December 13, 2021
She brings wide-ranging leadership experience in senior living to the role
Mitchellville, Maryland, June 6, 2019 — Collington’s Board of Directors has selected Ann E. Gillespie, an aging-services professional with more than 30 years of experience, to lead the senior living community as its CEO beginning July 1. Gillespie succeeds Marvell Adams Jr., who became The Kendal Corporation’s chief operating officer after serving from 2011 to 2019 as Executive Director/CEO of Collington, Kendal’s metro Washington, D.C.-area affiliate.
“We are very excited that Ann has accepted the CEO responsibilities for Collington Life Plan Community,” said Michael Nolin, Chair of Collington’s board of directors. “Collington is a dynamic community that seeks to transform the experience of aging for its residents and the wider community. Ann’s broad experience and visionary leadership will guide us in these efforts.”
Gillespie started her career with the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, where she worked on initiatives in federal senior housing, and employment legislation. After four years on Capitol Hill, Gillespie was recruited by leaders in the Continuing Care field to serve as the founding executive of the Continuing Care Accreditation Commission (CCAC). Along with providers, hundreds of peer volunteers and other stakeholders, she led the transformation of the field to become self-regulated and fiscally prudent by reducing the potential for federal oversight while increasing confidence and trust on the part of consumers, lenders and regulators.
After 15 years leading CCAC, Gillespie was appointed Senior Vice President for Shared Learning and Leadership of The American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA, now LeadingAge). Notably in that role, Gillespie established the Association’s Leadership Academy and served as trusted adviser to its CEO senior living systems network.
“My roots with both Kendal and Collington go deep, Gillespie said. “I worked side by side for many years with Lloyd Lewis, founder of The Kendal Corporation, in the creation and growth of the Continuing Care Accreditation Commission. John Diffey, who succeeded Lewis as Kendal’s CEO, was one of the founding members of the Leadership Academy. Collington’s founders established their community using CCAC’s standards of excellence and became the youngest accredited CCRC in the nation.”
In 2007, Gillespie joined Booz Allen Hamilton to launch, grow and lead the firm’s new business to serve large not-for-profit clients and to establish the firm’s cross-sector collaboration service offering: Megacommunities. She also guided government clients in work around climate change and helping consumers gain increased access to broadband technology through a national grants program.
Gillespie joined Asbury Communities as its Chief Strategy Officer in 2012 where she was responsible for the development and oversight of the organization’s strategy, positioning the system for the health care reform environment, as well as the expansion of new business lines that included home and community-based services.
Before accepting the Collington role, Gillespie served as a strategic consultant and adviser for clients in the government, private and not-for-profit sectors in the Washington, D.C. region.
“Ann’s experience as the architect of the accreditation body, now known as CARF International, is a testament to her dedication to excellence in serving older adults,” said Marvell Adams, Kendal’s COO. “As Collington begins a new chapter in its evolution, her vast knowledge and strategic insight will guide the organization toward an even brighter future.”
Gillespie is a graduate of Miami University of Ohio and the recipient of that University’s Scripps Gerontology Center’s Cottrell Distinguished Award for Scholarship, Leadership and Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Aging. She has held several board positions, including Asbury Communities (headquartered in Maryland) and Covia Communities (in California) and currently serves on the Executive Committee of The Foundation for Autism Support and Training (in Maryland).
About Collington
Collington is a not-for-profit, full-service continuing care retirement community (CCRC) affiliated with The Kendal Corporation. The community opened in 1988. Collington is situated on 125 acres of gently rolling countryside, featuring a six-acre lake, native trees, walking trails and beautiful gardens, in suburban Prince George’s County, Maryland. Natural parkland owned by the state of Maryland borders the eastern edge of the campus. The campus is roughly 12 miles east of downtown Washington, D.C., and 22 miles west of Annapolis, Mayland. Collington consists of 330 independent living residences, including cluster-cottages, villas and a three-story apartment building.
About Kendal
A leader in the field of aging services with headquarters in the southeastern Pennsylvania/metro Philadelphia area, Kendal is among the 10 largest not-for-profit senior living organizations in the U.S. Kendal-affiliated retirement communities are located in Hanover, New Hampshire; Ithaca and Sleepy Hollow, New York; Northampton and Easthampton, Massachusetts; Lexington, Virginia; metro Washington, D.C.; Chicago; Kennett Square, West Chester and Newtown, Pennsylvania; and Oberlin, Ohio. Kendal at Home, based in suburban Cleveland, combines the security of a continuing care retirement community with the freedom and independence of living at home.
—Posted by Larry Elveru