Board of Directors

Jim Maxwell – Chair 

President and CEO, Rockwood Retirement Communities

Jim Maxwell has worked for Rockwood Retirement Communities since August 2004. He is currently the President and CEO, having served 19 years as the VP of Finance and CFO. Prior to joining Rockwood, he served as a Senior Reimbursement Manager at Providence Health & Services and as a Manager in the healthcare department of the regional accounting firm LeMaster & Daniels. 

Jim holds a Bachelor of Business Administration with dual emphasis in Accounting and Financial Management from the University of Montana. He served for 13 years as an accreditation surveyor for CARF International. He is a graduate of the 2016 LeadingAge Larry Minnix Leadership Academy, served as the Spokane Town Hall convenor, and has served on LeadingAge Washington’s SNF Cabinet as well as the Life Plan Community Cabinet. He has served on the latter’s board of directors for the past two years. 

Jim and his wife have four kids and are adapting to being empty nesters. He enjoys time with family and friends at the lake, and golfing. 

Jen Drake (Van Vechten) – Chair Elect

Business Development Director, Cascade Park Communities 

Jen Drake is a dynamic leader in senior living, bringing over 15 years of expertise in business development. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in History with a minor in Economics, an Associate’s degree in Science and Healthcare, and an MIT Certification in Operations. Currently serving as the Director of Business Development for five low-income assisted living communities, Jen specializes in Medicaid services, census growth, and strategic partnerships. 

With a strong focus on innovation and sustainability, Jen navigates the challenges of the evolving senior care landscape by securing new contracts, expanding service lines, and enhancing operational efficiencies. Her leadership is centered on supporting staff, ensuring exceptional resident care, and driving financial stability amid industry changes. 

Beyond her professional commitments, Jen is passionate about lifelong learning, mentorship, and fostering a collaborative, mission-driven work environment. She enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with family. As Chair-Elect of LeadingAge Washington, Jen looks forward to advocating for the future of senior living and working alongside industry leaders to drive meaningful impact. 

Grant Linacre – Immediate Past Chair

Executive Director, Emerald Heights

Grant Linacre joined Emerald Heights as its Executive Director in 2015. He is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the community and, beginning in 2021, has overseen the implementation of a 7-year, $185M Master Planned renovation and expansion of the campus. Prior to joining Emerald Heights, Grant held a variety of positions of increasing responsibility with a national senior living provider. 

Grant earned a Bachelor’s degree from Central Michigan University and has been a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator in Washington, Indiana, Maryland, and Michigan. He previously served on the LeadingAge Washington Board of Directors as Chair and is a committee member of LeadingAge Washington’s Finance and Audit Committee and the Continuing Care Retirement Community Cabinet. 

He has been a speaker at state and national conferences, but these days in his spare time you’ll find Grant juggling DIY home improvement projects and doing everything he can to make his two young children smile. 

Heather Lewis – Secretary

Director of Nursing Services, Christian Health Care Center

Heather Lewis is a Registered Nurse who has been with Christian Health Care Center since 2015 as the Director of Nursing. She holds national certification in Wound Care. She has over 30 years of experience in skilled nursing, including primary care, staff development, restorative care, infection control, MDS/RAI coordination, and serving as both an instructor and program director for the Nursing Assistant Training Program. 

Heather has served for over 10 years on the nursing program advisory boards for both Bellingham Technical College and Whatcom Community College. She has also volunteered with the Arthritis Foundation for more than a decade, serving as a board member and chairperson for two consecutive terms. She was also the chairperson for the Bellingham Jingle Bell Run committee—an event that raises over $150,000 with more than 3,000 participants in support of arthritis education and research. 

Heather and her husband, Steve, have two adult children and enjoy spending their free time with family and traveling. 

Judy Dunn – Treasurer

President and CEO, Franke Tobey Jones

Judy serves as the President and CEO at Franke Tobey Jones, a CCRC/Life Plan Community in Tacoma, leading strategic planning, campus redevelopment, and other initiatives. Prior to this role, she was the Vice President of Finance. 

Her background prior to working in long-term care includes nonprofit healthcare management, holding finance, administrative, and operational roles at a regional hospital organization and a national healthcare provider. Judy earned a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Wisconsin and is a licensed Nursing Home Administrator. 

She currently serves on the LeadingAge Washington Board as its Treasurer and Chair of the Finance & Audit Committee. She has also volunteered with various community nonprofit organizations as Treasurer and Board Member. 

Jonathan Boyar

Executive Director, Judson Park

Jonathan Boyar is currently the Executive Director at Judson Park, a Life Plan Community in Des Moines, Washington, and a HumanGood Community. Born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, he is a second‐generation Nursing Home Administrator, following in his father’s footsteps. However, like any good son, he pursued something different at first—starting his career in hospitality after earning a Bachelor’s degree in Hotel Administration and an MBA from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. 

While he enjoyed the hospitality industry, he soon discovered a passion for senior living and became licensed in 2007. Over the years, he has worked in and/or become licensed in multiple states including Washington, Oregon, Colorado, California, Utah, and Arizona. He was the first person in Nevada to earn a NAB HSE (Health Services Executive) license, which combines three licenses: Skilled Nursing Administrator, Assisted Living Administrator, and Home Care/Hospice Administrator. 

Since relocating to Washington in 2018, Jonathan has been actively involved with LeadingAge Washington, serving as a Leadership Institute Coach since 2022 and joining the Education Committee in 2023. 

He is the proud father of two young daughters, enjoys audiobooks and triathlons (when time allows), and speaks regularly at industry events, including the 2022 Fall Leadership Summit and other LeadingAge conferences. 

Alex Candalla 

Regional VP of Operations, Pacific Retirement Services 

Alex serves as the Regional Vice President of Operations for Pacific Retirement Services. He has worked in the senior housing and services field for more than 30 years and has been an active contributor to state associations throughout his career. He served as Vice-Chairman of the Board for LeadingAge California before relocating to Washington. 

Alex earned a Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology and a Master’s degree in Gerontology with a concentration in Long-Term Care Administration from San Francisco State University. 

Passionate about leadership development and mentorship, Alex has been recognized as Mentor of the Year by the state association and has received the Dr. Herbert Shore Mentor Award from the national association. 

Matt Fleming

COO, Sunshine Health & Rehab

Matt Fleming has a longtime career in long term care beginning with working as a CNA in skilled nursing in 1994.  Matt attended college at Eastern Washington University where he received his degree in Health Service Administration.  He then went on to work for over 15 years as a skilled nursing home  Administrator in Lewiston ID (Royal Plaza Retirement and Care Center) and Spokane WA (Royal Park Health and Rehab).  He spent two years as a Regional Vice President for Regency Pacific, managing a number of their WA SNF.  He then spent 4 years serving at Optum as VP of Institutional Products and also as VP of Operations managing a special needs Health Plan for UnitedHealth Care serving our long term residents in over 65 facilities in WA state.  During his time with UnitedHealth Group his responsibilities were to oversee the short term UnitedHealth Care network in the State of WA.

Matt’s current role is Chief Operating Officer of Sunshine Health Facilities in Spokane Valley WA.  He oversees all the business lines for the company – Skilled Nursing, Assisted Living, Home Health, Behavior Health and Adult Family Homes.  He has been instrumental in executing a strategic plan to innovate the business and reduce staff turnover.

Matt has served as a Board member for the Washington Health Care Association and held key positions on the board over the past 15+ years.   Matt is thrilled to be now part of the Leading Age Board and excited for the future of Leading Age.

Ketty Hsieh

CEO, Kin On Health Care Center

Ketty Hsieh joined Kin On Health Care Center as its Chief Executive Officer on June 1, 2022, leading a team of 300 employees providing culturally and linguistically appropriate healthy living and healthcare services to Asian seniors in the greater Seattle metropolitan area. Kin On offers a culturally sensitive continuum of senior care, including community-based wellness and social services programs, Home Care, Assisted Living, Adult Family Home, and Rehab and Care Center. Hsieh has also been serving on the Kin On Board and in the Finance Committee since January 2021.

Hsieh has 28 years of experience in finance and strategic planning, including 12+ years in the health care industry, partnering with operational and clinical leaders to identify business opportunities and improve financial performance. Before joining Kin On, she was the Vice President of Finance for Western Washington at Optum, leading the finance teams at the Polyclinic and the Everett Clinic, both part of Optum, with combined net revenues of over $900 million.

As a seasoned finance executive working closely with operations, Hsieh has led numerous transformative and strategic initiatives to improve performance and optimize operational efficiency throughout her career. Prior to joining Optum, Hsieh served as the Transformation Analytic Consultant at Providence St. Joseph Health Systems and was the Vice President of Finance, Care Delivery, for Kaiser Permanente of Washington. She completed her Bachelor of Mathematics in Computer Science at the University of Waterloo. She also received her MBA at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business. Hsieh grew up in Taiwan and Hong Kong, and speaks fluent Mandarin and Cantonese Chinese.

Matt Murry 

President and COO, Panorama 

Matt is the President and Chief Operations Officer at Panorama. He joined the organization in 2001 as Director of Human Resources and served in that role until 2011. He then served as Director of Operations for four years before becoming President and COO in 2015. 

He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota. He studied organizational development at Chapman University and participated in executive development programs at Wharton and Kellogg, as well as hospitality programs with Disney and the Ritz-Carlton. 

A 2013 graduate of the LeadingAge Leadership Academy, Matt remains actively involved in supporting future leaders. 

Kevin McNamara

Vice President of Operations, Wesley

Kevin has 24 years of senior living leadership experience managing communities in Oregon and Washington, joining Wesley in January 2024, as Vice President of Operations.

He is a licensed Nursing Home Administrator and Preceptor and has extensive experience in operations, master planning, development, acquisition and third-party management contracts. Kevin served on the Oregon Board of Nursing Home Administrator, under appointment by the Governor, as well as several other healthcare focused, not for profit boards and advisory groups.

Kevin serves on the LeadingAge Washington Life Plan Community Cabinet and has frequently presented at both state and national conferences.

He was born and raised in Washington State, received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from La Sierra University, and enjoys outdoor adventure and travel with his wife and son.

Matthew Powondra

Administrator, The Mary Schwartz Summit

Matthew Powondra is Administrator of The Mary Schwartz Summit, Kline Galland’s senior residential care community. With more than 16 years of experience, he has contributed to both acute and post-acute care operations working at both domestic and foreign hospitals, before shifting his career to the post-acute, skilled, and long-term residential settings. Before becoming Administrator of The Mary Schwartz Summit in 2022, he worked in different roles for a large multi-faceted senior living campus in San Francisco.

Matthew serves on Kline Galland’s Center for Applied AgeTech Committee, is a member of LeadingAge Washington’s Assisted Living Cabinet Committee, and is an alumni of the Larry Minnix Leadership Academy (class of 2017). Matthew holds a B.S. in Health Studies from Michigan State University and a M.S. in Health Systems Management from Rush University.

Matthew lives in Renton with his wife Amanda, and their three young children.

Dianna Reely

Chief Administrative Services, Providence Health & Services

Dianna Reely has over 35 years of Executive level healthcare leadership experience in settings across the care continuum including acute care, home health and hospice, skilled nursing and assisted living, supportive housing and other home based and clinic settings. 

She has been with Providence for 18 years serving as the Vice President of Quality for Home and Community Care before transitioning in 2019 to the role of Chief Executive of Residential Services for Providence Home and Community Care.  In this capacity Dianna provides leadership to over 25 Skilled Nursing and Assisted Living facilities, 21 Supportive Housing facilities,  and multiple home health, hospice, home infusion and pharmacy and PACE programs across 6 states. 

Dianna has a LeadingAge Board member since 2021 and her history of volunteering includes serving as President on the Issaquah Chamber of Commerce Board; volunteering with Catholic Charities; leading several teams, through the Providence International and Domestic Partnership program, and in collaboration with Medical Teams International, on service and mission trips to various villages in Guatemala; and volunteering with Esperanza in Tijuana, Mexico to assist families with their own land build housing in newly formed communities.   

Dianna is a Seattle native and has been married to her husband, Dan, for more than 40 years.  They raised their 2 adult children, Nick and Jessica, in Sammamish, WA and now experience the joy of being grandparents.  In her free time Dianna enjoys travel, golfing with Dan, spending time with her friends, and doing fashion videos with her grand-daughter.   

Heather Turner

Executive Director, Timber Ridge at Talus

Inspired by seniors from a young age, Heather Turner focused her education on long-term care administration, obtaining a B.S. in Health Services Management from Winona State University, a B.A. in Management and Entrepreneurship from Buena Vista University and an M.H.A in Health Management from the University of Missouri. After completing internships in the Midwest, she joined Life Care Services LLC in 2001 and moved to the East Coast.

Since joining the LCS, Heather has served seniors in more than 10 communities across the United States in varying administration and executive leadership roles.  In 2013, she relocated to Washington to be the Executive Director of Timber Ridge at Talus.  Over the past 22 years, she has had the opportunity to lead communities through expansions, hurricanes and, most recently, a pandemic. 

On a corporate level, Heather has participated in numerous initiatives, such as EverSafe 360˚, an LCS Signature Experience designed to elevate the safety and wellness of both residents and employees. Timber Ridge has also been a site for numerous technology initiatives, implementing Servi, WellScreen and the Whiz in an attempt to supplement staffing and maintain quality services for our residents.

Heather is excited about the opportunity to continue to serve seniors and health care professionals locally, regionally and nationally.

Lauri Warfield-Larson 

Chief Operating Officer, Horizon House 

Lauri Warfield-Larson is the Chief Operating Officer of Horizon House, a not-for-profit Life Plan community located in Seattle’s First Hill. She joined Horizon House in 1998 as a Staff Occupational Therapist and later obtained her Nursing Home Administrator license. Over the years, she has held various roles with increasing responsibilities and currently provides leadership and support to the Assisted Living program, Food Services, other health and well-being departments, and the Board. 

Before joining Horizon House, Lauri worked as an Occupational Therapist in for-profit skilled nursing facilities and at Overlake Hospital. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy from the University of Washington in 1993 and continues to serve as an Advisory Board Member for the university’s Master’s Program in Occupational Therapy. 

She is also a guest lecturer on geriatric topics and has presented at local, state, and national healthcare conferences. Lauri is passionate about fostering engagement and collaboration to promote meaningful, fulfilling lives for both residents and staff. 

Annie Zell 

Chief Operating Officer, Bethany of the Northwest 

Annie has served in leadership roles across the Long-Term Care continuum for the past 25 years and joined Bethany of the Northwest in August 2023 as Chief Operating Officer. Throughout her career, she has worked with SNF, AL, CCRC, HH, and Hospice teams to deliver high-quality, holistic services to older adults. 

Her interest in working with seniors began while attending James Madison University, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences with concentrations in Business and Gerontology. Annie is a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator, Certified Assisted Living Administrator, the first female Health Services Executive in Washington, and holds an MBA. 

Annie is deeply passionate about developing new industry leaders, particularly through Administrator-in-Training (AIT) programs. She has served as a Preceptor for many years with a 100% pass rate among her AITs. She also served on the Washington State Board of Nursing Home Administrators for over 10 years and frequently presents at state and national conferences. 

Annie has lived in 13 states but has called Washington home for over 15 years. She and her husband enjoy traveling and spoiling their two dogs.