The Distinguished Pioneer in Aging Award recognizes those individuals who have been working continuously in the field of aging making contributions at the federal, state, and local level for 30 years or more. Past recipients of the Distinguished Pioneer Award include Arlene Miles of Colorado Health Care Association (2013), Sara Honn Qualls, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs (2014), M Kent Olsen, Olsen Traeger & Ursery, LLP (2015), Donald J Murphy, MD (2016), and Bernard A Poskus, JD (2018), Janice Blanchard (2020), and Therese Ellery (2021).
Nancy Schwalm
Nancy has over thirty years as a recognized leader and innovator in senior living and senior health care. Nancy served 21 years as Chief Business Development Officer and market strategy leader for Vivage Senior Living and Piñon Management in Denver, CO. Past roles include Vice President of Operations, Chief Marketing Officer, Nursing Home Administrator, and Assisted Living Executive Director.
Nancy serves as Board Chairman for a nonprofit Community Care Retirement Community in Colorado, and is past Chairman of the Aging Services Foundation for Boulder County and the Colorado Culture Change Coalition. She also served as a technical expert for the Strategic Action Planning Group on Aging.
She recently helped develop new nursing home policy as part of the State of Colorado Health Care Policy and Financing division.