NIDE SOE Council

With a focus on integrative psychogerontology and aging neuroscience, Dr. Joshua Freitas leads the National Institute for Dementia Education’s Standards of Excellence Council, setting nationwide credentialing standards and practitioner training that advance person-centered dementia care. A board-certified dementia educator and author of The Dementia Concept and other works, he translates cutting-edge neuroscience and lifestyle-medicine research into practical tools and curricula embraced by professionals worldwide.

At the CERTUS Institute, Joshua directs research that informs innovative wellness models, while his program-development leadership across CERTUS Senior Living communities turns that science into daily practices that foster dignity, purpose, and engagement for older adults. A sought-after speaker, he empowers families, caregivers, and organizations to help people living with dementia thrive.

Amber is the Vice President of Memory Care and Resident Engagement Services at LCB Senior Living, and oversees and leads the company’s renowned and award-winning Reflections Memory Care program, as well as spearheads their  innovative and cutting edge 5 Principles for Vitality engagement model across 40+ communities—ensuring residents experience purpose, dignity, and joy every day.

At the National Institute for Dementia Education (NIDE), Amber shapes the organization’s educational architecture—designing credentialing curricula, setting quality standards, and spearheading nationwide outreach that advances best practices in dementia care.

With a background in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Expressive Arts Therapy, Amber holds dual master’s degrees in Dance/Movement Therapy and Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Antioch University New England. Amber is a Board-Certified Dementia Educator, and also serves on the boards of the New Hampshire and Massachusetts chapters of the Alzheimer’s Association, championing creative, evidence-based support for individuals living with dementia and their families.

With 20 + years in senior-living leadership, Lynn Lavallee directs operations across Omega Senior Living communities, guiding 500 + associates and championing innovations that deepen staff–resident engagement and elevate quality of life. As Vice Chair of NIDE’s Standards of Excellence Council, she transforms the latest evidence-based research into practical standards and advocacy initiatives that advance dementia care nationwide.

A former social worker who rose through every operational tier, Lynn blends frontline insight with proven expertise in compliance, acquisitions, turnarounds, and regulatory success—earning consistent deficiency-free surveys and robust financial performance. Her command of industry trends and best practices bridges the gap between dementia-care education and day-to-day operations, ensuring progressive, research-driven approaches benefit residents, families, and care teams alike.

A Johns Hopkins–trained cognitive-behavioral neuroscientist and award-winning mezzo-soprano, Dr. Linda Hayes Bennett (also known professionally as Linda Maguire) has spent 20-plus years exploring “music as medicine.” Her 23-year international opera career, dozens of commercial recordings, and Kennedy Center performances ground her research on how tailored singing protocols can restore language, mood, and social connection in people living with dementia.

Linda translates these findings into practitioner training for NIDE—drawing on peer-reviewed presentations for the American Psychological Association and advocacy with the Gerontological Society of America—to help care teams deliver reproducible, evidence-based music interventions at the bedside.

Dr. Jeremy Holloway is a health-equity professor at New Mexico Highlands University and former Director of Geriatric Education at the University of North Dakota. He founded Tellegacy®, an intergenerational wellness program adopted by 50-plus universities and care organizations to combat loneliness and build resilience among older adults through mindfulness, guided visualization, and reminiscence therapy.

Jeremy’s scholarship on social determinants of health and connectedness appears in journals such as IJERPH and informs his TEDx talks, keynote addresses, and NIDE standards work, where he ensures DEI principles and evidence-based mental-wellness strategies are embedded in every layer of dementia-care education.

Gerontologist Dr. Jennifer Pilcher leads Clear Guidance LLC, a national care-management and consulting firm she founded in 2018 to support families navigating young-onset and atypical dementias. Drawing on her doctorate from the University of Massachusetts Boston and frontline roles with the Alzheimer’s Association, she organizes national conferences, serves as an expert witness, and provides 24/7 guidance that demystifies complex clinical and legal decisions.

Jennifer’s real-world insights into policy, caregiving logistics, and quality-of-life outcomes feed directly into NIDE’s Standards of Excellence, where she helps translate emerging research into practical protocols that empower professionals and families alike.

For more than 20 years, Nettie Harper has championed strengths-based, non-pharmacological dementia care. As co-founder of Inspired Memory Care (IMC), she designs globally adopted training programs, secures state grants, and partners with senior-living communities to embed creative engagement and Montessori-inspired practices into everyday life.

A Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist and Certified Online Training Professional, Nettie delivers interactive classroom and on-site courses that equip interdisciplinary teams to navigate wandering, repetitive questions, fall prevention, and other complex behaviors with empathy and innovation.

Nettie’s collaborative style—“never rule out the absurd idea; it might just change the world”—has helped care partners across the U.S. achieve deficiency-free surveys and measurable quality-of-life gains for residents. Her experience spans skilled nursing, memory-care start-ups, and community outreach, making her a valued voice on NIDE’s Standards of Excellence Council, where she translates cutting-edge research into practical, person-centered standards.

Heather White has spent nearly two decades turning struggling senior-living communities into thriving, resident-focused environments. As Community President and later Market President at Thrive Senior Living, she boosted net operating income by more than 80 percent and occupancy by 36 percent while earning deficiency-free surveys across six states. Today she channels that operational know-how through Grace and Truth Education, the consultancy she founded to provide dementia training, leadership coaching, and survey-readiness support for providers nationwide.

Credentialed as an Assisted-Living/Memory-Care administrator in Texas, Virginia, and Georgia, Heather blends an MBA in Healthcare Administration (WGU) with a B.S. in Industrial–Organizational Psychology & Sociology (Southern Arkansas University). Her expertise spans policy design, risk management, and culture-building initiatives that align financial health with meaningful resident connections. As a member of NIDE’s Standards of Excellence Council, she helps translate cutting-edge dementia research into practical standards that elevate care quality across the industry.

Rachael Wonderlin turns evidence-based gerontology into engaging, actionable tools for families and senior-care teams. Through her consulting and fractional-operations firm Dementia By Day, she has guided dozens of providers in building branded memory-care programs, training staff, and launching successful market campaigns—work that helped English Meadows win Senior Housing News’ 2022 Aspect Award for its Lavender Hills concept.

A Johns Hopkins Press author of three influential books (When Someone You Know Is Living in a Dementia Care Community; Creative Engagement; The Caregiver’s Guide to Memory Care and Dementia Communities), Rachael also created the online Dementia By Day School, which certifies care partners worldwide in her signature techniques, Embracing Their Reality™ and Timeline Confusion™. Her widely shared poem “16 Things I’d Want If I Got Dementia” and her 2024 award-winning short film Embracing Their Reality further amplify her message of compassionate, person-centered care.

Featured in The Washington Post, Forbes, PBS’s Next Avenue, and Senior Housing News, Rachael hosts the podcast I CAN’T HUSTLE ANY HARDER THAN THIS and travels nationally from her base in Pittsburgh to inspire teams to rethink dementia communication and engagement.

Aysha Kuhlor brings more than 20 years of post-acute leadership to NIDE, where she helps translate evidence-based dementia research into operational standards that nursing teams can apply at the bedside. A Post-Acute Care Certified Nurse Executive, she has served as Chief Nursing Officer, Regional Director of Nursing, and Legal Nurse Consultant, guiding multi-state organizations through survey readiness, quality-improvement turnarounds, and AI-driven compliance solutions.

Known for bridging the gap between policy and practice, Aysha sits on multiple industry advisory boards and coaches Directors of Nursing on regulatory trends, staffing optimization, and resident-centered care. Her data-driven approach consistently delivers deficiency-free surveys and stronger quality-outcome metrics while fostering cultures where staff and residents thrive.

Aysha’s thought-leadership articles and conference keynotes position her as a trusted voice on innovation, operational excellence, and dementia-care advocacy across the long-term-care continuum.

A Philadelphia-based Board-Certified Dance/Movement Therapist, Natasha Goldstein-Levitas has spent 24 + years designing creative-arts programs that boost mood, cognition, and social connection for older adults and people living with dementia. Her work spans healthcare administration, higher-education curriculum design—including a new Creative Arts Therapy minor—and community-wide program leadership.

Natasha presents regularly for the Alzheimer’s Association, LeadingAge, Memory Care Forum, Drexel University, and Expose Dementia, and her peer-reviewed writings explore therapeutic movement and sensory stimulation in dementia care. A Certified Reiki Practitioner and sought-after clinical supervisor, she equips care partners with evidence-based, body-centered strategies that translate research into daily practice—insight she now brings to NIDE’s Standards of Excellence Council.

With 13 + years in senior housing, Kayla Meek has led resident-care, wellness, and engagement teams across independent living, assisted living, and memory-care settings—most recently as Vice President of Resident Care, Wellness, and Resident Experience for national providers such as American House and Anthology Senior Living.

A Post-Acute Care Certified Nurse Executive and Certified Legal Nurse Consultant, Kayla designs enterprise-wide policies, protocols, and data-driven programs that cut falls, boost survey readiness, and elevate clinical excellence. Her initiatives—ranging from dementia education platforms to alternative-therapy toolkits—are now rolled out in communities coast-to-coast.

Named a Globe St. Real Estate Forum “Influencer in Senior Housing,” Kayla pairs her public-health and gerontology training with risk-management expertise to advance quality outcomes and staff engagement. Her peer-reviewed research on social engagement and chronic conditions informs her passion for measurable, resident-centered care—insight she brings to NIDE’s Standards of Excellence Council.

Jiil Arsenal applies strategic brand thinking and inclusive digital design to elevate dementia-care awareness across cultures. Through leadership roles with the International Dementia Care Alliance, Purple Angel Southeast Asia, and the International Federation of Dementia Care, he builds cross-sector partnerships, guides regional operations, and delivers training programs that reach caregivers and policy-makers on five continents.

Combining corporate acumen and nonprofit insight, Jiil has steered business development, managed global expansions, and advised start-ups on sustainable, quality-focused growth. His initiatives harness online platforms to foster meaningful communication, strengthen brand consistency, and spotlight the human side of dementia care.

Beyond his professional work, Jiil volunteers as a Regular Pioneer and Ministerial Servant with Jehovah’s Witnesses, coordinating educational outreach that underscores service, humility, and connection worldwide. Active in geriatric, psychology, and gerontology associations, he champions evidence-based practices that protect dignity and well-being for older adults and vulnerable communities—insight he now brings to NIDE’s global Standards of Excellence Council.