Alex Susskind is a Professor of Food and Beverage Management and is currently serving as the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Professor Susskind earned his Ph.D. in Communication from Michigan State University with a specialization in organizational communication and his MBA with a concentration in personnel and human relations. Alex earned his undergraduate degree at Purdue University in Restaurant, Hotel, and Institutional Management and is also a trained chef with a degree in Culinary Arts from The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. Prior to starting his career in academia, Alex was a chef and restaurant operator for both independent and multi-unit restaurant companies in the Northeastern and Southeastern United States.
The Future of Senior Living
Event Overview
But moves meant to cater to the baby boomers are not the only major changes afoot in the senior living industry. The new constraints associated with managing COVID-19, such as social distancing and increased safety protocols, are also affecting the way senior living facilities function. COVID-19 has forced businesses to modify how they provide service to their residents and their families as well as how their professional staff can interact and engage with the residents and guests. In this new volatile business environment, owners, operators, and service providers are making difficult decisions every day to protect their businesses, assets, employees, and residents.
In this live one-hour discussion, we’ll discuss the future of senior living and how these two concurrent challenges are changing what residents and their families expect and prompting new innovations from the industry.
What You'll Learn
- The changing landscape of senior living
- The importance of innovation and integration in senior living
- Best practices in a COVID-19 world
- How to keep older adults healthy and safe through protocols and design
- How the COVID-19 pandemic is influencing customer choice
Speakers
Brooke Hollis serves on the leadership team of the Sloan Program and the Institute for Healthy Futures working on alumni and industry external relations. He also mentors students and serves as a faculty member. Beyond his appointment at Sloan, his ongoing professional consulting activities straddle the area of mergers & acquisitions and management consulting primarily for health and professional services firms. In addition to leadership roles in a number of regional, national and international professional organizations, Brooke is a past-president of the Sloan Alumni Association, and has been on the advisory boards of the College of Human Ecology and the Cornell Club of Greater Hartford. He is a current Board member of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA).
Mr. Hollis’ other background includes over three decades working in both the public and private sector, serving in senior management positions in a number of organizations in the health and financial advisory/consulting fields. While serving as president of a national professional association, he was also involved in advocacy work with the federal government on policy and financial issues.
Prior work includes almost a decade as an owner and president of a private entrepreneurial firm that developed and managed specialty outpatient clinics, developed and operated a Durable Medical Equipment (DME) company and provided contract staffing programs for hospitals in three states. During his time with the firm he helped lead a significant growth in revenues and profitability, and he subsequently orchestrated a successful exit strategy when his partners had financial difficulties. His subsequent work as a partner in mergers & acquisitions advisory firms has involved consulting and transaction work in 20 states and Canada with private equity funds and public or privately held companies, both domestic and international.
Dr. Mardelle McCuskey Shepley, B.A., M.Arch., M.A., D.Arch., is a professor at Cornell University and chair of the Department of Design and Environmental Analysis. She is Associate Director in the Cornell Institute for Healthy Futures. She previously served as professor at Texas A&M University (TAMU) and was director of the TAMU Center for Health Systems & Design from 2004-2014. Dr. Shepley is a fellow in the American Institute of Architects and the American College of Healthcare Architects. She is LEED and EDAC certified.
Dr. Shepley has authored/co-authored six books, including Healthcare Environments for Children and their Families (1998), A Practitioner’s Guide to Evidence-Based Design (2008), Design for Critical Care (2009), Health Facility Evaluation for Design Practitioners (2010), Design for Pediatric and Neonatal Critical Care (2014), and Design for Mental & Behavioral Health (2017). Her papers have been published in Healthcare Management Review; Indoor and Built Environment; Journal of Perinatology; Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning; Health Environments Design & Research; World Health Design; Children, Youth & Environments; Journal of Housing for the Elderly; Journal of Environmental Psychology; General Hospital Psychiatry; Building Research Information; Evidence-Based Medicine; Journal of Applied Gerontology; Journal of Interior Design; Child Health Care; Senior Housing & Care; Environment & Behavior; and Perceptual & Motor Skills, among other peer-reviewed venues. To enhance the link between research and practice, Dr. Shepley worked 16 years in practice prior to joining TAMU and has served as a consultant to architectural firms regularly since 2000. She is founder of ART+Science, design research consultants.
Rohit Verma is the Dean of External Relations for the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, Singapore Tourism Board Distinguished Professor in Asian Hospitality Management at the School of Hotel Administration (SHA), and a professor in the Operations, Technology, and Information Management area.
Professor Verma has published over 75 articles in prestigious academic journals and written numerous reports for the industry audience. He regularly presents his research, participates in invited panel discussions, and delivers keynote addresses at major industry and academic conferences around the world. He is coauthor of the “Operations and Supply Chain Management for the 21st Century” textbook and coeditor of “Cornell School of Hotel Administration on Hospitality: Cutting-Edge Thinking and Practice,” a professional reference book that includes works of several of his colleagues at Cornell.
Professor Verma has received several research and teaching awards, including “Lifetime Achievement Award” from Production and Operations Management Society’s College of Service Operations; several “Industry Relevance” awards from Cornell Center for Hospitality Research; “Masters’ Core Class Teaching Award” from Cornell School of Hotel Administration; “Skinner Award For Early Career Research Accomplishments” from Production and Operations Management Society; “Spirit of Inquiry Award,” the highest honor for scholarly activities within DePaul University; and “Professional Service Award” from the David Eccles School of Business, University of Utah. His research articles have received “Jack Meredith Best Paper Award” from Journal of Operations Management and “The Most Influential Service Operations Paper Award” from Production and Operations Management Journal.

Alex Susskind is a Professor of Food and Beverage Management and is currently serving as the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Professor Susskind earned his Ph.D. in Communication from Michigan State University with a specialization in organizational communication and his MBA with a concentration in personnel and human relations. Alex earned his undergraduate degree at Purdue University in Restaurant, Hotel, and Institutional Management and is also a trained chef with a degree in Culinary Arts from The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. Prior to starting his career in academia, Alex was a chef and restaurant operator for both independent and multi-unit restaurant companies in the Northeastern and Southeastern United States.

Brooke Hollis serves on the leadership team of the Sloan Program and the Institute for Healthy Futures working on alumni and industry external relations. He also mentors students and serves as a faculty member. Beyond his appointment at Sloan, his ongoing professional consulting activities straddle the area of mergers & acquisitions and management consulting primarily for health and professional services firms. In addition to leadership roles in a number of regional, national and international professional organizations, Brooke is a past-president of the Sloan Alumni Association, and has been on the advisory boards of the College of Human Ecology and the Cornell Club of Greater Hartford. He is a current Board member of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA).
Mr. Hollis’ other background includes over three decades working in both the public and private sector, serving in senior management positions in a number of organizations in the health and financial advisory/consulting fields. While serving as president of a national professional association, he was also involved in advocacy work with the federal government on policy and financial issues.
Prior work includes almost a decade as an owner and president of a private entrepreneurial firm that developed and managed specialty outpatient clinics, developed and operated a Durable Medical Equipment (DME) company and provided contract staffing programs for hospitals in three states. During his time with the firm he helped lead a significant growth in revenues and profitability, and he subsequently orchestrated a successful exit strategy when his partners had financial difficulties. His subsequent work as a partner in mergers & acquisitions advisory firms has involved consulting and transaction work in 20 states and Canada with private equity funds and public or privately held companies, both domestic and international.

Dr. Mardelle McCuskey Shepley, B.A., M.Arch., M.A., D.Arch., is a professor at Cornell University and chair of the Department of Design and Environmental Analysis. She is Associate Director in the Cornell Institute for Healthy Futures. She previously served as professor at Texas A&M University (TAMU) and was director of the TAMU Center for Health Systems & Design from 2004-2014. Dr. Shepley is a fellow in the American Institute of Architects and the American College of Healthcare Architects. She is LEED and EDAC certified.
Dr. Shepley has authored/co-authored six books, including Healthcare Environments for Children and their Families (1998), A Practitioner’s Guide to Evidence-Based Design (2008), Design for Critical Care (2009), Health Facility Evaluation for Design Practitioners (2010), Design for Pediatric and Neonatal Critical Care (2014), and Design for Mental & Behavioral Health (2017). Her papers have been published in Healthcare Management Review; Indoor and Built Environment; Journal of Perinatology; Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning; Health Environments Design & Research; World Health Design; Children, Youth & Environments; Journal of Housing for the Elderly; Journal of Environmental Psychology; General Hospital Psychiatry; Building Research Information; Evidence-Based Medicine; Journal of Applied Gerontology; Journal of Interior Design; Child Health Care; Senior Housing & Care; Environment & Behavior; and Perceptual & Motor Skills, among other peer-reviewed venues. To enhance the link between research and practice, Dr. Shepley worked 16 years in practice prior to joining TAMU and has served as a consultant to architectural firms regularly since 2000. She is founder of ART+Science, design research consultants.

Rohit Verma is the Dean of External Relations for the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, Singapore Tourism Board Distinguished Professor in Asian Hospitality Management at the School of Hotel Administration (SHA), and a professor in the Operations, Technology, and Information Management area.
Professor Verma has published over 75 articles in prestigious academic journals and written numerous reports for the industry audience. He regularly presents his research, participates in invited panel discussions, and delivers keynote addresses at major industry and academic conferences around the world. He is coauthor of the “Operations and Supply Chain Management for the 21st Century” textbook and coeditor of “Cornell School of Hotel Administration on Hospitality: Cutting-Edge Thinking and Practice,” a professional reference book that includes works of several of his colleagues at Cornell.
Professor Verma has received several research and teaching awards, including “Lifetime Achievement Award” from Production and Operations Management Society’s College of Service Operations; several “Industry Relevance” awards from Cornell Center for Hospitality Research; “Masters’ Core Class Teaching Award” from Cornell School of Hotel Administration; “Skinner Award For Early Career Research Accomplishments” from Production and Operations Management Society; “Spirit of Inquiry Award,” the highest honor for scholarly activities within DePaul University; and “Professional Service Award” from the David Eccles School of Business, University of Utah. His research articles have received “Jack Meredith Best Paper Award” from Journal of Operations Management and “The Most Influential Service Operations Paper Award” from Production and Operations Management Journal.
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