About Westminster Village

Richard is a shareholder and the Director of Tax Services for the accounting firm of Girardot, Strauch and Co. P. C. located in Lafayette, Indiana. After graduating Cum Laude from IU School of Law-Indianapolis in 1981, Richard joined the accounting firm of Coopers and Lybrand in Indianapolis. Since then, he has worked in the private industry as well as public accounting firms. Richard is a frequent presenter for continuing legal education (for Lawyers) and continuing professional education (for CPAs) courses, including the 2004 and 2005, AICPA National Conference on Federal Taxes, the Indiana Bar Association, approximately 15 state CPA societies. He has also been a presenter for the 44th and 55th Annual Minnesota State Tax Conference, the Ohio State Tax Institute and Bisk educational tapes with over 2,000 video subscribers. Richard has also edited several courses for state CPA societies including Estate Planning, and Advance Partnership Taxation. Richard has also worked extensively on Internal Revenue Service examinations. One in particular lasted more than three years, went to the national office of the IRS two separate times, and involved tax, penalties, and interest in excess of $7 million.

Born and raised in Lafayette, Marianne graduated from William Woods University in Fulton, Missouri, and earned her graduate degree from Indiana University. After completing her education, she spent her career in the nonprofit arena. Her experiences include management and leadership positions in a public park and recreation organization, YWCA, and a national fundraising counsel firm specializing in museum capital campaigns. After living in Maryland for almost 20 years on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay, Marianne and her husband Larry returned to Lafayette to support her parents during their twilight years.  Upon returning to the Greater Lafayette area, she was fortunate to continue her non-profit work by joining United Way of Greater Lafayette as the marketing director and then in 2004 she joined The Community Foundation of Greater Lafayette as the Director of Philanthropy. Nine years later she was appointed President/CEO of The Community Foundation. During that time, the assets grew to $68 million and awarded almost $10 million in community grants. As she shares with many, “Returning to my hometown has been a great chapter of my life. It’s been rewarding to be part of a community that cares and works together for the common good, and to make it better for those who will follow.” Newly retired, she is looking forward to traveling and exploring new places as well as being engaged in new community activities.

Brad Deno is currently the Vice President of Operations of Kettelhut Construction, Inc. where he has been employed for the last 25 years. As of January 1, 2016 he has begun a transition to an Ownership role within the company. As Vice President of Operations, he is heavily involved in construction operations which include project procurement, estimating, manpower, project management, subcontractor relations and business development.

He has managed Kettelhut Construction, Inc.’s medical facility projects for the past five years and has numerous additional years of experience working in the company’s operations at Purdue University, Tippecanoe School Corporation, Lafayette School Corporation as well as other commercial businesses in Lafayette and Tippecanoe County.

Mr. Deno is a 1991 graduate of Purdue University’s Construction Engineering and Management Program with continued training in safety, project management techniques and subcontractor relations. He serves as a member of the Construction Engineering and Management Advisory Board, Top Notch Statewide Business Development Board and Top Notch Advisory Council for Lafayette. Past memberships include the Benton County Catholic School Education Trust Fund as well as the Benton Central Athletic Booster Club.

Jane graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor of Arts in Science, Education and Humanities; Industrial Economics. She went on to earn her Master of Science in Management in 1998. She has 24 years of experience in accounting, financial management and operations. She retired from the Consortium for Plant Biotechnology Research in 1996. She was the Director of Operations overseeing a budget of $5.5 million. In concurrence with her career, Jane was a member of many civic organizations in the greater Tippecanoe County area. Since moving to Westminster Village, Jane has been the Resident Council Treasurer for seven year.

Don K. Gentry retired from Purdue University after serving as Director of Purdue Statewide Technology; Professor of Industrial Technology; Assistant, Associate Dean,  and Dean of the College of Technology; Vice Provost for Engagement and Special Assistant to the Provost. Prior to joining Purdue University, he served as Executive Officer and State Director of Vocational and Technical Education and a high school teacher. After retirement served as Chair of the Board of Directors and CEO of Greater Lafayette Commerce; President of the Purdue Retirees Association and Chair of Benefits Committee; Leadership Team for Greater Lafayette Read to Succeed; and active in Faith Presbyterian Church.

Raised on a farm in Montgomery County, IN; graduated from Waveland High School; earned BS and MS degrees from Purdue University; Doctorate of Education Administration from Indiana University and Honorary Doctorate from  Purdue University.  He served eight years in the US Army Reserve. Don and his wife Carol became residents of Westminster in 2016; served as unit representative, Chair Elect, Chair and Past Chair of the Resident Council; member of BOD Finance Committee, Mission and Goals Committee, Master Site Planning, and the Master Plan Task Force for the implementation of Phase I of the Master Plan. For service to Westminster was awarded the Person of Action Award. His real joy in life is his wife, three children and seven grandchildren.

Stephanie Long is the President/CEO of North Central Health Services (NCHS), serving the organization since January 2015. NCHS is primarily responsible for operating River Bend Hospital, a private inpatient psychiatric hospital licensed and certified by the Indiana Department of Mental Health. NCHS also is a grantmaking organization providing primarily capital grants to 501(c)(3) organizations serving the citizens of Benton, Carroll, Clinton, Fountain, Montgomery, Tippecanoe, Warren, and White counties in Indiana. Grants are awarded to organizations for projects related to Health and Healthy Communities. Stephanie has 20 years of healthcare administration experience in various leadership roles. Before joining NCHS in 2015, she was the Chief Executive Officer of Indiana University Health White Memorial Hospital from 2010 – 2014. In addition, she served as the Transformation Officer for IU Health Arnett and IU Health White Memorial Hospital where she was responsible for utilizing lean methodology to drive process improvement. She has a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. She is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. She served on the Indiana Hospital Association Board of Directors from 2013-2014 and from 2019 to the present. She has served as the Indiana Hospital Association Council on Rural Health Chair and most recently as the Indiana Hospital Association Council on Behavioral Health Chair. In addition to healthcare activities, Stephanie has been active in numerous community organizations. She currently serves as a board member for the Wabash Heartland Innovation Network, Boy Scouts of America Sagamore Council, and the Community Foundation of White County. She is a past board member of the Community Foundation of Greater Lafayette, Greater Lafayette Commerce, White County Community Foundation Women Giving Together organization, White County Memorial Hospital Foundation, and White County Economic Development board of directors.

Charlene Sullivan is an Emeritus Professor from the Krannert School of Management at Purdue, having served on the faculty for 44 years and retiring in June 2022.  Dr. Sullivan completed an MBA and a PHD degree from Purdue in 1975 and 1978 respectively, with specialties in Accounting and Finance. Charlene joined the faculty of the Krannert School in 1978, was promoted to Associate Professor in 1985, and served as the Associate Dean of the Krannert Undergraduate Programs in Management from 2012 to her retirement in 2022.  Charlene taught courses for undergraduates, graduate students and multiple executive education programs for Krannert and the Center for Agribusiness.  She was recognized for her teaching with the University Undergraduate Murphy Award and was a two-time winner of the Salgo Noren Award for best teacher in the Krannert MBA program. Outside of her work at Krannert, Charlene served on the Boards of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Bioanalytical Systems, Purdue Federal Credit Union, Greater Lafayette Community Foundation and the Lafayette Symphony Foundation.  She did extensive consulting work in the areas of credit card risk management, gaming operations in Indiana, and consumer credit.

Marcella Tashjian-Gibbs, MD started her medical career at Wayne State School of Medicine in Detroit, MI.  She graduated in 2008.  She is double board certified in Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, and completed her residency and fellowship at the University of Illinois Chicago in 2012.  She then moved to Lafayette and has worked for Indiana University Health Arnett since that time.  She has held various roles over the years including medical directorships at Westminster Village and Cumberland Pointe from 2012 through 2021, and Medical Director of Population Health for IUH Arnett.  She maintained an Internal Medicine clinic practice at the IUH Greenbush clinic until 4/2023 at which time she moved from the Internal Medicine clinic to a full time clinical role as lead physician in the IUH Connected Care Clinic.  This clinic cares for the most medically complex patients seen in the IUH clinics and is a values based clinic model.  She continues in her roles as Medical Director of the IUH Hospice in the West Central Region, and Volunteer Adjunct Faculty at the IUH School of Medicine at Purdue.  She has lived in Lafayette since moving to the area in 2012 and enjoys spending time with her husband Andrew, and 3 children.

Anna Wilson grew up in Geneva, Indiana. Anna attended Purdue University and received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry in 1968 and a Master of Science Degree in Chemistry Education in 1971. Anna taught Chemistry, Physics, and General Science at Southwestern High School for two years and then took a job in the Purdue Freshman Chemistry Preparation Lab. In 1974, she was hired by the Biochemistry for the newly created Coordinator of Teaching Labs position which allowed for her to develop student experiments, train and supervise the Teaching Assistants, supervise lab preparation and experiment set up for several courses, develop audio visual and computer aids for teaching and instruction, and supervise lab grading. She remained in this role until she retired in 2007. She moved to Westminster Village after her husband of 57 years and her daughter passed away. Anna enjoys reading books, photography, computers and electronics, euchres, Westminster Village Art Classes, and volunteering with the Lafayette Lions Club, The Purdue Women’s Club, and at Westminster Village. Anna is also an active member of the American Chemical Society, the ACS Division of Chemical Education, and the Association for Biology Laboratory Education.

Ben Blankenship has spent nearly 25 years serving area seniors. He joined Westminster Village in 2013 as the Health Facility Administrator. While in this role, he led the Health Center to a five-star Medicare rating for four years and achieved a deficiency-free health inspection. In May 2017, Ben was promoted to Associate Executive Director where he led multiple departments as well as special projects. In February 2019, the Board of Directors selected Ben to lead the Village as the next Executive Director.  While in this role, Ben led the community through a $15 million expansion including the opening of a new state-of-the-art memory care neighborhood. Ben earned his bachelor’s degree from Georgetown College in Kentucky and earned his MBA in Healthcare Management from Indiana Wesleyan. Ben is a licensed Health Facility Administrator (HFA) in Indiana and certified as an HFA preceptor. In addition to his duties at the Village, Ben is an adjunct faculty member at Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, serves as the President of Board with the Maverick Club and Vice President of the Board with Tippecanoe Senior Services. Ben is married to Amy and they have three daughters. In his spare time, Ben enjoys spending time with his family, landscaping and traveling.

Jessica joined Westminster Village in 2014 with 15 years’ experience in the medical accounting field. Her credentials include both a Master’s Degree in Accounting and Bachelor’s Degree in Information Systems/Operations Management. During her undergraduate studies, she discovered her love for all things accounting and the absolute of numbers. She is responsible for all financial services and information technology needs of Westminster Village. Jessica is inspired daily by her husband and three children. In her free time, she likes to play golf, read, and spend time with friends and family.

Jenny joined the Westminster Village nursing team in 2013 after earning her associate degree in Registered Nursing from Ivy Tech Community College. As the Director of Nursing, Jenny brings a steadfast commitment to delivering exceptional healthcare services. Throughout her career, Jenny has been a dedicated advocate for patient well-being and safety with a deep understanding of the unique challenges and nuances of providing comprehensive and compassionate care to Seniors. Jenny also supports community nursing programs as a member of the Ivy Tech Nursing Advisory Board. Outside of the healthcare realm, Jenny and her husband Dylan enjoy life together living on the south side of Lafayette with their three children, three cats, two dogs, and two snakes.  You’ll likely find them outdoors, engaging in various activities. Whether it’s hiking, camping, or enjoying a day at the beach, they value the importance of staying active and connecting with nature.

Stacy oversees all aspects of food and beverage throughout the 6 dining venues at Westminster Village.  Stacy has worked in the food and beverage industry for the past 25 years within hotels, restaurants, and contract food service. Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, Stacy first moved to West Lafayette to attend Purdue University and decided to make Lafayette her home after graduating in 2000. Although she frequently visits family back home, and her career moved her out of the Lafayette area twice, as a tried-and-true Boilermaker, she always gravitates back and currently resides on the southside of town. Stacy enjoys spending as much time as possible with her nieces and nephews. In her free time, she is an avid runner and sports fan, and you can often find her running the streets of West Lafayette when not taking in a game. She also loves to travel to new places seeking out adventures.

Gary joined Westminster Village in December of 2019 and in his role, oversees our Maintenance, Construction and Grounds area, Housekeeping and Laundry areas, Security and Transportation as well as our Emergency Preparedness programming.  Gary obtained his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Tennessee Technological University. He has over 35 years of experience in facility operations including capital expenditure planning, building maintenance and construction. Gary holds the Master Facility Executive certificate from BOMI and his CPCU from the American Institute. He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Gary’s wife, Angel is a school nurse and they have two adult children, Charlie and Christina. In his spare time, Gary enjoys tennis, DIY projects and is an avid military history buff.

Stacey joined Westminster Village in July of 2009 and has spent nearly 30 years serving area seniors. Stacey found her love and passion for serving seniors while working part-time in senior living while attending Ivy Tech Community College to obtain her AAS degree in accounting. It was not long into her accounting career that Stacey realized that she missed the daily resident interactions causing her to switch her focus to senior living administration and bringing her to Westminster Village. Stacey is responsible for overseeing several resident service-related departments as well as assisting with the day-to-day administrative functions of the Village. Stacey and her husband, Jarmy, have two adult daughters, Jade, and Kayla. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling and spending time with her family, you can often find them on the lake or ‘glamping’ during the summer months.

Hannah joined Westminster Village in 2023, recently completing a Professional Development Program with Life Care Services. Hannah earned her degrees from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington with her bachelor’s degree in Public Health and her master’s degree in Healthcare Administration. She has 5 years of industry experience including hospital administration and working as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) while obtaining her degrees. Her passion for the senior living field stems from working as a CNA, which grew the desire to better serve residents. Hannah is a licensed Nursing Home Administrator in Arizona and a licensed Health Facility Administrator in Indiana. She is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and the American College of Healthcare Administrators. Hannah is married to Kyle, and they have two pups named Henley and Livy. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time outside, with lots of DIY projects to do, flowers to grow, and exploring local coffee shops.

Lindsey joined Westminster Village in 2018. Her background is in medical assisting and medical office administration. Before senior living and serving Westminster Village, Lindsey worked in a doctor’s office for 10 years. Lindsey has a Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Management through Harrison College. Lindsey and her husband, Ryan have three daughters, one with 4 legs and reside in West Lafayette. She enjoys spending time with her family, going to the lake, and attending sporting events for her girls.

Candace joined Westminster Village in the spring of 2020. In her role she leads the sales team and manages marketing and public relations village wide.

Her background is in marketing, operations, and both print and interior design. Candace earned her B.F.A. from Herron School of Art & Design and Kelley Business School at IUPUI. She is also a licensed interior designer. Candace worked in the design field for nearly 20 years before her journey began in senior living. She feels called to serve her community and has served on the Montgomery County Council on Aging and as an ambassador for the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce.

Candace and her husband live in the country outside of Crawfordsville and have four mostly grown children between them. When they are not volunteering their time to various organizations, you can find them cooking, DIYing, and planning their next travel adventure.