GIVENS COMMUNITIES - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Certified Public Accountant
- Chief Financial Officer
Allen has been Chief Financial Officer since 1995. He is responsible for the financial
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Philanthropy
Brian Guengerich is a Native of Asheville, North Carolina and graduated from Montreat College with a degree in Human Services in 2006. He started his career at the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club in Asheville, eventually becoming the organization's Chief Executive Officer. Brian then went to work for the National Boys & Girls Club, as the Director of Organizational Development and eventually secured a staff position at Montreat College as the Vice President for Advancement. He comes to Givens with 15+ years of non-profit experience. Brian lives in Black Mountain with his wife Danielle and their three boys; Davin, Pax and Tate.
Job Titles:
- Leader
- Vice President, Human Resources
Christian is a millennial leader that brings HR knowledge along with generational insight and energy into HR leadership. Christian is part of the Givens leadership team, bringing strategic and innovative ideas to life to continuously improve the work environment through leadership development, effective partnering and support of colleagues, culture initiatives, and DEI task forces. Christian holds a Master's degree in human resources management from Western Carolina University and a Bachelor's degree is Music Performance from the University of North Carolina Asheville. She is PHR certified through the Human Resources Standards Institute. Christian started at Givens part-time as a Programming Assistant, working with residents in Assisted Living while completing Master's degree. She was then promoted to the Administrative Assistant Position supporting Human Resources, Financial Operations and Technology post Master's degree. When Givens Highland Farms was acquired, Christian moved into the HR Manager position supporting Givens Estates, and when the former Human Resources Director retired, she was promoted into the Vice President of Human Resource role overseeing Human Resources function for all campuses.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director at Givens Estates
- Interim Executive Director, Givens Estates
David Smith has been Associate Director at Givens Estates since 2021 and is currently serving as the Interim Executive Director. He served as Facilities Director from 2018-2021 and Grounds Director from 2005-2018. In his Facilities role, Mr. Smith was responsible for maintaining over 200 acres of property and over one million square feet of building space. His responsibilities as Associate Director include the areas of Independent Living Life Enrichment, Environmental Services, and Facility Services.
Mr. Smith serves as a local scout leader, volunteer and former Trustee with the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy. He has a B.S. in Ecology and Environmental Biology from Appalachian State University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Executive Director, Givens Choice
A native of Polk County, Erin's career in aging began at 16 as a Certified Nursing Assistant at Autumn Care of Saluda. Erin is a graduate of Lenoir Rhyne University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where she obtained a MS in Gerontology and Non-Profit Administration. Her professional career began after college with Lutheran Services for the Aging and Carol Woods Retirement Community, two nationally recognized providers of non-profit aging services in North Carolina. As a recipient of the Somers Research Internship on Long-Term Care and Aging from the National Academy of Social Insurance, Erin spent part of 2006 at LeadingAge National as a research intern. This ignited her passion for the planning and evaluation of aging services. After 10 years at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services as a Program Evaluator and Manager, Erin and her family came home to Western North Carolina. As a Quality Improvement Specialist with the NC Quality Improvement Organization, Alliant Health, Erin worked with aging service providers across 25 Western most counties. She joined Givens Estates in 2018 as the Independent Living Life Enrichment Department Director, a newly formed department that merged 3 pre-existing departments. In 2022, Erin volunteered to participate on the exploratory committee of a Continuing Care at Home program, a concept she has been interested in since graduate school. Erin was named Executive Director of Givens Choice in November 2022. Erin and her husband Wilkes live in Henderson County with their 3 young sons.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director, Home and Community Based Services
Jessie's passion for aging services began when she trained as a Certified Nursing Assistant in High School. During Jessie's undergraduate studies at DePaul University, she interned with the Givens' HR team where she first learned about our mission, vision and values. She later joined Givens Highland Farms as their HR Manager. Before Brexit, she moved to England to pursue her MSc in International Health Management from Imperial College London. Following her studies, she joined Elder, the UKs largest live-in care agency as their Operations Manager. She returned to NC in '22 to rejoin Givens Communities as our Executive Director of Home and Community Based Services.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director, Givens Highland Farms
Ken is a graduate of the Miami University of Ohio. He has over 25 years' experience working in the retirement community industry. He began his career with Maple Knoll Village in Cincinnati, Ohio. From there he spent seven years with Immanuel Health Systems in Omaha, Nebraska. As Wellness Director, he managed the Wellness Center and program for their Lakeside Community and led the development of Wellness Centers for three of their six communities. In 2005 Ken joined Givens Estates as their Wellness Director and led the development of their new Wellness Center and continued to build their wellness program. In July of 2014, Ken took the role of Associate Director of Givens Highland Farms and in March 2015 became Executive Director after the retirement of the previous Executive Director. Ken has led, and continues to lead, the GHF campus through an aggressive Master Plan. Ken currently serves on the Montreat College President's Advisory Council, SVCM Endowment Committee, Black Mountain Swannanoa Chamber Board and the Mission Hospital Board of Trustees.
Kevin has more than twenty-seven years of finance, accounting, investment, and operations experience in various industries. Mr. Schwab joined Givens Communities in 2021. Supported by a senior management team and department managers, Mr. Schwab is responsible for the overall organization, which serves approximately 1,550 residents and currently employs more than 500 full and part-time staff. Along with the senior management team, he is responsible for Givens Estates, a Life Plan Community in Asheville; Great Laurels, an affordable community for seniors in Waynesville; Highland Farms, a Life Plan Community in Black Mountain; Gerber Park, an affordable and middle-income community for seniors in Asheville; and LifeMinistries, a community-based, health-focused outreach program. Before joining Givens Communities, Mr. Schwab was most recently the CEO of St. Camillus (Milwaukee, WI) since 2016 and has worked at St Camillus for over twenty years in multiple capacities, previously as CFO and COO. Kevin earned a Bachelor's degree in Accounting from Marquette University and a Master's in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Member of the Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Sales & Marketing
- Givens Communities' Vice President of Sales and Marketing
As Givens Communities' Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Neal promotes competitive positioning and better brand experiences. Neal leads a team focused on extending the Givens brand via partnerships, connections, content, and transformational experiences, drawing on his knowledge and skills in marketing and sales. By implementing systems, tools, and processes which are consistent with Given's Mission, Vision, and Values, Neal's leadership allowed his team to exceed all-time census and occupancy objectives.
Neal joins us with 35 years of revenue generating expertise in healthcare and senior living. In both the for-profit and non-profit sectors, he has held the positions of Administrative Director, Vice President, Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer, and Chief Operating Officer. Neal received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1987.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Vice President, Information Technology
Richard's 23-year career in technology has been dedicated serving different levels of HealthCare organizations in both Rural and urban environments. Richard has served in the leadership role for two healthcare organizations over the past 16 years. Richard's personal mission in Technology during his career has been to ensure that any application of technology improves the resident's, patient's, and staff members lives as well as successfully meeting the organizations implementation needs, goals, or compliance. Outside of his career Richard has served on various community Boards, provides content and support to several healthcare conferences such as HIMSS and LeadingAge. When the opportunity arises Richard enjoys volunteering to helping smaller organizations make sound decisions with their limited IT resources.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Affordable Communities
Teresa Stephens has directed Givens Affordable Housing since 2010. She joined the Givens staff in 2005 as Coordinator of Buncombe Medication Assistance Ministry, became Development Assistant in 2006, and HUD Coordinator and Executive Assistant in 2007. Her affordable housing certifications include NCP-E, SCS, CPO, and AHM. She is licensed as a North Carolina Real Estate Broker. Ms. Stephens is responsible for Givens Affordable Communities consisting of Givens Gerber Park 180 Tax Credit/HUD 202/Section 8 apartments and 82 middle income apartments in Asheville and Givens Great Laurels at Lake Junaluska a community of 64 Tax Credit apartments and 36 HUD 202/Section 8 apartments. She is currently serving as a member of the LeadingAge NC Board of Directors. Her previous work experience was as Community Care Coordinator as well as advertising and marketing. Ms. Stephens has a Master of Science degree in Gerontology, Management of Aging Services from the University of Massachusetts/Boston and a BFA from Western Carolina University.