{"id":57863,"date":"2026-06-22T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/?p=57863"},"modified":"2026-06-18T14:41:54","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T21:41:54","slug":"changemakers-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/changemakers-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the 2026 Changemakers of senior living"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With rising demand, workforce challenges and evolving resident expectations, the senior living industry is under pressure to rethink how to operate. The 2026 Changemakers of senior living<\/a> are leading the way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The annual Changemakers series, celebrating innovators in the senior living industry, kicks off this month. Each conversation published in Senior Housing News (SHN)<\/a> honors a bold leader who is rewriting the rules of senior living and keeping residents at the center of a changing industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As sponsor for the eighth year in a row<\/a>, we\u2019re proud to join SHN in presenting the 2026 class of honorees. Their interviews reveal how these leaders got to where they are today and their insights into challenges faced by the industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul Boethel, 2026 Changemaker<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Paul Boethel, CEO of Watermark Retirement Communities<\/a> is rethinking how senior living grows, staffs, markets and delivers the resident experience. He’s standardizing operations across Watermark communities and leaning into technology and data to keep teams responsive. He advocates for the industry becoming more agile to meet the expectations of the next generation of older adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read on for a glimpse into the conversation or see the full interview with SHN<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In what ways can senior living companies change the public\u2019s perception of the industry?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The best way to change the public\u2019s perception is for the public to experience it. That\u2019s difficult to do at scale physically, but with a strong social media presence and engagement, we can display the experience and benefits of living in a senior living community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an industry, we are far behind others when it comes to social media presence and authentic engagement. We have an opportunity to showcase the experience and benefits of senior living more effectively and tell our story in a more meaningful way. As that improves, sharing more intimate, real experiences on these platforms can help deliver consistent, meaningful messages at scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What staffing changes does the larger senior living industry need to make to meet the staggering level of demand ahead from new residents?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In the immediate term, operators need to drive stronger rental rate growth as we approach high occupancy levels and minimal new supply. Historically, hospitals have outpaced senior housing in top-line revenue growth, achieving a 4 to 5% CAGR compared to senior housing CAGR closer to 3 to 3.5%. That disparity has contributed to a significant wage gap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The more we\u2019re able to push rates relative to other health care sectors, the more we can close that gap, become more competitive for high-quality talent and expand the pool of individuals willing to consider senior housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Long term, we\u2019ll need to explore technologies that support care delivery. Some countries, like Japan, are already facing significant labor shortages. They are leaning heavily on robotics and predictive technologies, and they offer valuable insight into how we can improve efficiency without sacrificing the quality of the resident experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What advice do you have for other senior living companies implementing their own changemaking efforts? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t think this will be controversial, but the planning and execution of the rollout of something new is as important as the change itself. We often spend significant time researching, modeling and testing new initiatives, but less time on implementation and execution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An experienced project manager is invaluable. The difference between success and failure often comes down to how well a change is rolled out and adopted by the field and by residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quintin King, 2026 Changemaker<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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For Quintin King, the path forward in senior living follows a deliberate sequence: people, process, then technology. King is president and principal of Brightwater Senior Living<\/a>, a Yardi Senior Living Suite<\/a> client. He’s focused on reducing friction for staff through connected systems, bringing CRM, EHR and financial tools into a single environment. Then teams spend less time chasing information and more time focused on residents and families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get the highlights here and explore the full interview with SHN<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n