Leadership

As President and Chief Executive Officer of Five Star Senior Living (Nasdaq: FVE), headquartered in Newton, Massachusetts, Katie Potter leads a team of progressive, purpose-driven professionals on a mission to enrich and inspire the journey of life for older adults, one experience at a time.

Ms. Potter assumed her role as CEO on Jan. 1, 2019. During her first year, she led the company through a yearlong restructuring that successfully culminated in a management agreement with Diversified Healthcare Trust (DHC). The change took effect on Jan. 1, 2020. She also serves as Senior Vice President of The RMR Group (Nasdaq: RMR), an alternative asset manager with more than $32 billion in total assets under management as of Dec. 31, 2020.

While primarily a senior living company operating more than 20,000 units in over 30 states, Five Star is also committed to evolving service offerings for older adults. Under Ms. Potter's leadership, Five Star's rehabilitation and wellness services division, Ageility, has transformed into a growing fitness and lifestyle brand for older adults that is grounded in clinical excellence.

Read Ms. Potter's full bio

Jeff Leer has been Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Five Star Senior Living since 2019. Before Five Star, Mr. Leer served as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Office Properties Income Trust. In addition to various accounting and finance positions at several Fortune 500 companies, Mr. Leer served at the public accounting firm Vitale, Caturano PC (predecessor to RSM). Mr. Leer received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and is a certified public accountant.

Margaret Wigglesworth is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Five Star Senior Living. Before joining Five Star in 2019, Ms. Wigglesworth served as Senior Vice President, Operations, for Cresa LLC; President and Chief Executive Officer of Colliers International Property Consultants, Inc.; Executive Vice President for International Council of Shopping Centers, Inc.; and Assistant Director, National Affairs, at National Public Radio. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Community Development from the University of Maryland.

As Five Star's Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Priti Jindal champions the organization's quality of care initiatives, clinical policies, standards of practice and clinical education. She serves as a resource to our community medical directors and residents' attending physicians. A board-certified internist, Dr. Jindal also serves as medical director of Five Star's Meadowood in Bloomington, Indiana. After completing her internal medicine residency at Connecticut's Norwalk Hospital, Dr. Jindal began her career as an acute care hospitalist and physician leader and has served as a member of the medical executive committee, interdisciplinary teams and peer review committees. She transitioned her practice to the post-acute care setting, serving as medical director of several skilled nursing facilities and managing the care of geriatric patients. Dr. Jindal brings more than 20 years of experience as a practicing physician and physician leader to her role as CMO.

Zehra Abid-Wood has served in various roles since first joining Five Star in 2010, including as Chief of Staff and Senior Director of the IT Project Management Office. In her current role as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Strategic Implementation, she plays a consultative and integrative role in cross-functional collaboration and strategy, oversees Marketing and Brand, and leads the Enterprise Project Management Office. Ms. Abid-Wood's experience includes strategy and technology consulting with the Exeter Group, business process analysis and project management with The RMR Group, and establishing a project and portfolio management office at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Ms. Abid-Wood, who spent a year at the University of Oxford, graduated magna cum laude from Williams College with a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science and English.

Thomas Brussard joined the Five Star team in 2019 as Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) and was promoted to Senior Vice President of Senior Living Operations in 2021. Prior to joining Five Star, Mr. Brussard spent 15 years in multi-unit hospitality organizations, most recently with Uno Restaurants, where he last served as Vice President of Performance Management/FP&A with responsibility for several key operational initiatives. Earlier in his career, he served in financial roles with Papa Gino’s LLC, Jets.com and KPMG. Mr. Brussard holds a Bachelor of Science in Management and Entrepreneurship from Babson College and an MBA from Bryant University.

Lisa Cooney is Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Assistant Secretary. Prior to joining Five Star in 2008, Ms. Cooney practiced law for more than 10 years at Boston area law firms, where she focused on litigation and employment law matters. Ms. Cooney earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the College of the Holy Cross and her Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School. 

Denise Kelly, who serves as Senior Vice President, Ageility, has 25 years of healthcare experience, including clinical work in rehabilitation hospitals, acute hospitals, private practices and home-health settings. She has been with Five Star since 2001 and leads the operations and growth of Ageility, Five Star's rehabilitation and wellness division comprising more than 250 outpatient and inpatient clinics. Before Five Star, Ms. Kelly was Vice President of Rehabilitation for a nationwide skilled nursing company. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy from Boston University and an MBA from Lesley University. 

Joseph Lawlor joined Five Star as Vice President of Human Resources in 2018. For more than 20 years, he has served in various human resources leadership positions, including as Vice President of North America within Sodexo's senior home care company. He also spent several years in the hospitality industry, including six years as a senior human resources leader with Delaware North Companies, owner of T.D. Garden and The Boston Bruins. Mr. Lawlor received his Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School.

Stephen Geiger joined Five Star in January 2021 and was promoted to Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer in August 2021. Prior to Five Star, Mr. Geiger served as the Senior Vice President of External Reporting and Accounting Policy for The CIT Group for 11 years. Prior to that Mr. Geiger worked at the audit firm KPMG LLP for 22 years, including the last nine years as an assurance partner. Mr. Geiger has a Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in Accounting from James Madison University and is a certified public accountant.

Cindy Hale joined Five Star in 2020 and serves as Vice President, Marketing and Brand. Before coming to Five Star, she was Vice President of Strategy and Engagement for Walden Behavioral Care. She formerly served as Senior Vice President of Marketing/Chief Marketing Officer for KHJ Brand Activation. In a career that has included founding and leading an advertising agency, Ms. Hale has acquired in-depth experience across numerous industries, such as hospitality, tourism, retail and healthcare, all of which have informed her ability to help "care" organizations create transformative programming. Ms. Hale holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Vermont. 

Jim Kotarski joined Five Star as Vice President of IT and CIO. He came from Avid Technology, a media, audio/video firm, where he served as the business information officer. Before that, Mr. Kotarski was director of global enterprise applications for cybersecurity firm Rapid7. He started his career in the financial services industry at Oppenheimer. Mr. Kotarski holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Merrimack College and earned his MBA at Babson College.

Lindsey McCormick joined Five Star in 2019 as Vice President, Resident Experience. In this role, she oversees the Culinary and Dining group and the Design and Construction team. She brings more than 15 years of experience in client and membership services in commercial real estate and trade association management. Ms. McCormick received both a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in German from Middlebury College.

Amy Owens joined Five Star in 2006 and was promoted to Vice President, Human Resources, in 2021. In addition to healthcare, her human resources career has spanned a number of fields, including architecture, engineering and hospitality. Ms. Owens has a Bachelor of Business Administration in Human Resources Management from the University of Nebraska-Omaha and has both SPHR and SHRM-SCP certifications.

Michel Weaver arrived at Ageility in 2019 as Senior Director of Operations and was promoted to Vice President in 2021. Mr. Weaver brings to his role deep experience in strategic development, marketing and operations nationally within aging services and rehabilitation, including post-acute neuro-rehabilitation. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Butler University.

Elizabeth Wheatley was first with Five Star from 2000 to 2010 and returned in 2013 in her current role as Vice President of Clinical Services. She has extensive clinical experience in the areas of post-acute care and senior living. A summa cum laude graduate of the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Elizabeth has been a Certified Rehabilitation Nurse (CRRN) for more than 30 years.

Alex Foster joined Five Star as Divisional Vice President in 2020. Mr. Foster has extensive experience in operations, including from his executive leadership roles at Atria Senior Living and Allegro Residences. Mr. Foster began his career overseeing operations for multi-unit retail companies. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Northeastern University.

Melinda Skirvin joined Five Star in 2005 as Executive Director of Park Summit in Coral Springs, Florida. Since then, Ms. Skirvin has served as the Regional Director of Operations and was promoted to Divisional Vice President in 2018. She has more than 30 years of successful experience in all facets of senior healthcare and senior living services and has a passion for older adults and the team members who serve them. Ms. Skirvin earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Florida State College-Jacksonville.

Dannie Williamson joined Five Star in 2013 as a Regional Director of Operations and was promoted to Divisional Vice President in 2019. Prior to Five Star, he was President of Clear Point Solutions LLC. He brings more than 22 years of experience in the healthcare and senior living industries. He is a graduate of the University of South Alabama and holds a Nursing Home Administrator's license.

Jennifer Clark serves as Secretary for Five Star and is Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of The RMR Group Inc. and The RMR Group LLC and a member of the RMR Executive Operating Committee. Ms. Clark has been a Managing Director of RMR since 2018. She is responsible for all legal matters affecting the RMR managed companies. Ms. Clark is also the Secretary of all the RMR managed companies and serves on the boards of Diversified Healthcare Trust (Nasdaq: DHC), Five Star Senior Living (Nasdaq: FVE) and Sonesta International Hotels Corporation (private). Ms. Clark is Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Tremont Realty Advisors LLC, a wholly owned, SEC-registered investment adviser subsidiary of RMR acquired in 2016. Before joining RMR in 1999, Ms. Clark was a partner at the law firm of Sullivan & Worcester LLP, where she had a broad-based real estate practice, including representing secured lenders, borrowers, joint venture partners and investors in loans and leveraged transactions. Ms. Clark earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and American Literature from Brandeis University and a Juris Doctor from Boston University Law School.

Mr. Larkin is the Director of Internal Audit for The RMR Group Inc. (Nasdaq: RMR). Mr. Larkin also serves as Director of Internal Audit for all of the publicly traded companies managed by RMR, including Five Star Senior Living Inc. (Nasdaq: FVE), Service Properties Trust (Nasdaq: SVC), Diversified Healthcare Trust (Nasdaq: DHC), Office Properties Income Trust (Nasdaq: OPI), Industrial Logistics Properties Trust (Nasdaq: ILPT), Tremont Mortgage Trust (Nasdaq: TRMT), TravelCenters of America Inc. (Nasdaq: T.A.), and RMR Mortgage Trust (Nasdaq: RMRM). Mr. Larkin also is the Chief Compliance Officer and Director of Internal Audit for Tremont Realty Advisors LLC, a wholly owned, SEC-registered investment adviser subsidiary of RMR acquired in 2016. Mr. Larkin was previously employed by Five Star as Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, as well as by RMR as a Senior Vice President, until 2012. Before joining Five Star and RMR in 2011, Mr. Larkin practiced law at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP for over 10 years. Mr. Larkin earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a Juris Doctor from the University of Connecticut School of Law.