Speakers

Mary G. Leary joined Mather as Chief Executive Officer and President in 2002. Ms. Leary previously served as Chief Operating Officer of Classic Residence by Hyatt and has held other executive leadership positions in senior living and health care. Currently, she is a member of the Executive Board of the American Seniors Housing Association, the Operator Advisory Board and Research Committee of the National Investment Center; the Advisory Board of Cornell Institute for Healthy Futures; The Institute for Innovation, Strategy and Leadership, a national CEO Think Tank; and Director of Churchill Casualty Ltd., a captive insurance group. Previously, she served as Director and Chair of the Risk Committee of Caring Communities, a Reciprocal Risk Retention Group. Ms. Leary founded Novare, a national consortium of single site and small system Life Plan Community providers, serving as chair for its first ten years. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Business/Health Services Administration from Cornell University and a Master’s Degree in Health Policy and Management from Harvard University.

In 2019, Ms. Leary was named to the inaugural Hall of Honor in the McKnight’s Women of Distinction awards, recognizing top leaders in the field of senior living. She was named a 2020 Changemaker by Senior Housing News, recognizing leaders driving the future of senior living and received the 2021 LeadingAge Illinois Leadership in Action Award. In 2023, Mary was recognized as an Agent of Change in the first-ever Pinnacle Awards from McKnight’s, which honors top industry veterans who set new standards, drive change, and inspire others. In 2022 and 2023, she was recognized as one of the Top 5 Wellness CEOs in senior living in North America, receiving a Top 5 Pinnacle Award for her outstanding dedication to fostering thriving wellness cultures. In 2023, Ms. Leary was inducted into the Continuing Care/Life Plan Community Hall of Fame for her extraordinary achievements and contributions to the development of Life Plan Communities. In 2024, she will be featured in the forthcoming edition of The Entrepreneurial Spirit of Seniors Housing being published by ASHA/Senior Care Investor.

With a mission of enhancing the lives of older adults by creating Ways to Age WellSM, Mather develops and operates innovative Life Plan Communities, serves older adults through community initiatives, and conducts cutting edge research through Mather Institute. Under Mary’s leadership, Mather has grown from serving 8,400 in 2001 to more than 45,000 served directly and nearly 170,000 indirectly (virtually) today. Additionally, the organization has earned more than 350 awards for quality, resident/employee engagement, innovation, research, and more. Mather has been named one of Chicago’s Top Workplaces by the Chicago Tribune, Illinois’ Healthiest Midsize Employer by Crain’s Business and ranked among the nation’s top 10 Best Small and Medium Workplaces in Aging Services in the category of Senior Housing and Care by Fortune. CliftonLarsonAllen LLP and LeadingAge named Mather a “Pathways to Greatness” award recipient based on “leadership, superior performance, distinctive impact, best practices and innovation, and the ability to inspire public trust and confidence”.