More about Our
Positioning Experts
At Austera Group, our mission is to elevate the standard of senior housing through inspired collaboration, visionary design, and purpose-driven development. Founded by industry leaders Kristin Kutac Ward and Michelle Clark, Austera brings together deep expertise and a shared passion for creating vibrant, sustainable communities where older adults can thrive. Guided by alignment, integrity, and innovation, we partner with stakeholders to deliver impactful solutions that enrich lives and shape the future of senior living.
Michele Clark
Michelle Clark joined the senior living industry over 15 years ago and has nearly 30 years of experience in the healthcare and design industries. Throughout her career in senior living, Michelle has acted as a developer, finance professional, and has been involved in multiple aspects of managing and improving physical plant operations.
As Vice President for Domus Development, Michelle led the senior housing division. Her responsibilities included site selection, market research, consultant engagement, design, finance, and asset management. This role allowed her to apply the skills she had developed in the design and architecture profession to create successful and functional communities for older adults.
While securing financing for a development deal, Michelle was recruited to join AIIM Capital as Managing Director of Finance. In this role, she developed client relationships and sourced a wide range of capital solutions. AIIM Capital provides both debt and equity for senior living development and acquisitions, as well as bridge loans and refinancing. Recently, Michelle helped clients access innovative funding tools such as CPACE and USDA programs, which have proven especially effective in the current challenging financial environment.
Before her roles in finance and development, Michelle worked as a Registered Interior Designer for REES Associates, an architecture and interior design firm with a 40-year legacy in senior living design. She collaborated with several national accounts and regional owners and operators across both the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors. These included Medcore, Five Star Senior Living, Retirement Companies of America, Blue Skies of Texas (formerly Air Force Villages), Brookdale, 12 Oaks, and others. Her contributions extended to capital sourcing, site selection, market study evaluation, programming, repositioning, budgeting, interior design, furniture selection, and project close-out.
Michelle is a dedicated lifelong learner and has earned numerous certifications throughout her career. She holds the LEED AP designation, which signifies advanced knowledge in sustainable design and building operations. Sustainability is a consistent focus in all of Michelle’s work. She is also EDAC certified, a credential centered on evidence-based design—a methodology widely used in healthcare that relies on research, implementation, and documentation to ensure design decisions are supported by measurable outcomes. Most recently, Michelle earned the CHID credential, a prestigious certification for healthcare interior designers. To achieve this, candidates must submit a five-year portfolio of at least five projects and pass a comprehensive examination. This designation is held by only a limited number of professionals, further demonstrating Michelle’s leadership and commitment to excellence in the senior living industry.
Michelle has also served as a faculty member at the University of Texas in the College of Architecture. Teaching and mentoring new professionals reignited her passion for the built environment and provided a meaningful platform to advocate for the importance of the senior living industry. She introduced students to universal design principles in both design studios and professional practice courses, emphasizing the critical role of thoughtful, inclusive design in caring for an aging population.
Education and Certifications: Bachelor of Interior Design, University of Oklahoma College of Architecture Registered Interior Designer, Texas LEED AP EDAC CHID
Kristin Kutac Ward
Kristin Kutac Ward is the President and co-founder of Austera Group, an advisory firm focused on positioning for senior living. Ward has 30 years of leadership and entrepreneurial experience, with a depth of expertise in all facets of senior living, and provides a holistic perspective and strategic approach to maximize the potential of communities and companies.
Prior to founding Austera Group, Kristin was the Co-CEO of AgeWell Solvere Living (AWSL). The management company she co-founded, Solvere Living, merged with AgeWell Living, another mid-sized senior housing management company, on January 1, 2023. At the time of the merger, AWSL managed 26 communities and she grew the portfolio to 42 communities in a 22-month period. During Kristin’s tenure with AWSL, she was primarily responsible for pre-development consulting, new development oversight and project management, asset repositioning and company marketing and business development.
Before becoming Co-CEO of AgeWell Solvere Living, Kristin was the President and CEO of Solutions Advisors and Solvere Living. She co-founded Solutions Advisors, a consulting firm for the senior living industry in 2009, and in 2014 created a dedicated management platform and brand, Solvere Living. During her leadership at Solutions Advisors, she managed market repositioning, sales and marketing turnarounds and the development of customized training in more than 80 communities in 28 different states, also providing operations consulting and strategy for investors and lenders. At Solvere Living she led the company in managing over 2,800 units and 15 new developments as the third-party manager for both institutional and private owners.
Previous to co-founding Solutions Advisors, Kristin served as Chief Operating Officer for American Heritage Communities (AHC), a developer, operator and manager of retirement communities based in Edison, NJ. Kristin was responsible for all operations, marketing and sales efforts. During her five-year tenure she and the executive team at AHC designed, developed, pre-sold and opened its flagship continuing care retirement community in Reading, PA. Additionally, Kristin met with potential and current investors, conducted marketing studies to identify new sites on which to develop continuing care retirement communities, conducted due diligence on acquisition opportunities, and managed the creation of AHC’s brand identity and creative platform.
Preceding AHC, Kristin was the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Horizon Bay Senior Living, beginning in 2000, when the company was founded. At Horizon Bay Kristin oversaw all marketing and sales aspects for 42 senior communities nationwide. During her time at Horizon Bay, Kristin developed the brand identity for the company and created a company-wide sales training program and systems. Additionally, she managed image repositioning for 11 communities undergoing multi-million-dollar renovations, as well as their reintroduction to the respective markets. She increased inquiry to move-in conversion ratios from a company-wide average of 12% in 2001 to 20% in 2003 and maintained a 93% average blended census across the company.
Early in her career, Kristin held regional sales and marketing and regional operations positions with Senior Lifestyle Corporation and Sun Healthcare. She started in the senior housing industry as a nursing home administrator with Beverly Enterprises in Atlanta, Georgia.
Education and Certifications: Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, Emory University