Friendship Senior Options is overseen by a distinguished Board of Directors and led by a talented Executive Staff.
Chair
Geoffrey Roehll is the Chair of the Friendship Senior Options Board of Directors. He joined the Friendship Senior Options Board in 2014. Mr. Roehll serves as leader of the Senior Living Studio at Hitchcock Design Group, where he has demonstrated his management, planning and design skills on prominent projects throughout the country. Since joining Hitchcock Design Group in 1990, he has directed many landmark projects in the senior living and assisted care market. His portfolio of built work confirms his passion for good design and keen eye for detail.
In addition to his leadership role with Hitchcock Design Group, Mr. Roehll’s diverse background includes an annual engagement with the Chicago Botanic Garden as an instructor for the Therapeutic Garden Certification program. He has been a guest lecturer at regional and national healthcare and senior living conferences and enjoys sharing, with attendees, his ideas on site planning and landscape elements that promote healing and respite.
Mr. Roehll is a graduate of Purdue University with Bachelors of Science and Landscape Architecture. He is a licensed Landscape Architect in the State of Illinois.
Bradley Barrie joined the Friendship Senior Options board in 2014. Mr. Barrie is a financial advisor with Ameriprise Financial since 1998 and holds a leadership role with Ameriprise Financial as a Registered Principal, supervising 200 other financial advisors.
Mr. Barrie participates in the community through Feeding America as well as Feed My Starving Children. He has supported the Alexian Children’s Hospital in Hoffman Estates.
Mr. Barrie is a graduate of Rockford College.
Treasurer
Tom Castronovo joined the Friendship Senior Options Board in 2009. Mr. Castronovo is a 35 year veteran of the financial services industry and is an Accredited Investment Fiduciary. Tom currently serves as Founder & Wealth Advisor at Criterion Wealth Advisors, LLC – a firm he co-founded in 2011 offering securities through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC and investment advisory through Total Clarity Wealth Management, Inc., a registered investment advisor. He spent the prior 10 years at PrivateBancorp, Inc. in Chicago serving as Managing Director and Chief Marketing Officer.
Mr. Castronovo earned his BA degree in Economics from Knox College and his MBA in Finance/Marketing from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business.
Vice Chair
Clark Delanois joined the Friendship Senior Options Board in 2009. Mr. Delanois is a Senior Vice President at The Northern Trust Company at the Lake Forest Financial Center where he leads a team of professionals that service Personal and Private Banking, Investment and Fiduciary services and co-leads the strategy for the Northwest suburbs.
He is a graduate from the University of Illinois.
Mr. Delanois serves on the board of directors for Harper College Educational Foundation, is a Trustee for Cenegenics Educational and Research Foundation, and a board member for Roosevelt University. He also serves as a Commissioner for the Village of Schaumburg Business Commission.
Bill Powell joined the Friendship Senior Options Board of Directors in 2015. Mr. Powell is a retired small business owner. He ran a courier service specialized in international trade documents, which facilitated shipments of goods coming into the country as well as goods being exported to various nations around the world.
Mr. Powell attended Iowa Wesleyan College prior to entering the U.S. Army for eight years. After active duty, he served 12 years on the Board of Directors of Orchard Village in Skokie, IL, a home for mentally disabled adults.
Mr. Powell resides at Friendship Village.
Mary Sheahen, MS, BSN, is a healthcare executive with 40 years of leadership in a hospital setting with skills in overall operations, strategic planning and leadership, performance improvement, team facilitation, organizational culture change, staff development and new business opportunities management. Her last two roles included serving as the CEO of Midwest Medical Center and Northwest Illinois.
Mary is currently the President of Sheahen Group founded in 2000, a healthcare consulting practice specializing in providing senior leadership coaching, team building, organizational training and project management. She is a Registered Leadership Coach.
She serves as the Board Chair of Midwest Center in Galena and Vice Chair of Northwest Community Healthcare in Arlington Heights.
Mary and her husband, Chuck, live in Rolling Meadows with their dog named Daisy.
Connie Fako Shoemake is a business and technology leader specializing in strategy, management, operations and business development. She has significant consulting experience in technology, business and marketing strategy, business and innovation process improvement, and leadership development across industries and company size.
Connie has worked as a Senior Consultant for Moran Technology Consulting specializing on developing actions plans to identify and maximize the benefits of IT systems. Engagements included working with education, public sector and commercial clients both globally and in the U.S. Previous to this role Connie worked at IBM. Her last position at IBM was Vice President for Global Client Centers. In this role she provided thoughtful leadership and direction to IBM’s global network of client centers, enhancing the capabilities of the centers to provide outstanding client experience, streamline center operations, drive incremental sales and enable sales teams and partners to showcase IBM’s solutions and technology capabilities.
Connie has successfully held multiple executive and management positions in sales, marketing, strategy, transformation, project management, business partner development, acquisitions and technical support. Connie joined IBM as a software sales engineer in 1981.
Connie is currently an advisor and board member for Illinois State University Business School, and National Children’s Center (NCC) in Washington DC. Connie is actively involved on the state board for Illinois Special Olympics and volunteers for Chicago’s Arts and Business Council. She is a former board member for Immanuel Lutheran School, Illinois Technology Association and the Chicago Mayor’s Council on Technology. Connie has been active in professional organizations, including Women in Technology and the Chicago Executive’s Club.
Connie is actively involved as a substitute teacher for grades K‑12 in Illinois school districts 15, 211 and 220. Connie and her husband reside in Palatine, Illinois, where they are active in the local community. They have four grown children. Connie’s hobbies include mentoring, reading, traveling and entertaining.
Secretary
Cathie Tardy joined the Friendship Senior Options Board in 2014. Ms. Tardy is a Vice President of Baird & Warner Real Estate, with over 27 years of Branch Manager experience.
Ms. Tardy was recognized as the “Realtor of the Year” in 1991 and “Real Estate Sales Manager” in 1996 by the Realtor Association of Fox Valley.
In 2001, Ms. Tardy served as the President of the Realtor Association.
Loren Trimble joined the Friendship Village Board in 2017 and is the Founder, CEO, and Managing Director of AArete LLC, a global management consulting firm. His primary focus is setting the strategic direction of the firm and creating and molding AArete’s go to market strategy and execution. In addition to Mr. Trimble’s primary focus, he also plays a significant role in thought leadership for the firm and is at the core of AArete’s Knowledge Management Center™. Loren lives and breathes everyday his passion for excellence with AArete’s personnel and clients.
He has extensive business and operations strategy experience, serving clients globally in the following industries: healthcare- provider, payer and pharmaceutical, as well as higher education, distribution, consumer products, and business services. Specific areas of expertise include strategic cost reduction, revenue optimization, pre- and post-merger valuation and synergy integrations, and advanced data analytics.
Before founding AArete, Loren was a Managing Director and Strategic Sourcing Practice Lead at Huron Consulting. Prior to Huron, he started the Strategic Sourcing services for Arthur Andersen, developing the methodology and refining the approach through numerous client engagements.
Loren has presented for a number of organizations and authored numerous articles. He holds a Masters of Business Administration from The University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Accounting from The University of Iowa. He is a CPA and a long term member of Rotary International and the AICPA.
President and Chief Executive Officer
LinkedIn
During the past 15 years, Stephen A. Yenchek has served in a variety of positions at Friendship Village and Friendship Senior Options. Mr. Yenchek was promoted to President and Chief Executive Officer of Friendship Senior Options in November 2009. In this position, he is responsible to the Board of Directors for the strategic leadership and future development of the organization.
Mr. Yenchek formerly served as Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Vice President, Operations and Corporate Development. Prior to joining the organization, Mr. Yenchek served as a consultant for strategic planning, marketing and operational effectiveness; at Elmhurst Memorial Hospital as Vice President Professional Services; at John F. Kennedy Medical Center as Vice President-Operations; and at Maryland Health Care System as Director of Administrative Services.
Mr. Yenchek is a graduate of Boston College with a B.S. in Economics and Biology and a Masters of Health Administration from Duke University. He is a Certified Aging Services Professional from the Coalition for Leadership in Aging Services and serves on their Board of Advisors. He is a frequent contributor to state and national organizations through their educational programs. He is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
President and Chief Executive Officer
LinkedIn
During the past 15 years, Stephen A. Yenchek has served in a variety of positions at Friendship Village and Friendship Senior Options. Mr. Yenchek was promoted to President and Chief Executive Officer of Friendship Senior Options in November 2009. In this position, he is responsible to the Board of Directors for the strategic leadership and future development of the organization.
Mr. Yenchek formerly served as Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Vice President, Operations and Corporate Development. Prior to joining the organization, Mr. Yenchek served as a consultant for strategic planning, marketing and operational effectiveness; at Elmhurst Memorial Hospital as Vice President Professional Services; at John F. Kennedy Medical Center as Vice President-Operations; and at Maryland Health Care System as Director of Administrative Services.
Mr. Yenchek is a graduate of Boston College with a B.S. in Economics and Biology and a Masters of Health Administration from Duke University. He is a Certified Aging Services Professional from the Coalition for Leadership in Aging Services and serves on their Board of Advisors. He is a frequent contributor to state and national organizations through their educational programs. He is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Corporate Director, Risk Compliance and Accreditation
Linda Flaherty is an RN with a BS in Business Management and an MBA with progressive experience in risk management, patient safety, healthcare quality, compliance and management. She has been successful in development and implementation of these types of programs as well as moving programs forward in their development of risk reduction strategies, patient safety improvements and achievement of quality goals. In addition, Linda has successful experience with accreditation and IDPH compliance.
Her diverse background includes acute care, senior care, outpatient settings, and physician offices. She has worked for Resurrection Medical Center, Weiss Memorial Hospital, Care Centers (a long-term care management company), and as a consultant for Pendulum, LLC, a Risk Management Consulting firm.
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
LinkedIn
Michael A. Flynn is a senior executive with over 29 years experience with 23 years in the long-term care field. Mr. Flynn rejoined Friendship Senior Options in August 2012 to provide leadership and direction for all aspects of the financial operations for the parent and all affiliate organizations.
Prior to his latest position at Friendship Senior Options, Mr. Flynn was appointed Chief Executive Officer at Smith Senior Living where he was responsible for the day-to-day leadership and strategic development of organization. He has played key financial and operating roles with regard to sound fiscal management, tax-exempt financing, and regulatory and corporate compliance, among other issues.
Mr. Flynn served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Friendship Village of Schaumburg prior to joining Smith Senior Living.
Mr. Flynn is a graduate of DePaul University with a B.S. in Accounting, and he received an MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management. Mr. Flynn is a Certified Public Accountant.
He currently serves as the Chair of the CARF/CCAC financial advisory panel. Mr. Flynn has conducted surveys for CARF/CCAC for the past 23 years. He is a Retirement Housing Professional. He serves on the Finance Committee for Health Resources Alliance. He is chair elect of the LSN Board, and he is a member of the LSN Finance Committee. Mr. Flynn is a frequent speaker at national and state association meetings.
Executive Director, GreenFields of Geneva
Tony Madl is the new executive director of GreenFields Geneva. The resident of Elk Grove has worked with GreenFields’ sister community, Friendship Village Schaumburg since 2012.
A graduate of Northern Illinois University, Madl studied health and aging with a minor in gerontology. He earned his MBA in 2003 from Keller Graduate School of Management while working full time.
Madl began his career at Resurrection Presence Health Care Systems, where he was an administrator in skilled long-term care for 11 years. He joined Friendship Village as administrator for Briarwood Health Care.
Vice President, Planning and Marketing
LinkedIn
Patricia Mash was hired as Vice President of Planning and Marketing in March 2011. In this position, she leads the strategic planning, marketing, branding, communications and sales for Friendship Senior Options and Friendship Village.
Ms. Mash’s experience offered Friendship Senior Options a new approach to marketing and sales in the senior living business. Prior to joining Friendship Senior Options, Ms. Mash held numerous positions in marketing. She spent 20 years at United Airlines where she served in various marketing positions including President of Mileage Plus Marketing, Inc. and Vice President of Revenue Management. She also served as Senior Vice President of Marketing for Equity Residential in Chicago and Senior Vice President of Marketing for Riverstone Residential Group in Dallas, TX.
Ms. Mash is a graduate of Binghamton University where she received an MBA, with a concentration in Marketing, and St. Lawrence University where she received a B.A. in Sociology. She is also a Certified Marketing Professional.
A baby born in 2012 has a 30% chance of living to 100.
—US Census Bureau