July 5, 2018— Judy Braun, Kendal’s Chief Operating Officer, will retire July 6 after 17 years as a top executive of one of the 10 largest not-for-profit senior living organizations in the U.S. Headquartered in the southeastern Pennsylvania/metro Philadelphia area, Kendal is a leader in the field of aging services.
Since joining Kendal’s executive leadership team in 2001, Braun has worked in close cooperation with Executive Directors, affiliate Boards of Directors and Kendal staff, serving as coach and facilitator to improve the performance of the Kendal System of senior living communities, programs and services in eight states.
“With grace, wisdom and a contagious passion for our work, Judy has led Kendal’s Affiliate Services teams to the great benefit of the Kendal System and the people it touches,” Kendal President and CEO Sean Kelly said. “The feedback from dozens of meetings and discussions held all over the Kendal System has convinced us that besides recruiting a new Chief Operating Officer we’ll need to add someone in the newly created role of Chief Strategy Officer to take over all of Judy’s responsibilities.”
During her tenure, the Kendal System added eight new affiliates in seven states, and Braun orchestrated the teams from throughout the System that helped to successfully open each one. She also oversaw the system-wide transition to electronic medical records and the development of KendalNet, the Kendal System’s intranet.
Most recently, Braun has helped oversee plans for Enso Village, a new type of Kendal community in northern California being developed in partnership with the San Francisco Zen Center. The Zen-inspired community, designed for individuals 55 and older, will nurture the practices of meditation and mindfulness and be designed for a diverse population with wide-ranging needs and interests and operated with a spirit of inclusion.
“Kendal is an awesome organization, deeply committed to its values. It has been an honor and a delight to serve the residents, staff and board members,” Braun says. “From my new place of retired relaxation, I will be excited to watch Kendal’s growth and advancement as it continues to seek better ways to transform the experience of aging.”
Before joining Kendal, Braun was the Executive Director and President/Chief Executive Officer of The Washington House in Alexandria, Virginia. She is a past Commissioner of CCAC (now known as CARF) an international body that accredits organizations aspiring to excellence, and is a fellow and past president of the National Gerontological Nursing Association. She holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Carlow College, as well as a master’s degree in nursing and gerontological nursing and a doctorate in geriatric mental health nursing, each from Case Western Reserve University.
About Kendal
Founded on Quaker principles and guided by its Values and Practices, Kendal provides independent living, assisted living, memory support, skilled nursing and rehabilitation care in eight states. 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.