Meet Our Team
Community Leadership
Click the location drop-down below to learn more about each location’s leadership team. Then, click on an individual’s picture to read their bio.
Rue Thompson
Associate Executive Director
Rue has dedicated eight years of her career to supporting the geriatric population in senior living. Her journey into this field was inspired by her previous experience in trauma intensive care, where she saw the critical need for compassionate care in the senior community. This experience motivated her to transition into senior living, driven by a strong belief that seniors deserve dignity, respect, and genuine concern, especially in their later years. Rue is a Licensed Practical Nurse, having graduated from Valley College. In addition to her work in senior living, Rue has extensive experience in critical care, project management, information technology, and multi-unit retail operations.
Linda Uhas
Sales Director
Linda has over 18 years of experience in the senior living industry, as well as many years in Sales and Marketing. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design from Miami University in Ohio. Linda prides herself as being a “giver” and loves to volunteer within her community. Her passion her senior living shines through in her position as Sales Director because she enjoys making meaningful connections with seniors and their families!
New Perspective Leadership Team
Click an image below to learn more about each member of the New Perspective Leadership Team.
Ryan Novaczyk
co-CEO
Ryan Novaczyk is the co-chief executive officer of New Perspective. Since joining New Perspective, Ryan has focused the company on serving its residents and team members (creating opportunities to live life on purpose), growing the people in the organization, and building out the platform capabilities to achieve our goal of serving 10,000 seniors by 2025. Ryan has worked side by side with his partners and senior leadership team to build and expand our servant leadership culture and commitment to collaboration.
Prior to joining New Perspective, Ryan served as Vice President of Equity Research for two multi-billion-dollar financial services firms in located in New York and Minnesota. Previously Ryan was engaged in equity research and investment banking, and mergers and acquisitions at Piper Jaffray in Minnesota. While at Piper he was involved in closing over one billion dollars of IPO and M&A-related financing.
Ryan graduated from the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota with a Bachelor-of-Arts Degree, majoring in Finance with a minor in Economics. Ryan holds professional certificates from the Erickson School at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) in the following disciplines of the Seniors Housing & Care executive education program: Seniors Housing Executive, Finance, and Sales/Marketing. Ryan is active with industry associations and is a member of the Assisted Living Federation of America, CFO Executive Roundtable and sits on the Operator Advisory Board for the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing.
Ryan and his wife Courtney live in Minneapolis, MN with their son Callan and daughter Frankie. Ryan is a skiing and golfing enthusiast and enjoys family outings, hiking, biking, running, and trips to the cabin. Although not a fan of swimming, his arm has been twisted into doing triathlons from time to time.
Chris Hyatt
co-CEO
Chris has served residents, patients, family members, associates, shareholders, and suppliers for 30 years. Chris is currently in his seventh year as the co-CEO for New Perspective. Over the years, Chris served at Brookdale Senior Living, as Executive Vice President, Operations Support. Prior to joining Brookdale, via merger in 2014, Chris was Chief Operating Officer at Emeritus Senior Living. Chris embarked on his journey into seniors housing with Emeritus the latter part of 1998. Throughout his 16 years with Emeritus, he held a variety of servant leadership roles including: operations, health & wellness, administration, procurement, sales, marketing, information technology, innovation and optimization, resident engagement, culinary services, owner relations, and new development. Prior to Emeritus, Chris thoroughly enjoyed direct patient care at Mary Black Memorial Hospital, where he held various positions within the clinical realm.
Chris graduated from Spartanburg College and the University of South Carolina Upstate. Over the years, he successfully attained licenses in: Residential Care Home Administration, State & Federal Nursing Home Administration and from the Board of Nursing. Chris currently serves on the Executive Committee, Board of Directors and as the Public Policy Chairman for Argentum. He is also a member of American Seniors Housing Association (ASHA) and the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing (NIC).
Lore Brownson
Chief Clinical and Compliance Officer
Lore is responsible for clinical programs and quality assurance initiatives, as well as the development and implementation of resident programs for our Betty’s Harbor memory care and Vivid Living assisted living neighborhoods. In her role as Chief Compliance Officer, Lore will be responsible for ongoing development and oversight of our Corporate Compliance Program.
Lore formerly served for 14 years as corporate counsel, most recently as vice president and chief counsel for a Fortune 500, long-term health care provider. In this role she was responsible for providing guidance on diverse health care regulatory and compliance matters. Prior to obtaining her law degree in 1997, she worked as a registered nurse for 10 years.
Lore received her Juris Doctor from the University of Toledo College of Law, in Toledo, Ohio, graduating first in her class, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. In addition to her legal and nursing background, Lore is certified in Healthcare Compliance (CHC) by the Health Care Compliance Association.
Pam Engle
Chief People Officer
Pam is responsible for shaping and co-leading the Human Resources and Administration department. Her primary objective is to build a best-in-class seniors housing people platform that will support and transform recruitment, retention, and growth. Pam will also run point on insurance, benefits and licensure.
Pam brings twenty years’ experience in the senior housing industry, including roles in operations, finance and human resources. Most recently she served as the VP of Total Rewards at Brookdale Senior Living and prior to that she served as Senior VP of Benefits, Compensation, and Risk Management at Emeritus Senior Living.
Pam earned an MBA from Southern Oregon University and a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration from California State University, Stanislaus and Biola University. She is a Certified Benefits Professional (CBP) and a Certified Compensation Professional (CCP). She has served as a member of the Argentum HR Executive Roundtable and as a Board Trustee for the Council on Employee Benefits.
Alex Massopust
Chief Accounting Officer
Alex Massopust is responsible for shaping and leading the accounting team, along with treasury management duties and managing the various monthly, quarterly and annual financial reporting requirements. Since joining the seniors housing industry in 2012, Alex has gained extensive knowledge and experience within budgeting, forecasting and staffing tools for this sector.
Alex is an active member of the Future Leaders Council for the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing (NIC) and is the current Treasurer for Care Providers of MN and the Team Member Helping Hand Fund.
Prior to joining New Perspective, Alex was a Financial Consultant for Merrill Corporation and started his career as an auditor with Baker Tilly Virchow Krause. Alex is a CPA (inactive) and a graduate of the University of Kansas.
Doug Anderson
SVP of Marketing & Culinary
Doug Anderson oversees the day-to-day marketing and branding functions for New Perspective Senior Living. He began his career as a news anchor and reporter for KTTC-TV in Rochester, Minnesota. Since that time, he has developed a 30-year career in marketing that has included senior marketing leadership working on or for some of the best brands in the world: Country Inns & Suites, Famous Dave’s Restaurants, Carlson Hospitality, Jenny-O/Turkey Store, Hormel, General Mills and Polaris to name a few. As CMO for Famous Dave’s of America, he was instrumental in leading the growth from 20 locations to over 75 when he left. As VP of Marketing for Carlson Companies, he led brand turnarounds that drove incremental ROI gains of 20%. Over the last 10 years, Doug has led a boutique marketing consultancy that focused on driving success for clients with multiple locations. His experience in senior housing dates to 1998 as an on-going strategic and marketing consultant to New Perspective.
Applying his MBA from University of St. Thomas Opus School of Business, Doug has also taught future business leaders marketing concepts and theory as a professor at his business school alma mater. He is an avid student of all the new methods to reach and capture new customers and prospects.
David Kieffer
SVP of Sales
With over 20 years of experience in the senior living sector, David offers a track record of success with both large companies and local startups across the country. From community development to stabilization, David implements proven sales systems and solutions that bring predictable results and burgeoning occupancy growth.
David is passionate about teaching the fundamentals of building strong relationships and thoughtful follow-up. He truly believes that prospects make their buying decision based on the relationships built with the team and their experience walking community halls and feeling the energy at the communities they visit.
Majoring in Geriatrics, he received his BA degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and completed the Marketing of Senior Housing Care Executive Course at the University of Maryland, Baltimore Campus (UMBC).
Adam Cozine
SVP of Real Estate/Development
As Vice President of Development and Acquisition Adam is responsible for executing the overall growth strategy for New Perspective Senior Living. From site selection and initial feasibility through to stabilization, he is involved in every aspect of the development process. He is also an integral part of the acquisition team, working with the Company’s capital partners in evaluating investment opportunities. As Adam leads efforts to expand New Perspective geographic footprint, he will continue to build New Perspective relationships and partnerships in the Seniors Housing space.
Adam’s background includes several real estate disciplines, having previously worked for Welsh and Colliers out of Minnetonka, MN for 10 years. As head of business development at Welsh, Adam worked as a liaison between multiple divisions including construction, architecture, development, finance, brokerage and property management, helping guide clients’ real estate interests. He also helped create the Seniors Housing practice team which was responsible for the development and construction of over 1,500 senior homes.
Adam is a graduate of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN and holds a Bachelor in Arts degree from the School of Entrepreneurship and a minor in Computer Science. Adam is active or has been a member of the NIC, LeadingAge and Care Providers.
Beth Landers
Regional Vice President of Operations
Beth’s 30-year career in senior care developed out of a passion for helping the elderly at an early age. Her mother and grandmother coped with the effects of dementia, so she is familiar with the disease and losses it brings. That experience fuels her daily drive to help as many seniors as she can live lives of purpose and fulfillment. Beth has held a variety of positions in the senior care industry from Executive Director to District Director of Sales for a variety of companies including Brookdale. In New Perspective, though, she feels she has found her forever home.
Beth is a proud wife and mother of three active boys.
Brian Jennings
Regional Vice President of Operations
Brian serves as Regional Vice President of Operations for Wisconsin and Illinois and is accountable for the day-to day operation of these communities. Brian serves as a resource by providing coaching, support and guidance to each community.
After a career in catalog retailing, Brian changed direction in 2009 and entered senior housing as an Executive Director for a large memory care community near Madison, WI. He most recently served as the Wisconsin Regional Director of Operations for Capital Senior Living.
Brian grew up in the Chicago area and graduated from Millikin University in Decatur, IL with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing – subsequently moving to Madison WI with his family over 20 years ago where he still resides today.
It started as a simple mission by founders Todd and Sherry Novaczyk. A quest to find the very best senior living experience for Sherry’s mother, Betty. It has morphed into something bigger. A company committed to making a difference in the lives of our team members and residents.
This is a job where you can make a difference in the lives of so many people. Step up and be a part of something bigger. Join us on our quest to help 10,000 seniors live life on purpose by 2025. What’s the best way to ensure that every moment matters in the lives of our residents? Create an environment that is fun, inspiring and purposeful for every team member. To guide us, we use the following values: Bring Laughter, love and happiness every day! Work hard, play hard and have a blast while serving those in our senior communities. Always do the right thing.
At New Perspective, we strive to empower our team members to always make sure our communities are cared for- in the right way. Keep it simple- no need to over-complicate day to day activities in our senior communities. The simple choice is always the right choice! Finally, our Team strives to wow everyone with hospitality. A New Perspective senior community is welcoming and our Team Members strive to make sure that they are as welcoming to you in “our home” as you would be to someone visiting your home. In order to keep Todd and Sherry’s vision thriving for all those who choose to make a New Perspectives Senior Living Community their home, every team member who comes to work at New Perspective, believes in the vision and mission. For example, Beth Landers is one of our Director District Operations has spent 30 years in the field of senior care. This developed out of a passion for helping the elderly at an early age. Her mother and grandmother coped with the effects of dementia, so she is familiar with the disease and losses it brings. That experience fuels her daily drive to help as many seniors as she can live lives of purpose and fulfillment. You will find stories like Beth’s common with New Perspective Team Members and one of the great reasons you will want to make our community, your community. Afterall, a New Perspective is a great place to call home.