Tana joined Leisure Care in August of 1994 as the Public Relations Manager after time as a marketing communications agency professional, formalizing a program for garnering PR for Leisure Care and its communities. From there her growth was swift. She was promoted to Staff Training and Development Director, ensuring orientation and staff training programs were consistent among communities. Later she led sales and marketing, including market feasibility and community openings. She was promoted to Senior Vice President in the early 2000s. At that point she was responsible for overseeing development and construction, sales and marketing, and resident services (food and beverage, assisted living and guest services). In 2003, she became Partner and in 2010, she was promoted to President.

As President of Merrill Gardens from 2013 - 2015 Tana led the restructure and rebuilding of one of the industry’s most successful and respected retirement housing companies. While managing a great deal of change, her team was also able to add eight new communities to the portfolio through development and third-party management agreements in less than 18 months. As President, she also directly oversaw the operations of communities and was responsible for leading the company’s new business development efforts.

Tana has also worked very closely with the Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA), the largest national association exclusively dedicated to professionally-managed, resident-centered senior living communities. She has served as a board member and on a variety of committees.  She is currently involved in the ALFA Executive Director Leadership Institute (EDLI).

Tana’s strong work ethic translates over to her personal life as well. She believes in giving
back to the community in which she lives. She currently serves on the board of Treehouse, working for children in foster care in Washington State, and she regularly volunteers with many organizations. When she is not working or volunteering, she can be found enjoying her family life in the Pacific NW and cheering on her favorite sports teams. Go Huskies!

At Leisure Care Jason was quickly promoted to Brand Integration Manager. He led market research efforts including the analysis and selection of potential new sites. Additionally, he developed the Five-Star Fun branding campaign that is still in use at Leisure Care today and made sure the brand was being delivered at all consumer and employee touch points. Soon he was promoted to Marketing Director and worked closely with the sales team and as a key member on new business development, ensuring that all new developments had a strategic sales and marketing plan that would meet proforma expectation. Later Jason was promoted to VP of Marketing, and then to Senior VP of Leisure Care, working together with Tana on new business initiatives, site feasibility and positioning, sales and marketing, guest services, and information technology. As a team, they controlled the day-to-day operations of the company.

In November 2011, he was made Partner. In this role he found efficiencies with teams and processes, while maintaining effectiveness. He worked with partners to source development and acquisition opportunities, including identifying underserved markets, repositioning acquisitions, and troubleshooting underperforming properties.

Jason joined Merrill Gardens in 2013 as Senior Vice President to help lead the growth, restructure and rebranding of the 20-year old senior housing company. He oversaw sales and marketing, building and facilities maintenance, information technology, and operations. He helped lead the transformation of the company’s operating platform by introducing new processes, implementing three new software programs, managing the rebranding of the company, and creating a structure that is leaner and more efficient. During this time of great change at Merrill Gardens, along with Tana as President, he helped open three new developments and added five new management contracts to Merrill’s portfolio while maintaining industry-leading occupancies in a stabilized portfolio.

Jason was selected to the inaugural class of the NIC’s Future Leader Council. NIC is the senior housing industry’s main trade organization focused on advancing the quality and availability of seniors housing and care options for America’s seniors through research, education, and increased transparency that facilitate informed investment decisions, quality outcomes, and leadership development in seniors housing and care. He has also served as a speaker and moderator at NIC events.

When Jason is not busy scouting sites, repositioning acquisitions, and creating efficiencies and key branding strategies, he can be found enjoying the great Pacific NW with his wife and two daughters. He also sits on the board of Art with Heart, a non-profit organization that helps children overcome trauma through creative expression.