PAHSA: Presbyterian Association of Homes & Services for the Aging News Newswire

PAHSA Welcomes New Board Members Elected at 2026 Annual Meeting

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 05:00:00 GMT

The Presbyterian Association of Homes & Services for the Aging (PAHSA) is pleased to welcome Brianna Mettler and Douglas Myers as newly elected members of the PAHSA Board of Directors.

PAHSA members elected Mettler and Myers during the 2026 PAHSA Annual Meeting, held March 25, 2026, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Both will serve three-year terms on the Board.

Brianna Mettler serves as Senior Vice President of Healthcare Operations for PAHSA member National Church Residences, where she provides strategic leadership and operational oversight across a broad continuum of senior living and healthcare services. She brings deep expertise in healthcare operations, organizational leadership, and mission-driven senior services.

Douglas Myers is President & CEO of Westminster Ingleside Foundation, the fundraising arm supporting the mission and ministries of Ingleside, a faith-based senior living organization and PAHSA member. In this role, he provides strategic leadership for philanthropy, donor engagement, and charitable initiatives that advance high-quality, mission-driven services for older adults.

Myers and Mettler bring their deep experience in aging services, strong commitment to organizational leadership, stewardship to strengthen and advance the mission of PAHSA to support its members now and into the future.

PAHSA is grateful to its members for their engagement in the governance process and looks forward to the insight, leadership, and commitment Brianna Mettler and Douglas Myers will bring to the Board as PAHSA continues to support and advance mission-driven senior living.

Celebrating a New Chapter: Introducing Susanne Shaw, PAHSA's next Executive Director

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 01:07:57 GMT

PAHSA is excited to announce an important and joyful milestone for our organization. Following Cindy Ray’s announcement last spring of her plans to retire after 14 years of faithful service as PAHSA’s Executive Director, the Board of Directors began a careful and prayerful search for the next leader to guide our shared work. That process has now reached a wonderful conclusion.

With great enthusiasm, the PAHSA Board of Directors is pleased to welcome Susanne Shaw as PAHSA’s next Executive Director.

Susanne brings a wealth of experience in the senior living field, along with deep expertise in communications, public relations, and marketing. For more than 11 years, she served as Communications and Public Relations Manager at Southminster Retirement Community in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she helped strengthen community engagement and tell the story of mission-driven senior living. Earlier in her career, she worked on the vendor side of the industry as an Advertising Sales Manager for a touchscreen communications platform serving senior living communities.

Susanne's professional journey also reflects creativity and entrepreneurial spirit, including developing a homeowner–service provider matching platform and publishing custom home magazines in the Charlotte, NC, and Atlanta, GA, markets. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Virginia.

In a letter to PAHSA members and friends, PAHSA Board Chair, Franklin Fant wrote, "Susanne stood out from other candidates for the position for a number of reasons. Coming from the senior living industry, she understands what our members do. We believe she is well-equipped for success in member engagement, member recruitment, programming, and sponsor recruitment. Susanne also shares an appreciation for the way faith informs the work of PAHSA members. She will be a great asset for PAHSA as we preserve the best of our culture while thoughtfully adapting and growing in response to the evolving senior living environment."

The Board is confident that Susanne will be a tremendous asset to PAHSA as we honor the best of our culture while embracing new opportunities in a changing senior living landscape.

Susanne will be employed by PAHSA member Forefront Living and will serve PAHSA through a management contract between Forefront Living and PAHSA. She will work remotely from Summerville, South Carolina. Her first day will be Monday, January 26, allowing her to join members at the PAHSA Fundraising Summit in Orlando (January 28–30). Following the Summit, Susanne will work closely with Cindy Ray through the 2026 Spring Conference, The Gathering, in Indianapolis (March 24–26), ensuring a thoughtful and seamless leadership transition. Cindy’s final day with PAHSA will be April 3.

The Board extends heartfelt thanks to the members of the Search Committee — Franklin Fant of Presbyterian Communities of South Carolina;Dan Davis of Presbyterian Senior Living, Bobbi Jo Haden of Presbyterian SeniorCare Network, Scott Polzin of Forefront Living, and Tim Webster of Kintura — for their time, wisdom, and dedication throughout this process.

Special appreciation is also shared with Scott Polzin and Forefront Living, which will support the Executive Director role through a management agreement with PAHSA. In addition, we offer deep gratitude to Presbyterian Homes & Services, which generously provided management and operational support to PAHSA for more than 20 years — an extraordinary gift that helped shape who we are today.

As we celebrate Cindy's remarkable legacy and look ahead with anticipation, we are filled with gratitude and hope. PAHSA has been truly blessed to find Susanne Shaw, and we cannot wait for members to meet her and experience her leadership. We look forward with excitement to the ways her gifts will strengthen and advance the mission we share.

Diane Dantos, Presbyterian Village of Hollidaysburg volunteer, receives the 2025 Caritas Award

Sun, 02 Nov 2025 04:00:00 GMT

The 2025 Caritas Award was presented to Diane Dantos, volunteer leader at Presbyterian Village Hollidaysburg, a Presbyterian Senior Living (PSL) community. The award was announced at the PAHSA Fall Gathering, November 2, 2025, at The Exchange Center, Boston, Mass.

Franklin Fant, PAHSA board chair, who led the award ceremony explained, “This award recognizes an individual or group serving among PAHSA’s members who exemplify the Christian virtue to love God and neighbor.”

Diane was nominated by Alicia Fenstermacher, Vice President of Purposeful Living for Presbyterian Senior Living who wrote, “Diane radiates the love of Christ in every moment she spends with us. She volunteers every Monday through Friday without fail. Her dedication is unwavering ¾ not out of obligation, but from a place of deep compassion and faith. Each morning, she leads enriching activity programming including trivia, exercise and discussion groups, all that nurture the social, physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing of every participant. Diane meets residents and team members exactly where they are, with no judgement- only kindness, care and understanding. Whether it is a warm smile, a gentle touch, or simply sitting beside someone who needs to feel seen, Diane reminds us of all what it means to love God by loving our neighbors. She is not just a volunteer- she is a beloved member of our family.”

Diane was unable to attend the Fall Gathering. Dan Davis, President & CEO, accepted the award on her behalf, and shared how much the residents and staff of Presbyterian Village love and feel loved by Diane.

The award is supported by the generosity of Hamlin Capital Advisors, a PAHSA sponsor whose representatives presented Diane with a heart-shaped crystal trophy. Along with the trophy, PAHSA will give a donation to the PSL Foundation in Diane’s honor.

Nominations for the 2026 Caritas Award will open next summer.

Tim Webster, Kintura Co-CEO, receives the PAHSA 2025 Spiritus Award

Sun, 02 Nov 2025 04:00:00 GMT

The board of directors of the Presbyterian Association of Homes & Services for the Aging, (PAHSA) announces that Tim Webster, Co-CEO of Kintura is the recipient of the 2025 Spiritus Award. This is the inaugural year for award, which was presented at the PAHSA Annual Fall Gathering, November 2, 2025, at The Exchange Center, Boston, Mass.

Franklin Fant, PAHSA board chair, who led the award ceremony explained, “The Spiritus Award is presented to a person employed by a PAHSA member organization whose leadership inspires others who live and work in their organization."

Tim was nominated by the senior leaders of Kintura. In their nomination, they wrote: “For over 30 years, Tim’s service and leadership have been rooted in faith, compassion, humility and vision. Tim cares about colleagues both personally and professionally. They feel valued by him and in turn pass this on to their respective teams. This ripple effect spreads throughout the organization, inspiring others to promote and enhance the well-being of all who live and work in the organization.”

Accepting the award, Tim said, “I am so honored and humbled. A leader is only as good as his team, and I share this with the leadership team of Kintura.” He also acknowledged the important mentoring and mutual support e has received over the years from his PAHSA colleagues.

The award is supported by the generosity of PAHSA sponsor Hamlin Capital Advisors, Mike Armstrong, principal, and Sharon Ioannidis, managing director of Hamlin were present at the Fall Gathering to present the flame-shaped crystal trophy. Along with the trophy, PAHSA will give a donation to Kintura in Tim’s honor.

PAHSA received two nominations for the 2025 award. Nominations for the 2026 Spiritus Award will open next summer. Read more about the Spiritus Award.

Dan Lindh, PAHSA lifetime member, inducted into the Continuing Care Hall of Fame

Mon, 13 Oct 2025 05:00:00 GMT

Congratulations to Dan Lindh, retired CEO of Presbyterian Homes & Services (PHS), who has been inducted into the Continuing Care Hall of Fame. In a ceremony to be held on Sunday, November 2, 2025, during the LeadingAge Annual Meeting in Boston, Mass., Dan is one of six inductees this year who collectively represent more than 200 years of service to older adults in senior living.

2025 marks the sixth ceremony for the honors, which are bestowed every other year by A.V. & Associates LLC as a way to honor individuals and organizations for their contributions to the development of continuing care retirement communities (also known as life plan communities) and continuing care at home programs.

Dan was active in PAHSA throughout his term as CEO. He was granted Lifetime Membership in the association by the board in 2024 to recognize his leadership and continuing support of PAHSA.

Dan began his 48-year career at Presbyterian Homes & Services (PHS) as an accountant, subsequently serving as CFO, CAO, and CEO for 28 years. Under his leadership, PHS grew from 180 employees serving 200 older adults to 7,500 employees serving more than 27,000 through home & community-based service options and continuums of care at 61 campus locations..

Dan joins past PAHSA leaders inducted into the Continuing Care Hall of Fame:

2023 - Steve Proctor, CEO (retired), Presbyterian Senior Living
2021 – Mary Alice Ryan, CEO (retired), St. Andrew’s Senior Resources System
2019 – James Ellison, CEO (retired), Westminster Communities of Florida