Shady Rest Institute on Positive Aging

Armando Hernandez currently serves as the Senior Director of Florida, leading a team of combat Veterans overseeing the day-to-day operations. During his enlistment he served from 2003-2007 as an Engineer Equipment Operator, which included a deployment to Fallujah, Iraq with 2nd Combat Logistics Battalion in 2005. After his enlistment, Armando was honorably discharged and returned home to Southwest Florida to begin my pursuit of higher education. While enrolled at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) he majored in Exercise Science was selected for a highly competitive internship with the Boston Red Sox Strength and Conditioning Staff for the spring of 2014. While conducting the internship with the Boston Red Sox, Armando was introduced to Home Base, a Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital program dedicated to healing the invisible wounds of war for Veterans, Service Members, and Families. Armando accepted a position in 2014 to pilot Home Base’s health and wellness efforts and expand into the Florida region. Since then, the Florida program has grown exponentially serving thousands of Veterans & Families throughout the state.

David Klein is a seasoned health care executive.  He is director of Lee Health System; chair of Commonwealth Care Alliance; a special advisor to the University of Rochester Medical Center; and an advisor to New Life Dream Center.  He is a director of CTG, Cogito, and Honest Medical Group.  Mr. Klein is an advisor to Cressey & Company and Health Catalyst Capital health care private equity funds.  Mr. Klein was chief executive officer of Excellus BlueCross BlueShield and chair of the New York eHealth Collaborative. He received his bachelor’s from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and master of business administration from University of Chicago.

Angie Matthiessen joined United Way of Charlotte County (UWCC) in 2014. Matthiessen obtained her Masters of Social Work from the University of Georgia in 1994, and her Bachelor’s in Psychology from Georgia State University in 1990. Prior to joining UWCC, she worked at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta for over 15 years, leading the Immunize Georgia program, as well as several statewide school health initiatives. In 2012, she edited the statewide school health resource manual – a 600 page resource for every school in Georgia. Prior to that, she worked as a pediatric oncology social worker at AFLAC Cancer Center for five years. Before that, she worked in inner city Atlanta at Grady Hospital with adolescent mothers through the Healthy Families program. Matthiessen has been actively involved in Charlotte County, including participating in the Leadership Charlotte class of 2014, where she served as Vice-President of the class. A Florida native, Angie resides in Punta Gorda with her husband, Britt and daughter, Leah.

Maricela Morado is the president and CEO of the Area Agency on Aging for Southwest Florida (AAASWFL), a non-profit serving older adults and adults with disabilities across seven counties in Southwest Florida. Maricela has more than a decade of experience at local non-profits. She is a member of the Collier Dementia Care & Cure Initiative Steering Committee, serves as a board member of the Transportation Disadvantaged board for Charlotte, Hendry, Glades, and Sarasota counties. Maricela holds a bachelor's degree in management from Hodges University and is currently working on obtaining a Master of Science degree in leadership and human resources development from Louisiana State University.

Robert Murray serves as the Chair of the Shady Rest Foundation Board. He served as an original members of the Advisory Board of the Shady Rest Nursing Home, which was opened by Lee County in order to provide care to the indigent residents of Lee County.

Ms. Nolan leads MarketPoint at Humana which serves as the National Sales organization responsible for its Medicare Insurance segment, including all distribution, omni-channel sales strategy and operations. In this role, Nolan is charged with evolving MarketPoint’s distribution optimization structure, driving efficiency and productivity across this 4500+ associate segment and continuing to enhance strong partnerships with Humana’s Field Marketing and Call Center Partners. Ms. Nolan joined Humana in November 2022 after years in the telecommunications  where she was known as a renowned strategist for re-designing customer-centric and sustainable organizations through transforming  through innovative operational strategies and digital solutions.

Michael Overway is the Executive Director of the SWFL Regional Coalition to End Homelessness. He is also the CEO at Continuum Care Consulting. Michael has led the growth of HMIS data systems and Continuum of Care programs in Southwest Florida for the past 11 years and currently serves on numerous boards and advisory committees.

Adam Perry, MD is a geriatrician focused on scaling modern models of care for older adults with complex care needs.  He is founder of Healthspan Partners, which is selected to administer the Medicare GUIDE Dementia program. He is Medical Director with the acute home-based care provider DispatchHealth.  He is a Board Member for the Florida Geriatric Society and Faculty with the Milken Alliance to Improve Dementia Care and the Center of Excellence for Telehealth and Aging.  Previously he was a Fellow with the John A. Hartford Foundation Health and Aging Policy Program and Faculty with the Geriatric Emergency Department Collaborative.

Wayne Smith made a career for himself as a playmaker for many years on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. as President of the Wayne Smith Management Company, whose central focus was public relations and association management. He currently serves as President and Trustee for the Smith Family Foundation, whose sole mission is to promote the education, health, and social services needed by our community.  Wayne attended Bowling Green and Marquette University, earning degrees at both in Political Science and Government. In appreciation and recognition of Wayne’s ongoing philanthropy efforts and unyielding dedication to the Florida Gulf Coast University, on December 14, 2022, Wayne was presented with an honorary degree.