Michelle Clark, Co-Founder
Michelle Clark joined the senior living industry over 15 years ago and has nearly 30 years’ experience in the healthcare and design industries. During her career in senior living, Michelle has acted as a developer, finance professional and has acted in multiple facets in dealing with physical plants.
As a Vice President for Domus Development, Michelle was responsible for the senior housing division. This included, but was not limited to, site selection, market research, consultant engagement, design, finance and asset management. This position allowed her to utilize all the skills gained while working in the design and architecture profession and to create successful communities for older adults.
While completing financing for a development deal, Michelle was recruited to work as the Managing Director of Finance for AIIM Capital. Michelle was responsible for developing client relationships and sourcing all types of capital for her clients. AIIM Capital sources both debt and equity for senior living development and acquisition as well as bridge loans and refinancing. Unique solutions recently sourced for clients include CPACE and USDA for new development. These tools have proven effective during the recent difficult funding environment.
Prior to her career in finance and development Michelle worked for REES Associates, an architecture and interior design firm with a 40-year track record in senior living design, as a Registered Interior Designer. Michelle worked with several national accounts and regional owners and operators in both the for profit and not for profit segments of seniors housing. These included Medcore, Five Star Senior Living, Retirement Companies of America, Blue Skies of Texas (Prevously Air Force Villages), Brookdale, 12 Oaks, and several more. She assisted in sourcing capital, site selection, market study evaluation, programming, repositioning, budgeting, interior design, furniture selection, and project close-out.
Michelle is a life-long learner and during her career has earned many certifications. These include LEED AP, which designates an advanced understanding of sustainable design and building operation. This is interwoven into all the work Michelle creates for her clients. In addition, she is EDAC certified – certification that focuses on evidence-based design. This is a common theory utilized in the healthcare profession that proves a theory is accurate or not by thorough research, implementation and documentation, thereby allowing for transparent metrics to confirm decisions during the programming phase that have created transformative solutions. Most recently, Michelle became CHID certified. This certification of Healthcare Interior Designers requires a submission of a recent five-year portfolio of a minimum of five projects be submitted in addition to having established a career focused on the healthcare design industry, as well as a passing grade on an examination. There are only a limited number of individuals who have achieved this certification, confirming Michelle’s commitment to being an innovator in the senior housing industry.
Michelle also taught at the University of Texas in the college of architecture. Mentoring new professional talent ignited a new love for the built environment and provided a platform to share the importance of the senior living industry with burgeoning architects and designers. Michelle weaved the understanding of universal design into the practical design courses and the professional practice courses, sharing the importance of caring for our elders through time and talent.