Rita Altman serves as senior vice president of Memory Care & Program Services and has been with Sunrise Senior Living since 2007. Through the latest evidence-based research, she works to design and oversee memory care and assisted living programs implemented in Sunrise's more than 300 communities. Her extensive nursing background spans over 35 years of experience in the fields of nursing education, staff development training, intergenerational programming, and management in childcare, adult day care, assisted living and skilled nursing settings. “My personal mission at Sunrise is to promote quality and consistency in our memory care and program services by developing and implementing person-centered care and programs that enrich every resident’s sense of purpose, joy and wellbeing. More simply stated, my goal is to make each resident’s day more meaningful and purposeful.” Only one of 10 Validation Masters worldwide, Rita has studied directly under Naomi Feil who developed the Validation Method and is a certified Validation Teacher herself. She is a regular contributor to online publications including The Huffington Post and The Sunrise Blog’s “Ask Rita” blog series. Her commitment to the Alzheimer’s cause spans beyond Sunrise. Rita serves as a founding member of the North American Validation Association (NAVA), a board member of the Validation Training Institute in Cleveland, OH as a co-chair of the Education Committee and an Advisory Board Member of the Alzheimer’s Family Assistance Center in Tunisia. Rita received her BSN from the University of Pennsylvania and MSN in Nursing Leadership and Management from The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.