2023 National Mature Media Awards Judges

We would like to thank our 2023 judges for their time and expertise in reviewing this year’s entries. Please note: Judges were not permitted to review any entries submitted by their organizations.

Interested in serving as a judge for the 2024 competition? Please complete our judging application form or contact Pat Henze, executive director, of the National Mature Media Awards program: phenze@seniorawards.com or 800-828-8225.

Eileen Alkabes is a seasoned public relations and event management professional with a background that spans both corporate and agency landscapes. As a generalist, Alkabes has worked with clients in a myriad of industries including senior living, luxury retail, arts & culture, real estate technology, edtech and non-profit. She collaborates with clients to create brand awareness through 3rd-party endorsement, strategic campaign planning, content creation and community engagement. Over the course of her career, she has had the great opportunity to learn and work alongside some of the nation's most esteemed leaders. Alkabes holds a business degree from Florida Atlantic University and believes her integrity, work ethic, and entrepreneurial spirit have been her keys to success. She believes how you do anything is how you do everything!

Andy Asher is founder of The Let's Talk Variety Show and the web platform Bloomer Boomer , projects that engage thousands of followers and viewers throughout the country. He is the developer of online tools including the first crowdsource traffic app for California motorists. While developing multiple online and digital projects, Andy has worked with the news departments at traditional broadcast groups in the U.S. and Canada. He lives near his grandchildren in Northern California, and is an avid cyclist and pickleball player while enjoying fine food with his food and cooking expert partner, Mimi.

Lisa Bates, Chief Marketing Officer for Williamsburg Landing has spent over 30+ years in marketing. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Public Management with a concentration on Marketing. Lisa has applied her marketing skills in mutliple industries over her tenure. She has had a progressive career and worked in the tourism sector, insurance industry, shopping center management and now senior living industries. The variety of industries and positions gave her a keen eye for effective marketing. Thinking outside of the box and taking things end to end is what she is known for. Lisa is a lifelong learner and enjoys mentoring others.

Julie Blaszak, Senior Director–Creative Services, Sg2/Vizient, Inc.

Denise Brown, Founder and Owner, The Caregiving Years Training Academy

Beth Carey, Corporate Director for Brand and Promotions, Acts Retirement–Life Communities, Inc.

Jeff Doggett is Vice President and Creative Director at Doggett, a strategic brand and creative agency based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Jeff has a 20 year history of crafting category defining brands, and forging working together partnerships with his clients. His work has won numerous awards and market share for Doggett clients.

Charlotte Doyle is a graduate of Trocaire College and Southern Illinois University Carbondale with degrees in Nursing and Healthcare Management respectively. She has completed post graduate work in workforce management at SIUC. Ms. Doyle is both a R.N. and a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator. As a Registered Nurse, Ms. Doyle focused on working with children and adults with special needs prior to relocating to the Chicago area. Since 1992, her emphasis has been on long term care, serving as a Clinical Care Coordinator, Clinical Analyst, and most recently, Director of Clinical Operations for a nation-wide Continuing Care Retirement Community. Now retired, Ms. Doyle continues to focus on the needs of seniors by actively volunteering.

Derek Dunham is Vice President of Client Services at Varsity. With 30 years of experience in branding, marketing and communications, Derek has led research studies and strategic development initiatives, as well as tactical plan implementation, for dozens of senior living organizations and other major brands targeting the mature market. Derek is passionate about lifelong learning. He is an adjunct professor at Penn State and Messiah University, and has presented educational sessions at various LeadingAge state meetings and on the IGNITE stage at the LeadingAge Annual Meeting & EXPO. Derek earned his bachelor's degree in advertising from the University of North Dakota, and his MBA, with a marketing concentration, from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.

Janis R. Ehlers, MBA, heads The Ehlers Group, a national strategic marketing and communications company she started 25 years ago. Senior living communities are the company’s specialty. The Ehlers Group has received numerous awards for creativity and unique strategies geared to their clients’ needs. Prior to forming the company, Janis was a vice president marketing-public relations for two major real estate development corporations who were forerunners in active adult communities. She holds a B.S. degree in Journalism from the University of Florida and an MBA from Nova Southeastern University. She also is certified by The Riva Training Institute in focus group moderating. Ehlers authored three books including the award-winning book Marketing Senior Housing, Second Edition in 2010 and Successful Senior Housing Marketing Events in 2019. In her free time she’s an avid photographer.

Wendy Foster is Vice President of IVY Marketing Group. An award-winning company founded in 1990, IVY Marketing is a full-service public relation, marketing, crisis communications, and advertising agency specializing in the senior housing industry. She has been with IVY Marketing for 12 years, and is a PRSA certified content marketing manager.

Denise Graab is a marketing communications professional with more than 25 years experience. She joined Caring in September 2010, and is one of the original experts who developed and now manages Caring's high-integrity consumer reviews program. In 2012, Denise launched and has since directed the annual Caring Stars service excellence award, which is based on ratings and reviews of senior living communities and senior care agencies. Prior to joining Caring, she curated thousands of school reviews for an education website, and has personally published more than 100 reviews of products, services, and businesses.

Chris Harper is the vice president of communications at The Arbor Company, an operator of more than 45 independent living, assisted living, and memory care communities for seniors in 11 states. Chris leads the marketing and design services teams at Arbor and is also responsible for art direction, media relations, crisis communication, and internal communication.

David Hodge is the Chief Creative Officer at Anstey Hodge Advertising Group, and he has won over 250 awards for his creative from the American Advertising Federation (AAF), as well as awards from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and the League of Communications Professionals. David is a recipient of the AAF’s Silver Medal Award, a lifetime achievement award and one of the organization’s highest honors. In addition, he serves as an AAF ADDY awards judge and has judged competitions in markets nationwide, including Buffalo, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Houston and Spokane. David holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Radford University.

Erica Horner is a home care sales consultant for corecubed, a dynamic marketing company dedicated exclusively to serving the care industry. With over 10 years of multi-state experience in home care sales and operations, Erica has a track record of organic growth in senior care and is also a family caregiver, making her uniquely positioned to guide clients through all challenges of the senior care industry. Erica has earned dual degrees in Business Administration/Management and Psychology from East Tennessee State University – a unique combination that has proven to be valuable in an industry that is so personal and human.
At corecubed, Erica provides professional training and consulting services to home care agencies across the country. To learn more about corecubed’s services, call 800-370-6580 or visit us at www.corecubed.com.

Dan Hutson has more than 30 years of experience in helping organizations meet their marketing, communications and strategic planning needs. He currently serves as head of marketing for Priya Living, a privately held owner-operator of communities that deliver an Indian-inspired experience for older adults. Dan has spoken on senior living trends, marketing, innovation and other topics at the NIC Fall Conference, Senior Care Marketing Sales Summit (SMASH), the Argentum Chief Executive Summit, LeadingAge national and state conferences, and other gatherings of senior living leaders. He also has served on the advisory board of SMASH since its inception and the conference education planning committees for the NIC Fall Conference and LeadingAge Annual Meeting & EXPO. His marketing and communication programs have been honored by the National Mature Media Awards, Content Marketing Awards, EXCEL Awards and Healthcare Marketing IMPACT Awards, among others.

Beth Landau is a writer, editor, and educator who makes complex information clear for diverse audiences. She is a plain language specialist and the owner of BEL Writing Services, which offers professional writing, editing, and training services. She also coaches writers working on narrative nonfiction theses and manuscripts. She has an M.S. in Education from Walden University and an M.F.A. in Creative Nonfiction from Goucher College.

Kathy Laurenhue is the Chief Enthusiasm Officer of Wiser Now, Inc., and her mantra is: Laughter builds rapport. Rapport builds trust. Trust builds relationships. Wiser Now is a publishing and training company aimed primarily at enhancing wellbeing in older adults, but offering content suitable to most ages. Kathy’s current primary focus is a weekly, downloadable e-newsletter called Wait Lifters – Uplifting Content for Every Kind of Downtime. It continues the quirky format of her award-winning Wiser Now Wednesday, that she is working to convert into a series of e-books. Kathy also hopes to introduce Wait Lifters into medical waiting rooms, restaurants, and airports. Through a long and varied career, cheerful good humor and lighthearted writing along with practical insights have been the hallmarks of her five books, multiple newsletters, and dozens of courses and webinars, even when dealing with serious topics like dementia. She has created more than 1000 trivia quizzes, word games, and imaginative and reminiscence exercises in multiple formats. Her aim in everything she does is to help readers build new connections in their brains and new connections with one another. She is most easily reached at Laurenhue@msn.com.

Lauren Messmer has 20 years of experience in strategic marketing management in the senior living industry. As the President of Solutions Advisors, she specializes in marketing planning and strategy for new developments, and repositioning and expansion of senior living communities. She conducts assessments of existing communities' marketing and sales efforts to provide recommendations regarding opportunities for improvement and increased return on investment. Lauren also oversees the creative and digital team at Solutions Advisors to ensure lead generation and advancement tactics are appealing, effective and on-brand.

Caitlin Musselman joined USAging in March 2020 as Senior Communications Associate and now serves as Manager, Communications. As part of USAging's Communications team, Caitlin supports the varied communications needs of all USAging projects and programs, including drafting, editing and producing a variety of collateral materials, including blog entries, newsletter articles, email blasts, social media posts and other publications, website operations, webinar support and assistance with the development and implementation of marketing strategies and messaging. Caitlin holds a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations and Political Science from the University of Rhode Island.

A film producer and creative/branding/marketing guru, Loren A. Roberts' continued collaboration with clients worldwide has birthed a multi-disciplinary creative firm in Hearken Creative Services. Since the 1990s he has served such diverse clients as Caltech, Claiborne Senior Living, HumanGood, and Bill Nye the Science Guy, bringing a strong aesthetic to both corporate film and multimedia advertising campaigns. As an award-winning director ("Eliseo Art Silva: Finding the Wide American Earth") and director of photography ("The Day the World Series Stopped"), Roberts wears many hats including producer, camera, editor, sound recordist and editor, composer, and post-production supervisor. On the marketing side, Roberts has won awards for countless marketing campaigns, logo/brand designs, and magazine/editorial art direction.

Jason Persinger, Chief Marketing Officer, Caring.com

Eileen Ryan-Maruke, VP of Marketing and Community Relations, St. Ann’s Community

Wendy Schuman was executive editor of Parents Magazine and managing editor of Beliefnet.com. She is currently a freelance writer and editor. She is also co-founder of Grad Life Choices (gradlifechoices.com), a nonprofit career coaching program for low-income college grads, and the co-author of "Millennials in Wonderland."

Amy Selle is the Vice President of corecubed. She acts as a strategic marketing partner to corecubed clients, helping them achieve results in an increasingly dynamic marketplace. She believes that in a competitive market where all businesses have services to sell, it is a company's brand and the ways it communicates with its constituents that set it apart from the pack. Amy serves annually as a judge for the National Mature Media Awards.

Sharla Seidel serves as content architect and senior project manager for corecubed. She writes content for blogs, websites, presentations and just about everything in between. Sharla works hard to craft clear, concise messages that are tailored to the personality of your brand. Working behind the scenes, Sharla also helps oversee various projects to make sure they are delivered on budget and on time. Sharla holds both a masters and bachelors degree in English and has worked extensively throughout her career to build relationships and listen to the needs of clients. A California native, she and her family have called North Carolina home since 2011.

Julie Seireg, MSc is the Senior Director of Marketing for the Parkinson’s Foundation, where she has been working for four years. She has over 15 years of experience in Nonprofit and Healthcare Communications. Julie is a graduate of Elon University and the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. She also is on the board of a nonprofit field hockey league in Washington, DC.

Debra Sheridan, President, IVY Marketing Group

Rob Siedenburg, PrimeLife Times copyeditor, grew up on a hill farm in northwestern Illinois. He has degrees from Shimer College and Western Illinois University. He teaches advanced academic writing at the University of Illinois and has authored several books. His background includes a career as a military intelligence linguist, with duty in numerous countries. He has been a dairy farmer, mechanic, park ranger, translator, and editing manager. His hobbies include woodcarving, table-making, bicycling, hiking, reading, and writing.

Bonnie Sisson is the Community Relations and Development Manager at AgeSpan where she has the responsibility of fundraising, public relations, and marketing. According to Bonnie, she has never viewed her work as a job – rather as a daily adventure spanning 45 years at the agency. AgeSpan is a private, Massachusetts-based non-profit with a mission of helping older adults with in-home services or community programs that allow them to remain safe and independent at home.

Kindred St. Germain is the Senior Marketing Coordinator at the Parkinson’s Foundation. She is passionate about applying strategic communication to inspire change in the nonprofit sector. Kindred holds a master’s degree in Public Media from Fordham University.

Known affectionately as “The Wizard” to some of the clients at Creating Results, Inc., Mike Stakem oversees all the agency’s creative talent, including internal and external designers, production artists, photographers, copywriters, web designers, coders and video producers. As one of the agency’s most-tenured team members, Mike brings 20+ years of leadership and strategy in developing and designing creative campaigns that help clients capture the imagination of the 50+ consumer.