As Program Director for Music & Memory, Justin Russo is responsible for Music & Memory’s training and support services. Prior to joining Music & Memory in 2015, Justin worked for AHRC New York City, one of New York’s largest providers of services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, where he found a passion for technology and program sustainability. He is also a lifelong musician with experience in music composition and production, as well as touring with many accredited artists. Most recently, his group, The Silent League, released new music after a several year hiatus. Justin holds a BA from Purchase College and an MBA from Baruch College.

Alexis Gregos is the Director of Operations at Music & Memory and has been with the organization since 2013. Some of her responsibilities include, maintaining relationships with governmental agencies, not-for-profit organizations, and public and private entities to successfully implement program goals and objectives. In addition, Alexis co-facilitates Music & Memory monthly presentations, executes grants relating to training, equipment procurement and contractual obligations and provides support to families and caregivers as it relates to Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Alexis is a Certified Dementia Practitioner and a Certified Alzheimer’s Disease Dementia Care Trainer from the NCCDP National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners. She has her Master’s degree and Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and her Postgraduate Certificate in Mental Health and Aging from Adelphi University. Alexis is passionate about culture change and enhancing the quality of life of our aging population through person-centered care.

Tony Lewis recently retired as the President/CEO of Cobble Hill LifeCare, the parent company of Cobble Hill Health Center (nursing home) and Your Choice at Home (Certified Home Health Care Agency) and was formerly the Administrator for over 13 years. His wide-ranging career in Health and Social Services began in London, England where Tony received a professional social work qualification from the West London Institute of Higher Education. In New York he acquired a Masters Degree in Health Policy and Management. While in London, Tony developed an expertise in social work and adult day care, specializing in Alzheimer’s care. He established innovative programs for elderly and disabled adults and worked as the director of a non-profit Family Caregiver In-Home Respite Care Agency.

Arriving in New York in 1991, Tony’s first position was at Cobble Hill Health Center. Starting out as the Director of the Alzheimer’s Program and Community Services, Tony was the guiding force in establishing Cobble Hill Health Center’s highly regarded Alzheimer’s Special Care Unit. Recognizing the need for specialized services for adults with medical and cognitive disabilities Tony established a medical model Adult Day Health Center that was renowned for its innovative bi-lingual programming and compassionate care. Tony has always recognized that new approaches and models of care must evolve to continue to bring a resident/patient centered approach to care.

Tony’s extensive work with caregivers and patients has informed and helped to shape his basic philosophy of care; he strongly believes that service provision should meet individual need and that where change is required, it should be the agency that yields.

David J. Gentner, Ed.D. is the 10th President of Wartburg & Wartburg Foundation, located in Mount Vernon, NY. Dr. Gentner joined Wartburg in 2004 as Vice President of Health Services. Prior to joining Wartburg, he was President and CEO of Grace Manor Health Care Facility Inc. in Buffalo, New York. In his current role as President & CEO, David has positioned Wartburg for unprecedented growth with the opening of a new state-of-the-art, 71,000 square foot Rehabilitation and Adult Day Services Center and a 61-apartment affordable housing facility lauded by The New York Times; both buildings are environmentally progressive and LEED Certified. Under his leadership, Wartburg’s nursing home has maintained a CMS 5-star rating since the inception of the rating system and is one of New York’s top performing facilities. David also expanded Wartburg’s home and community-based services to include a Certified Home Health Agency and an Outpatient Rehabilitation Center, which opened in 2016. Under David’s leadership, the Council for Creative Aging and Lifelong Learning was born. Leveraging Westchester’s community resources and eager volunteer network, this award-winning, internationally recognized arts-based program provides seniors with opportunities for self-expression, and increased self-esteem. He is a graduate of St. John Fisher University and his contribution to the field of research focuses on music, dementia, and quality of life in assisted living environments.

David dedicated his career to the care and well-being of older adults, he is a licensed nursing home administrator in three states and is the recipient of numerous industry awards for personal integrity, leadership and innovation. In 2005 he was awarded the New York Association of Homes & Services for the Aging Thomas Clarke Memorial Award for personal integrity and professional dedication in an administrator under 40. In the same year he was named the American College of Health Care Administrator New Administrator of the Year. In 2010, he was a Fellow in the American Association of Homes & Services for the Aging Leadership Academy. In 2017, he was presented with the Humanitarian Award from The Grace-Ujamaa Development Corporations. In 2019 he was presented with the Community Visionary Award from the Youth Shelter of Westchester in appreciation for his efforts to provide quality care for the oldest members of the community. In 2020, Dr. Gentner was awarded Concordia College’s highest honor (Servant of Christ) in appreciation for his efforts to provide quality care and housing to the oldest members of the community as well as for his partnership with the College.

Peter Hirsch leads the healthcare practice at Ogilvy Consulting, Ogilvy Group, LLC’s brand strategy consulting group. He has more than 30 years experience in corporate positioning and reputation risk management. Prior to joining Ogilvy, Peter had his own consulting firm, after positions at other agencies including Porter Novelli in New York and at Edelman Public Relations in New York and Frankfurt where he ran the firm’s German operations. He has written four books about corporate communications, the last of which, “Corporate Communication: Transformation of Strategy and Practice,” was published in June 2020. His column about corporate communications and ethics, Vision & Values, appears six times yearly in The Journal of Business Strategy. He holds a Master of Arts in Modern History and German Literature from Magdalen College, Oxford.

Ulrich (Rick) J. Rosa has more than 30 years of experience as a senior executive in healthcare operations, fiscal and human resources management, service redesign, community relations and fund raising. In addition to serving as Vice President in a healthcare consulting firm, he has held hospital positions of President and CEO, Administrator, Chief Operating Officer and Vice President. These senior roles and experiences at the Department Head level have contributed to his ability to recognize, analyze and resolve operational problems. In addition to his healthcare experiences, he has taught Health Services and Business courses at the College of Mount Saint Vincent undergraduate and graduate level for over 20 years, where also served as the Coordinator of Practicum Placement for the Under Graduate Counseling program. He holds a Masters of Science and an MBA and joined the Faculty of Adelphi University’s College of Nursing and Public Health in 2010. He also taught under graduate Nursing students and Graduate students pursuing Masters degrees in Public Health, Health Informatics and Health Care Administration. Mr. Rosa was formerly the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Saint Francis and Saint Mary’s Hospitals and Chairman of the Board of FAITH (Franciscan Aids Initiative to Help) as well as Board Member of the RDC (Religious of Divine Compassion) Counseling Center and Human Development. He currently is Secretary of the Wartburg Foundation and Treasurer of the (IMNF) Institute of Music and Neurological Function.

Concetta M. Tomaino is the Executive Director and co-founder of the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function and was Senior Vice President for Music Therapy at CenterLight Health System (formerly Beth Abraham Family of Health Services), where she worked from  1980 to 2016.  In 2017, she and the IMNF relocated to the campus of Wartburg, a senior residential and healthcare facility, in Mt. Vernon, NY.

Dr. Tomaino is internationally known for her research in the clinical applications of music and neurologic rehabilitation.  She lectures on music therapy throughout the  world.

Her work has been featured in national programs including 48 Hours and 60 Minutes; in international programs including the BBC; and in books on health and healing. Dr. Sacks book Musicophilia is dedicated to her.

Dr. Tomaino is Past-President of the American Association for Music Therapy and a founding board member for the International Association for Music and Medicine.

She received the Award of Accomplishment from Music Therapists for Peace at the United Nations. In 2014, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Association for Music Therapy. In 2011 she received in inaugural Burton Grebin Innovator of the Year Award from the NY Continuing Care Leadership Coalition (CCLC ).  She was honored with the 2010 Professional Practice Award from the American Association for Music Therapy and also as one of “Three Wise Women” by the National Organization of Italian American Women.  In 2004 she received the Music has Power Award from the IMNF and the Zella Bronfman Butler Award which is given by the UJA-Federation of New York in partnership with the J.E. and Z.B. Butler Foundation to professionals in the UJA-Federation agency network for their outstanding work on behalf of individuals with physical, developmental, or learning disabilities.  In 1999 she received a Touchstone Award from “Women in Music” for her visionary spirit.

She is an Adjunct Professor at Lehman College, CUNY.

Ann specializes in long-term care program development, with an emphasis on culture change, quality improvement and creating a culture of retention for staff in nursing homes and home care. Now a consultant to CaringKind (formerly Alzheimer’s Association, NYC Chapter) she has worked to to promote innovative, comprehensive palliative care programs for people with advanced dementia. She recently developed a guide to palliative care for people with advanced dementia living in residential care, “Finding Comfort,”  as well as an earlier guide for LTC settings, “Why Comfort Matters.” Formerly a nursing home administrator, she helped to develop a variety of innovative long-term care projects, including Independence Care System, a managed long-term care program for younger people with disabilities, one of the first in the country. For several years she was Associate Director of the Office of Long Term Care at the NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation, NYC’s municipal hospital system which includes five nursing homes. Earlier, as Planning Director for the Village Nursing Home AIDS Project, she helped develop the first AIDS adult day health program in the country.

She is currently the Board Chair of Isabella Geriatric Center, an affiliate of MJHS Health System, and is on the boards of MJHS Health System, MJHS Hospice & Palliative Care, and CIAD (Coalition for the Institutionalized Aged and Disabled), and was a founding board member of Music & Memory. She has published numerous articles and book chapters on various long-term care issues.

G. Allen Power is a board-certified internist and geriatrician, as well as Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Rochester. Dr. Power is a Certified Eden Alternative® Educator, a member of the Eden Alternative board of directors and an international educator on transformational models of care for older adults, particularly those living with cognitive illness. His 2010 book, Dementia Beyond Drugs: Changing the Culture of Care, won a 2010 Book of the Year Award from the American Journal of Nursing. Dr. Power serves on the technical advisory panel for the U.S. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services for their national antipsychotic reduction initiative. He received a 2012 Bellagio Fellowship from the Rockefeller Foundation for his work on innovative responses to global aging and was recently named one of “Five Leaders of Tomorrow” by Long Term Living Magazine. He serves as adviser for Dementia Care Australia, the South Africa Care Forum and Ibasho.

Jules Rosen is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, Chief of Geriatric Psychiatry Services at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Director of the Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship Program. A nationally recognized expert in geriatric psychiatry, he has authored over 75 peer-reviewed articles. Dr. Rosen’s research interests include pharmacological treatment of behavioral disturbances in dementia and organizational changes in nursing homes to enhance quality of life. He has developed and tested a variety of educational tools to enhance the care of nursing homes residents. Dr. Rosen is also the Director of the Hartford Foundation Center of Excellence in Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship, Clinician-Educator Track. In 2003 he was named Educator of the Year by the American Association of Geriatric Psychiatry.

Susan Wehry a board-certified geriatric psychiatrist and advocate for seniors and persons with disabilities, has educated physicians, nurses, medical students, ombudsmen, policy makers and direct care workers from Alaska to Louisiana. A popular speaker, Dr. Wehry keynoted the 2003 and 2006 Annual Meeting of National Citizens’ Coalition for Nursing Home Reform and the 2009 Pioneer Network Conference. She also assisted the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in the development of national web-casts on mental health needs and individualized care planning in nursing homes. In 2011, Dr. Wehry was appointed Vermont’s Commissioner of the Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living. She is committed to the Department’s mission to “make Vermont the best state in the nation in which to grow old—or to live with a disability—with dignity, respect and independence.”