enriching their lives while ensuring their care is highly personalized to appropriately meet their needs. Family is very important to Melanie. She is married to Spencer and has four adult children and eight grandchildren.

Kristie Jones
Regional Sales & Marketing Director

Kristie comes to Charter Senior Living with over thirty-plus years of experience and knowledge in the Hospitality and Senior Living Industries, along with Third Party Sales. Prior to joining Charter, she served as the Regional Director of Sales and Marketing at Five Star Senior Living, supporting 34 communities in different geographic areas. During her senior living career, she has worked with Five Star Senior Living, Sunrise Senior Living and Marriott Senior Living. She also served as the National Director of Sales at OurParents, where she had 110 advisors under her leadership.

A quote about Kristie from a former Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for which Kristie worked for. “Every day, Kristie approaches her role with enthusiasm and can-do attitude. She is creative, extremely organized and analytical. She is an excellent problem-solver and a strong builder of teams. She is goal-driven, sets high expectations and holds people accountable. She inspires those around her to be their best and leads by example. Her work ethic and commitment to her position and the team that she supports are incomparable. Her passion is contagious!”

Kristie was born and raised in Maryland. She resides in Middletown, Maryland, with her husband, Jamey, and their 3-year-old Shih-Poo, Bailey. Kristie graduated from Shepherd University in West Virginia, where she earned a scholarship and played Collegiate Women’s Basketball during her college career. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a Minor in Speech Communication. She enjoys playing and watching sports with her husband. She also enjoys gardening and organizing special projects as well as spending time with family and friends.

Kristie looks forward to this new Journey with Charter Senior Living. She brings a strong sales acumen. Kristie has a true passion for what she does and the customers she serves. Her tireless energy, commitment to her team’s success and strong integrity will continue to serve her well at Charter Senior Living. She prides herself in rolling up her sleeves and working diligently with her teams and communities to ensure we fulfill the service promise of excellent care and comfort.

Amber Dahle, CDP
Director of Memory Care & Resident Programming

Amber joins Charter Senior Living with a passion for providing residents opportunities for purpose and engaged living, while ensuring compassion and quality care are at the forefront of a person focused approach. She graduated from Utah State University with a bachelor’s degree in Family and Human Development and is a Certified Dementia Care Trainer and a Certified Dementia Practitioner.

Amber has worked and volunteered in settings with the elderly, specifically with memory care residents for over 10 years, and has experience in both Skilled Nursing and Assisted Living settings. She has served in the Memory Care Director role, Memory Care and Programming Specialist role, and as a Divisional Director of Memory Care and Programming for Senior Lifestyle where she trained community teams and supported operationalizing new memory care programs and initiatives within the community.

Her most recent role includes serving as Vice President of Memory Care and Life Enrichment for NorthStar Senior Living where she created and operationalized a fresh new memory care program, developed exciting new programming initiatives and expectations for Life Enrichment Teams, established monthly national training support for Memory Care and Life Enrichment Directors, contributed to care team education within the communities as well as established and encouraged a collaborative support network between programming teams across the company.

Who is Amber?
Amber grew up in Southern California and attended college in both Idaho and Utah. It is still a toss-up as to whether she enjoys the mountains or the beach more. You will often find her hiking or spending a long day on her paddle board in her spare time. Amber currently resides in Saint Louis, MO, enjoys hockey (GO BLUES!) over baseball, but is known to shout GO CARDS!! to any presenting Cub’s fans. Amber loves all things Magnolia and Joanna Gaines, artfully decorated tablescapes, interior design and spending time with her family. She has two adult daughters, one who just graduated from Utah State with a double major, one attending Vermont Woodworking and Furniture Design School, and a son who is a senior in High School, beginning this fall.

Amber has a great love of serving people. She has always had a passion for advocating for vulnerable groups since childhood. After graduating from Utah State University, Amber worked for Child Abuse Prevention Services teaching parenting classes for the State of Michigan, leading a mentorship program for teen mothers, and developing programs for early childhood respite care.

In addition, Amber spent several years developing programs for adolescent youth, and very much enjoyed working with both life stages. However, it was with seniors that Amber found her “home.” There was a natural connection and ability to reach those suffering from Alzheimer’s and other dementias, and it soon became her mission to educate and reach as many people as possible to help preserve dignity and instill purpose for those who suffer with this debilitating disease.

Amber places a huge focus on relationships, connection, authenticity, and creativity in the workplace. She is excited to join the Charter Team and looks forward to collaborative partnerships, and a collective goal to elevate the resident experience through programming adventures.

A Message from Amber
Those of us who serve our seniors are doing a great work. It takes a team to create places that feel like home, that feel safe, where laughter can be heard and where purpose and energy and fun can be had. I couldn’t be more excited to join this group and continue the work of creating positive connections with residents, their families, and our staff members through compassion, innovative ideas, collaboration, and teamwork.

Kristy Hudie
Regional Director of Health and Wellness

Kristy has been a nurse for 11 years. She began her career in a skilled nursing community as a Memory care supervisor.  She also worked as a floor nurse and then worked as an admissions specialist.  While working in a skilled nursing community Kristy discovered her mission was advocating for Seniors and helping them live their best life. 

Kristy started in Assisted Living in 2017 with Hampton Manor, which was then acquired by Charter Senior Living in 2018, as the Director of Health and Wellness in Davison Michigan. In 2020 Kristy started helping many other Charter communities in training and support of new Health and Wellness Directors.  After four years at the Davison community, Kristy was promoted to Regional Director of Health and Wellness. 

Kristy has a passion for leadership and helping others grow in their positions. She is focused on team building and strong communication with her team. She believes that building personal connections is the key to the success of any community. Kristy enjoys all aspects of senior living from not only her nursing position, but also including operations and helping to drive sales. The foundation of strong care in any community is Kristy’s belief of how successful that community can be.  

Raeleen Stewart RN, LNHA
Regional Director of Health and Wellness

I’m a Patient focused and analytically minded nurse, adept on carrying out patient care across multi-disciplinary healthcare environments for the past 23 years.  A strong communicator, committed to building strong relationships with teammates to carry out clinical/financial projects.  A versatile professional with a proven track record of achieving high level of excellence during a fast paced, high-pressured, state Survey process. Driven, detail and results oriented with an exemplary record of mentorship, leadership, and training. Committed to exceeding targets and ensuring team success.’ Experienced in state regulations regarding secure/Alzheimer’s units and educational requirements. Recently certified as an infection preventionist for Long term care. 

• Senior advocate
• Active listener
• Dedicated mom to two children
• Grandmother to four children
• Family and staff educator and supporter
• Campsite travel seeker 
• Veteran – United states Army

Christy Mink
Regional Director of Operations

Christy Mink joins Charter with over 15 years of experience as Regional Director of Operations. Christy will be responsible for talent management, strategic planning, and day-to-day operations of 10 communities in Tennessee and five communities in Kentucky.

Christy transitions to this role after serving a year as Operations Specialist for the senior living management and development company. She brings a wealth of knowledge to the role after spending more than 15 years in the senior living industry.

Christy has previously served in multiple leadership roles, including Executive Director and Business Officer Manager for organizations that include Senior Lifestyle and Brookdale Senior Living. She’s originally from Franklin, Tennessee, and graduated from and now resides in Knoxville, Tennessee with her husband.