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Make way for another 2025 Changemaker who is reinventing senior living. Glen Lewis, CEO of RoseVilla, a single-site continuing care retirement community with a history of breaking the mold, joined Senior Housing News to discuss current challenges, innovations and the future of the industry.
The Portland, Oregon, nonprofit retirement community continues to redefine senior living through sustainability programs and intergenerational engagement. Lewis shares insight about embracing risk and technology to create a community that reflects the values and expectations of older adults.
Wade into the conversation here or dive into the full interview at Senior Housing News (SHN).
Meet Changemaker Glen Lewis
SHN: In what ways do you think senior living operators need to change to meet the needs of the incoming generation of older adults?
Lewis: I think operators need to ask themselves the tough question more often: “Would I move in and live here today?” I ask myself that all the time when I walk our campus. And while there are areas I’d absolutely live in, there are others that still need redevelopment.
Future residents will have different expectations than those currently living with us. It’s about more than just the physical environment — it’s about engagement, autonomy and purpose. They’ll want to live in communities that reflect their values and allow them to contribute meaningfully. That’s the shift operators need to embrace.
SHN: A common challenge operators mention is educating prospective residents and their families. How can the industry improve in this area?
Lewis: One powerful way is to become more open and integrated into the broader community. Too often, operators treat the campus as closed — just for residents and their families. But when we bring in preschools, host intergenerational programs and open our campuses to clubs and public seminars, we create meaningful interaction between generations.
Take our climate resiliency summit, for example. Our residents organized it, inviting people from other communities and the public. That kind of event challenges the outdated perception of senior living. It shows that important, forward-thinking conversations are happening here — conversations you might expect on a college campus. Initiatives like our Rosebud preschool also engage families and reshape how people think about these communities.
SHN: How can senior living organizations change the public’s perception of what senior living is?
Lewis: We have to be willing to take risks — to break the mold in what we build, how we operate and the types of programs we offer. Initiatives like our sustainability work and our preschool are examples of that.
But taking the risk isn’t enough. We also need to tell the story. It’s mission-driven for me. I want people to be drawn to senior living — not just to live here, but to work here, partner with us and see us as a community asset. That’s why we share what we’re doing outside our own circles, even presenting at conferences unrelated to senior housing. It creates crossover interest and shifts perceptions.
There’s more to come
Explore more Changemaker interviews with senior living innovators this summer, shared on The Balance Sheet. Stay tuned for the next batch of 2025 Changemakers, coming in August.
