Meet the Lifesprk Leadership Team

The spark starts here! I am founder and CEO of Lifesprk.

My vision is clear: change the experience for people in the second half of life. My true joy is to see the spark in peoples’ eyes: customers, families, partners, employees, professional referral sources – I want them all to shine on. I may be known as a business innovator, earning numerous accolades, however, my work is not done until we have sparked the lives of millions of people in the second half of life.

Through the years, our team has seen far too many people on the roller coaster of crisis and that is just not acceptable. Our goal is to help people build a pathway to what is most important in their lives so they can live the healthiest, most independent life possible – what we call living a ‘sparked life.’

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joeltheisenrn

Tom’s spark comes from being a champion for changing health care business models to better reward and recognize improving quality of life and wellbeing – the foundations for person-centric care.

From the moment Tom learned about Lifesprk, he’s been intrigued with the purpose, passion, and most importantly the vision and he firmly believes that enhancing life experience should be an integral part of the health quality outcomes for which we strive. When you focus on sparking lives – you achieve significant improvement in Triple Aim outcomes.

Linked In Profile: Tom Schmitt

Dr. Bill Thomas is a world-renowned geriatrician, providing insights and inspiration as he prompts everyone around him to believe in a better way for seniors to age. He leads by example through his many achievements that prove a whole person approach works to improve outcomes and improve the life experience of each person we serve. Bill joined Lifesprk’s advisory board in 2012 believing that Lifesprk’s model is a ground-breaking approach posed to spread across America and then far beyond our country’s shores. Aligned with his vision for a future of aging that revolved around person-centered approaches, Bill feels Lifesprk has the right mix of risk-takers and creative thinkers to disrupt aging. An author, entrepreneur, musician, teacher, farmer and physician, Bill’s wide-ranging work explores the terrain of human aging. Best known for his health care system innovations, he is the founder of a global non-profit (The Eden Alternative) which works to improve the care provided to older people. He is the creator of The Green House® which Provider Magazine has called the “pinnacle of culture change.” Dr. Thomas also developed the Senior ER model of care and is now working to transform the acute care services provided to elders. He is also the founder of the influential multi-author blogging platform, ChangingAging.org. A popular public speaker, Bill is known for his thoughtful, heartfelt (and PowerPoint-free) approach to engaging with a wide-range of audiences. This synthesis of imagination and action led the Wall Street Journal to highlight Bill as one of the nation’s “top 10 innovators” changing the future of retirement in America and US News and World Report to name him as one of “America’s best leaders.”

Linked In Profile: Dr. Bill Thomas

Jason has over 15 years of experience building companies based on disruptive application digital, mobile, social, data science and analytics technologies. Jason was called to Lifesprk in 2019 to deliver a scalable “market platform” for whole-person senior care applying his background in SaaS, data science, digital, marketplace and design. Prior to Lifesprk he was the Director of Product at Colorado-based Gloo Software, a market network and predictive analytics platform company that serves personal growth industry. Prior to Gloo, Jason founded his own software company called Bleachr, that created innovative patented technologies using peer to peer network sharing and geo-fencing. Before Bleachr, Jason owned his own digital agency where he worked with a wide range of clients on digital product strategy, including development of a CRM and consumer portal for large EHR platform in the behavioral health space. He is a graduate of Bethel University with a Finance degree and a Marketing degree.

Linked In Profile: Jason Wenell

Throughout all my experience, I’ve been driving toward creating a better model of support and guidance for people – one that helps them really live life on their terms and helps them avoid the pitfalls that can derail them. Education and proactive support have been the cornerstones of my marketing philosophy. I’ve worked in hospitals, home health, skilled nursing care, clinics, senior living, and hospice, and to me, Lifesprk takes the best of all those models and goes further – truly creating an approach that puts the person first, and enables them to set the agenda and identify THEIR goals for a fulfilling and purposeful life.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenlcarney

The Lifesprk ‘spark’ is contagious – At the center of everything we do, including our proven results and award winning culture, are our people who are sparking lives. It’s our people and their passion that is the fuel igniting the lives of individuals every day – squarely focused on changing the experience for people in the second half of life –  igniting more than 5 million lives by 2020 – now that’s exciting.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/matt-kinne/13/6b1/9a4

I believe as we change the aging experience, we can’t overlook the role primary care plays in reaching seniors who desire a new approach to their health, one that is whole person. My spark comes from helping seniors look beyond their diagnosis or chronic health issues, which often are the focal point of their medical visits, and instead focus on helping them achieve their life goals. There are many life challenges that get in the way of good health that have nothing to do with medical issues and yet many providers only focus on that. It’s my passion and purpose to change that with the seniors we serve because when we do, seniors experience better personalized care, lower long-term costs, and the joy of living life with a spark.

LinkedIn: Cathy Lauring, ARPN, CNP

I’ve been a nurse for over 30 years in a variety of healthcare settings – hospital, clinic, long-term care insurance, case management, and home health care –  and what I’ve learned throughout my experience is that home health alone isn’t enough. To keep people successful at home, we have to be able to bridge opportunities to meet clients’ needs with a whole person approach, seamlessly across the healthcare continuum, so that once home health services end, the senior isn’t left alone to continue care on their own. This is when gaps in care occur and seniors are most at risk for returning to the hospital. People need a plan that covers the larger, long-term picture, and boosts their confidence so they can live the healthiest, most independent life possible. That’s my spark – helping people realize there’s more to achieving better outcomes than addressing the diagnosis alone.

Every day I am sparked… by an idea, a challenge, dance, joke, picture, poem, question, song, story, thank you, thought, wish ….endless treasures from incredible people that illustrate, in their own unique way, their passion for our work.  To play some part in making space for this genuine expression and sharing is why I joined forces with others to create Lifesprk.  Moving forward mine is one in an ever expanding collective spark that has the power to drastically improve the experience and outcomes for seniors.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolstanleylifesprk

Passion, compassion and action spark Mitch, and for him, Lifesprk has all three in spades. From the minute he joined Lifesprk, he knew it was the right fit for him professionally and personally – the culture inspired him to jump on the bus and be a leader with an integral role in growing Lifesprk and taking the company through their exciting journey to change the aging experience.

Mitch brings nearly 10 years of experience in finance, with the last 5 in the healthcare market. Prior to joining Lifesprk, Mitch was a Finance Manager for OptumInsight where he streamlined finance processes and provided business leadership with valuable analytics and decision support. He was also the Finance Manager for Optum Clinical Solutions and Optum Health Information Exchange. Mitch also served as a senior auditor at Ernst & Young.

Mitch holds a bachelor’s in business administration and a master of accountancy from the University of Wisconsin. He is also a certified public accountant (CPA) from the Minnesota Board of Accountancy.

LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitch-voss-cpa-75365125

For the past 5 years, Ali has spent her time as a physical therapist working in acute care, orthopedics and neurorehabilitation settings utilizing measurable outcomes to assess clients’ progress towards goals. Prior to joining Lifesprk, Ali held leadership roles at Live Your Life Physical Therapy and Aegis Therapies. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota and her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from St. Catherine University. She also is an active member of the American Physical Therapy Association (State and National) where she has served as the chair of the State Fair Workgroup, Legislative Day participant and Health & Wellness Practice Group member.

The emphasis on collaboration and partnerships with other industry leaders doesn’t happen enough and is a major reason why Josh loves what Lifesprk is doing. His work history were familiar to us when we met him, we knew of his passionate, energetic, and collaborative leadership whose work positively impacted, protected, and improved the lives of vulnerable individuals throughout our communities. Bottom-line – he gets it. He knows what seniors need and he understands how the system works on a very granular level. He also knows there’s so much more we can do to improve the lives of the seniors we serve.

Linked In Profile: Josh Berg

Proactive guidance and mutually respective relationships matter most when working with referral sources and potential clients. I know the difference Life Care Management can make for seniors to keep them on the path to living healthier and independent longer. For me, it’s all about choice and making sure people have all the resources and information they need to make the right choice that works for them so they can live a sparked life.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethnemec