President, CEO, and Founder of Juniper Communities (an owner/operator of seniors housing) Lynne Katzmann joins Matt on this week’s episode of Leading Voices in Real Estate. Lynne founded Juniper Communities over 30 years ago and is the only woman-owned business among the top owners in the assisted living business and has been recognized by various organizations including Crain’s New York as one of the top women-owned businesses in the tri-state area. Lynne has been a leader for other seniors housing owners during COVID, providing transparency at the start of the pandemic in her vulnerable communities to now requiring staff members to be vaccinated. Additionally, she shares what it means to be a female CEO and company founder in a male-dominated industry, the hospitality model of seniors housing, and how she wants to leave the world a better place through her work.

Lynne founded Juniper Communities in 1988, an organization that invests in, develops, and operates senior living and long-term care communities. In 2019, she was selected as the inaugural recipient of the McKnight’s Women of Distinction Lifetime Achievement Award for her outstanding contributions to senior living and skilled care; and in January 2020 she was inducted into the American Senior Housing Association Senior Living Hall of Fame.

Lynne has held memberships and leadership roles in various professional and community organizations, including currently serving on the Board of Sabra Health, Board of Directors of the Elder Care Alliance, the Executive Board of the American Seniors Housing Association, the Advisory Board of Senior Living 100, the Board of Trustees of Partners for Health, the Board of Advisors of Tufts University Medical School, and as the Secretary and Treasurer on the Board of Trustees of Naropa University. Lynne holds a doctorate in health policy from the London School of Economics.