Washington, D.C. –The National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) announces its new Board of Directors for the 2009-2010 term. Officers were elected and sworn-in during the 60th Annual AHCA/NCAL Convention & Exposition held in Chicago Oct. 4 through Oct. 7, 2009. The newly elected officers are:

• NCAL Chair, Nicolette Merino, regional director of operations, Avamere Health Systems, Wilsonville, Ore.; 
• NCAL Vice Chair, Michael Shepard, owner of The Shepard Group, Pine Bluff, Ark.;
• NCAL Secretary/Treasurer, Patricia Giorgio, president/chief executive officer (CEO), Evergreen Estates, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and
• NCAL Immediate Past Chair, Howie Groff, president of Tealwood Care Centers, Bloomington, Minn.

“NCAL is fortunate to have a Board of Directors that will guide the organization’s development and establish programs that will lead the entire assisted living profession into the future,” said David Kyllo, NCAL’s executive director. 

The newly elected at-large board members are:

• Jim Birchem, president and CEO of ElderCare of Minnesota, Bemidji, Minn.;
• Ashley Blankenship, administrator of Southridge Village Retirement Center, Heber Springs, Ark.
• Marcia Dooner, CEO of Parkinson’s Specialty Care, Minneapolis, Minn.
• Edie Gerelli, vice president of operations for Chelsea Senior Living, Summit, N.J.;
• Joe Perkin, vice president of operations for Midwest Health Management, Topeka, Kan.;
• Dean Solden, president of Solden Development Company, Ann Arbor, Mich.; and
• Brett Waters, New Beginnings Community Living Home, Idaho Falls, Idaho

These newly elected individuals join board members, whose terms will expire in October 2010. Those board of directors include: Deb Choma, nurse administrator, Shard Villa, Salisbury, Vt.; Vickie Cox, executive administrator, Heritage at Dover, Dover, Del.; Jeffrey Hyatt, owner of Hyatt Family Facilities, Yakima, Wash.; Christian Mason, president of Senior Housing Investments, Wilsonville, Ore; Marj Shell, executive director, Miller’s Health Systems, Anderson, Ind.; Jan Thayer, owner and CEO of Riverside Lodge Retirement Community, Grand Island, Neb.; and Kristen West, vice president of operations, Kemper Company, Strongsville, Ohio.