Board of Directors
W. E. Sheriff
Institute for Optimal Aging Chair
W.E. (Bill) Sheriff is Chief Executive Officer of Brookdale Senior Living, the nation’s largest senior living company. After Brookdale and American Retirement Corporation merged, Mr. Sheriff served as Brookdale’s Co-Chief Executive Officer from July, 2006 until February, 2008. Prior to that merger, Mr. Sheriff served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of American Retirement Corporation (ARC) and its predecessors since April, 1984. Mr. Sheriff was recruited to ARC by the founders of the company, with the long range goal of creating a senior living and retirement industry leader.
Mr. Sheriff has 44 years of CEO management experience. Prior to his involvement in senior living, he was President and CEO of Truckstops of America, a division of Ryder System, Inc. Mr. Sheriff joined Ryder when he sold to Ryder a family-owned business he had managed for nine years.
Mr. Sheriff serves on the Board of Trustees of Belmont University and is actively involved in various educational and charitable organizations. He is also a member of the American Seniors Housing Association’s Executive Board and is active in other industry-related organizations. In 2008, Mr. Sheriff was awarded a Healthcare Hero Lifetime Achievement Award.
Mr. Sheriff received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from New Mexico State University.
Christopher J. Coates
Institute for Optimal Aging Secretary
Chris Coates is President and CEO of American Seniors Foundation, Inc. (ASF), a nonprofit corporation whose mission is to provide quality housing to seniors and to increase the supply of nursing professionals working in the seniors' housing and nursing home field. In addition, Mr. Coates is CEO of SLP Holding, LLC, a private senior housing investment company.
Prior to joining ASF in May of 2005, Mr. Coates served as President, Chief Operating Officer, and a Board of Directors member of American Retirement Corporation, a publicity traded company. He directed ARC's operating portfolio of over 13,000 independent living, assisted living and nursing home units/beds from 1992 until 2003. From 1988 to 1993, Mr. Coates served as Founder and Chief Executive Officer of National Retirement Company, a senior living management organization.
From 1985 to 1988, Mr. Coates was Senior Director/ Division President of the Retirement Housing Division of Radice Corporation, where he oversaw the development and operation of seven full-service retirement communities. Prior to that, Mr. Coates was founder and President of National Retirement Consultants, Inc., a company formed in 1981 to provide marketing, management and consulting services to the senior living industry.
At Christian Services, Inc., a developer/operator of not-for-profit continuing care retirement communities, from 1973 to 1980, Chris served in several executive capacities. Mr. Coates is a former Chairman and Board of Directors member of the American Senior Housing Association and of the Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA), both Washington-based trade associations. He helped start, and was Chairman of, the first Seniors Housing Political Action Committee and was the Chairman of the AFLA PAC.Mr. Coates is a former member of the Board of Directors of American Retirement Corporation and has served as a Director and former Chairman of the American Senior Housing Association and of the Assisted Living Federation of America, both Washington-based trade associations. He helped start the first Seniors Housing Political Action Committee and recently completed his term as the Chairman of the AFLA PAC.
In addition, he was an original member of the Owners and Advisory Board of the National Investment Center and was active in pursing tort reform in several states. Mr. Coates is the Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Belmont University School of Pharmacy.
Mr. Coates has a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of California of Santa Barbara.
Thomas J. Fairchild, PhD
Institute for Optimal Aging Board Member
Dr. Thomas J. Fairchild is the Vice-President for the Office of Strategy and Measurement and Director of Special Projects on Aging at the University of North Texas Health Science Center (UNTHSC). He previously held a faculty position at the Center for Studies in Aging at the University of North Texas.
He has been involved for more than 30 years in the field of gerontology, with an emphasis on retirement housing, long-term care, and health service management. Dr. Fairchild has conducted research, published articles, and made numerous presentations in retirement housing and management issues that impact the senior housing industry and long-term care. His primary research interest deals with Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) and job performance and turnover issues in retirement housing and long-term care facilities. His research has been sponsored by grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Health, the Administration on Aging, and various other foundations and organizations.
He has also developed and implemented training programs for staff in retirement communities and long-term care facilities. He has worked with a variety of national and international developers and sponsors in retirement housing and long-term care. He has membership in and serves on the boards of numerous associations including AFLA, ASHA, AGHE, AAHSA, TAHSA, and TALA.
As Vice-President of Strategy and Measurement, he is responsible for establishing and maintaining an effective strategic planning process and developing performance improvement initiatives across the institution. In his role as Director of Special Projects on Aging, he is currently coordinating a research project at UNTHSC designed to create a state-wide database related to Alzheimer’s disease. This state-wide project involves three other Texas health science centers.
In 2004, Dr. Fairchild was named a fellow in the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education. Dr. Fairchild also has received the Distinguished Service Award from the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging.
Dr. Fairchild received his BS in management and his M.A. in sociology from Wayne State University. He completed his PhD in sociology with a specialization in aging from Wayne State University.
Ross C. Roadman
Institute for Optimal Aging Treasurer
Ross Roadman joined American Retirement Corporation in 1999 as Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning and is currently Senior Vice President of Investor Relations and Planning for Brookdale Senior Living Inc. Previously, Mr. Roadman served in various capacities at Ryder System, Inc., including Group Director of Investor and Community Relations, Assistant Treasurer, Division Controller and Director of Planning. Before joining Ryder, he held positions with Ernst and Young and the International Monetary Fund. Mr. Roadman has served on numerous trade association and nonprofit agency boards. Mr. Roadman received his BS in Information Systems and Accounting from the University of Maryland and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
