Meet the Team.

Susan Ryan, CEO

Susan has spent decades working with elders as a nurse and change agent. She has worked in a variety of eldercare settings and helped to lead her previous organization’s transformation to culture change by assessing industry innovation and developing strategic and educational protocols.

Colleen Kammar, Chief Finance Officer

Colleen Kammar is a certified public accountant with more than 30 years of professional experience working with public, private, and nonprofit organizations. She has held senior management positions at several high-growth organizations, with extensive work in operations, investment, and large-scale mergers. Colleen has worked for AgingIN since June 2017.

Zoie Garza, Project Coach

Zoie Garza joined CFI team in 2024 as a Project Coach. In this role, she collaborates with innovative leaders to advance cultural transformation related to senior living through a project management lens focused on financial modeling, regulatory application, and physical design. Using a strategic approach to change, future opportunities push boundaries and create new ways of helping elders thrive.

Meg LaPorte, Communications and Marketing Consultant

With more than 30 years of experience in nonprofit management, journalism, communications, and marketing, Meg has a deep commitment to advocating for elders, combating ageism, and improving job quality for direct care professionals.

From 2018 to 2021, Meg served as director of communications and marketing for The Green House Project. In addition to consulting, she currently serves as executive director of the Maryland Regional Direct Services Collaborative and is cofounder of Art Against Ageism, a nonprofit dedicated to leveraging art as a powerful tool for dismantling age bias. She holds a Master of Arts in Management of Aging Services and serves on the Board of Directors for Gray Panthers NYC.

Anne Montgomery, Strategic Advisor

Anne Montgomery is an experienced policy strategist and health services researcher specializing in long-term care and support systems for older adults and individuals living with disabilities. Now an independent consultant, Anne served the U.S. Congress for a decade as an analyst for the Senate Special Committee on Aging and the House Ways & Means Committee. She has also worked at the Government Accountability Office, the Alliance for Health Policy, and as a managing director of the Center for Eldercare Improvement at Altarum.

Marla DeVries, Chief Learning Officer

Marla has more than 30 years of experience advocating for change and working to create person-directed organizations where elders and those working with them can thrive. Beginning as a long-term care ombudsman and later as a culture change advocate, Marla utilizes her skill set to educate, support, and impact eldercare.

Rachel Graham, Project Coach

Rachel Graham collaborates with senior living leaders to advance cultural transformation related to design, financial modeling, regulatory application, and project management with a special emphasis on transforming the culinary experience of senior living. Through creative problem-solving approaches, Rachel collaborates with leaders to successfully strategize and challenge the status quo in bringing about sustainable change. She has worked alongside The Green House Project for the last nine years at a large Green House community and brings real-life experience to her advisory work.

Alex Spanko (In Memoriam)

Alex Spanko served as CFI’s director of communications and marketing from 2021 until his untimely passing in March of 2025. He was a gifted writer, a passionate reporter, and a tireless advocate for revolutionizing eldercare. Alex’s dedication to his work and to the well-being of older adults was evident in every initiative he championed.

Alex leaves behind a legacy of compassion, advocacy, and an unwavering commitment to improving the lives of others. His authenticity, voice, and vision made a lasting impact on the CFI team. His memory will live on through the new Alex Spanko Memorial Award to be given out at the CFI annual conference.

Kathleen Goff, Strategic Initiatives Leader

As a collaborator with The Green House Project, Kathleen handles pre-development activities for organizations interested in building Green House communities, implementing cultural transformation initiatives within their existing communities and/or nursing homes, and developing new programs around the Green House model.

Janet Wright, Sales and Systems Administrator

Janet has spent more than 20 years in the aging services field, in admissions, sales, and outreach capacities. She holds numerous education certificates from the Alzheimer’s Association, Argentum, and other sales and marketing educational entities. Most recently, Janet served as director of admissions at Brooke Grove Retirement Village, a CCRC in Sandy Spring, MD.

Debbie Wiegand, Project Coach

Debbie has spent her entire career as a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator, engaging in and leading transformative change in the field of long-term care. Her experience in operations, culture change, design, and education, provides the necessary insight to partner with visionary leaders desiring the best future possible for elders.

Mary Hopfner-Thomas, Education Coach

Mary worked for 19 years in corporate communications before she decided to get her master’s at UMBC’s Erickson School of Aging Studies and pursue a career with elders. In her role as Education Coach, Mary helps organizations implement The Green House model successfully, providing the tools, resources, and education necessary for a deep and slip-resistant transformation.

Anna Ortigara, Educational and Educational Coach

An independent contractor serving as an educator, curriculum developer, and consultant with Center for Innovation and other aging services organizations, Anna recently served as organization development and workforce consultant with the Workforce Innovations Team at PHI for seven years where she has taught Coaching Approach to Supervision to leadership of LTC organizations and supports organizations to implement person-directed living.

Before PHI, Anna was the director of resource development at The Green House Project where she co-created and taught Core Green House curriculum and Coaching for Guides and Nurse Executives.

Kelly Tremblay, PhD, Neuroscientist, Clinician, Coach Consultant

Dr. Tremblay is a neuroscientist and clinician who has spent more than 25 years in academia as a researcher and practitioner. Her research in the areas of communication neuroscience, person-centered care and digital health technology was honored by the National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organization with invitations to judge peer-reviewed grant applications and to develop guidelines in support of healthy aging.

Her career has since evolved into supporting others who are in leadership roles. For example, as a clinician and champion for inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility, she has served on many boards including the Hearing Loss Association of America where she served as a board trustee and co-founding chair of the Task Force for Accessible, Inclusive Employment.

As an ICF-certified executive coach, she works with C-suite leaders to promote healthy, accessible, multi-generational workplaces where people can flourish. At Royal Roads, she teaches in the Master of Arts in Executive and Organizational Coaching program.

Jim Clark, Financial Consultant

Jim Clark oversees financial modeling for Green House communities under development. He also currently serves as the senior director of portfolio management and analytics at Bausch & Lomb in Rochester, NY. In his earlier role as CFO for St. John’s Living, he provided financial support for the Penfield Green House community in the Rochester suburbs.