Learn About Ascent Living Communities | Senior Living Communities

About Ascent Living Communities

A Focus on People

Ascent Living Communities is a Colorado based senior living owner and operator. Our focus is to provide a first class experience for our residents and their families, and to hire and retain the best associates in the business. We are a hands-on owner, and very involved in the operations of our communities. You will regularly find us at our communities working with our teams to create a more meaningful senior living experience than we believe you will find anywhere else. Our founders’ 40 years of combined professional backgrounds provide the backbone of our operation. We have celebrated many successes with our residents, their families and our associates, and also worked through many challenges that we continuously learn from. All of this provides a steady foundation for us to build on and improve every day.

Our Tenets in Action

Our company tenets are personified in five categories in order to provide actionable best practices and standards. This ensures that when a resident or family member chooses an Ascent community, a new associate joins our team, a new property is acquired, or a new investor or client comes onboard, every aspect of their experience is in line with the Ascent promise to elevate senior living.

Whether you’re in the market for a new home for yourself or a loved one, an interested investor or client, or a senior living professional looking for careers with Ascent, we want to hear from you.

Residents

Empower them
Pay tribute and respect
Be attentive to their wishes and requests
Make it fun
Maximize their ability to maintain independence and dignity

Extended Family

Remember that they influence resident referrals and are also customers
Recognize they are not trained to take care of aging parents
Integrate them into the culture of each of our senior living communities
Education forums and sensitivity support groups

Associates

Foster cross-training and multi-tasking. All associates have 3 job descriptions, namely, primary function, each is a marketing representative of the community they work for and anything and everything else within physical means
Every department is a wheel and every staff member a spoke….create a sense of team
Identify with credentialed staff with a high degree of integrity and professionalism

Each Community

Make each senior living community the market leader
Integrate each senior living community within the society of each town and market they are situated so they are identified and accepted as part of the neighborhood
Help stimulate the local economy and purchase goods and services from within the local market

Investors & Clents

Our Founders are the infantry and we work closely the people that invest in and with us
We Listen, We Care, We Execute
We exceed normative operational efficiencies by applying fresh ideas with a unique perspective
We are upfront and open‐minded

Management

The Ascent Founders are notable for their roll‐up‐your‐sleeves, detailed, and focused approach that is further augmented by creating a familial environment within each senior living community we own and/or operate. We create highly successful and market differentiated communities that we can hang our hats on. We are ambitious; however, we have the discipline and patience to operate within our means.

Tom Finley

Founder & Principal

Mr. Finley is a founding member of Ascent. Prior to Ascent, he held positions with a senior living and development company as a finance and development manager. His professional career in finance and real estate began with Arthur Andersen in their tax consulting practice. He then worked for ProLogis, a large REIT, in various capacities ultimately serving as fund manager for a $2 billion property trust which was publicly traded on the Australian Stock Exchange. He is a member of the Board of Trustees for Havern School, a nationally recognized school serving students with diagnosed learning disabilities since 1967. He holds bachelors and masters degrees in accounting and taxation and is a certified public accountant (inactive).Mr. Finley is responsible for the strategic direction of the company, its communities, and future growth opportunities. He oversaw over $150 million in completed senior living development and acquisitions for the company over the last several years. He has over 20 years of experience in finance, real estate, and operations.

Susie (Reimer) Finley

Founder & Principal

Susie (Reimer) Finley is a founder of Ascent. Her professional career in senior living spans over 20 years. She began her career working in various capacities in day-to-day operations for local and regional senior living operators in the Midwest. Mrs. (Reimer) Finley then joined a large national senior living firm, where she has served as Executive Director for multiple communities in the Denver market. She joined Ascent in her current capacity in 2013. She received a Bachelor of Science in Gerontology from the Ohio State University. She is a licensed Nursing Home Administrator, and served as a Board Member and the Assisted Living Chair of the Colorado Healthcare Association from 2011 to 2018. Mrs. (Reimer) Finley is responsible for the evolution of Ascent’s operating model, strategic planning, functional programming, project design, and optimizing ongoing operational performance.

Jeanne Barnard, MEd, CDP

Vice President of Operations

Jeanne Barnard is the Vice President of Operations of Ascent. She began her career in senior living over 30 years ago as a Sales & Marketing Director. She later served as an Assisted Living Director, Nursing Home Administrator and Chief Operating Officer, with focus in property development. Since that time, she has served as an Executive Director, Area Director and Regional Director of Operations. For the past 10 years, she has served as a Regional Director of Operations with oversight of regional team members and multiple communities. Jeanne’s work experience has resulted in increased employee retention, and continually improving services and operations, with a consistent focus on mission, values, and balancing purpose with business growth objectives. She received a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and a Master of Education in Adult Education and Gerontology, and received the ALFA Leadership Award. Ms. Barnard is also a Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP). She is responsible for home office team oversight, working with community leadership teams, optimization of Ascent’s operating model, and sales and marketing oversight.

Jana Johnson, BSN, RN

Director of Clinical Services

Jana Johnson is the Director of Clinical Services for Ascent. Her nursing career has spanned over 30 years since she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing from the University of Minnesota. She has practiced nursing in a variety of settings including pediatrics, intensive care, home health care, public health care and compliance monitoring with the Minnesota Department of Health. She joyfully found her home in assisted living about 12 years ago. During that time she has worked as a health and wellness director and director of clinical services with three different companies. Jana draws on her experience surveying care in many varied organizations to bring best practices in resident-centered care to the communities she supports. The opportunity to get to know the stories of our amazing residents and develop relationships with our amazing caregivers is the passion that drives her work. Ms. Johnson is responsible for the clinical oversight of the communities as well as ensuring regulatory compliance.

Gary Stephens

Director of Sales and Marketing

Gary Stephens is the Director of Sales and Marketing of Ascent. He has over two decades of sales and marketing management experience. He began his senior living career with a large national organization and held the position as their national Strategic Sales Leader providing direction, guidance and support to multi-site sales teams. Gary is an enterprising executive leader with a penchant for accelerating business growth. He is a hands-on consultative managing expert focused on optimizing teams, identifying emerging talent, coaching and training best practices and proven models designed to foster quality and customer focused excellence.Gary is a licensed real estate broker in Colorado (inactive) and additionally held licenses in the USVI, Florida and Connecticut. With extensive experience in property management and new construction pre-sales, he a proven track record expanding market share, implementing effective marketing strategies and organizing events pertinent to increasing sales revenue and improving profitability of business operations.Gary graduated from Eastern Connecticut University with a degree in Psychology with an emphasis in Special Education. He has been a foster dad to 2 teenage boys, enjoys painting and photography. Gary also received Connecticut Magazine’s 5 STAR Award for customer service excellence.

Marcela Foronda

Accounting Manager

Marcela Foronda is the Accounting Manager for Ascent. Her professional career in Accounting and Finance spans over 10 years. She has worked in several industries in order to create a proven track record of success in multiple business fields. She began as Staff Accountant in the food manufacturing industry on the Corporate Accounting team at Barry Callebaut, one of the world’s largest chocolate producers. While in the position, she helped to prepare financial statements and various day to day accounting needs. She was promoted to Senior Accountant and took over responsibility of all reporting for US and Canada. She relocated to Colorado in 2017 and began working in the tourism and hospitality industry at Vail Resorts, as Revenue Accounting Manager. While there, she prepared financial data for investor press releases on the Revenue Accounting team. Marcela has a focus on process improvement and automation and is always seeking ways to improve reporting accuracy while meeting stakeholder needs. She received her Bachelors degree in Accounting from DePaul University in Chicago and is currently pursuing her CPA.