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About Us
Carillon at Belleview Station
At Ascent Senior Living Communities, we are more than Colorado-based. We are 100% Colorado-present. Every community we operate and manage is in the state of Colorado. In fact, Ascent’s home office is just a few miles away from Carillon at Belleview Station…so when we say we are here when you need us, we mean it. We maintain a strong relationship with state and local health departments and have built other local partnerships that benefit our residents. One of our founders has nearly two decades of experience opening and operating senior living communities in the Denver area, and we now look forward to serving many adult children of those seniors we have served over the years. We have deep roots in Colorado, and operating first-class senior living communities in Colorado is our sole focus.
Management
We are here with you.
Our founders’ 40 years of combined professional backgrounds provide the backbone of our operation. We have celebrated many successes with our residents, their families and our associates. We know success, and we know how to work through challenges as we continue to build and improve every day.
We are invested in creating a first-class experience for residents and their families, and to hire and retain the best associates in the business, and we believe we can do it exceptionally well. the Carillon at Belleview Station in Denver, Colorado, is an example of how we at Ascent Living Communities are driven to offer you more flexibility, more choices and more ways to get the maximum enjoyment from life—elevating senior living.
Safety of Residents and Families
With new local Colorado-based management, the Carillon at Belleview Station can provide greater oversight over safety standards within our senior care community, including virus protection, more resident-specific programming, advanced technology and increased staffing.
We want everyone—our residents, their families, our prospective residents and visitors from outside the community—to feel safe and at ease.
Just a few aspects of our enhanced safety regimen:
Leadership
An extraordinary senior living community such as the Carillon at Belleview calls for a special team of professionals who are passionate about what they do, and how they do it. Our group truly embodies our promise to elevate senior living in every way we can.
Shannon Arwood Dionese, ALA
Executive Director
Shannon was born in Seattle, Washington and spent her childhood, equally, in Seattle and Montana. She attended the University of Montana and received a degree in Psychology in 1996. After graduation, her goal was to go in to law enforcement. To pay the bills, she took a job working at an Embassy Suites and embarked on a 23 year long journey in hospitality that allowed her to live in quite a few states. She had often thought that she would enjoy working in Senior Living and decided to make that leap 3 years ago and became an Executive Director. The parallels between hospitality and Senior Living made the transition incredibly easy and she has never looked back. Her management philosophy of “finding creative ways to say yes,” leading with integrity, and not over-promising and under-delivering has lead to a very successful career. A big pet peeve is when someone says “I’ll look into that,” and then there is zero follow through. Accountability and trust is key and she is looking forward to lending her talents to Carillon and making this a wonderful home for each resident.
When she is not working, she enjoys spending time with her family and her four dogs.
Adrienne Evenson
Marketing Director
Adrienne grew up in a small town outside of Pittsburgh and has been a resident of Colorado since 1998. “My father and I volunteered at local nursing homes when I was 11 years old – this has had a profound influence on my passion to work with seniors.” Studying dietetics in college, Adrienne supported a local assisted living by creating specialized dietary menus for the residents and then had a wonderful opportunity to open a large senior community in southern Denver in 2006. With 15 plus years of experience in senior living, Adrienne continues to be inspired by the love and insight of her residents. “Some of my most genuine interactions and inspirational moments in life have been with seniors.” When she is not at the community, Adrienne enjoys doing anything outdoors, healthy cooking, and spending time with her 15-year old son.
Brian Ketteler
Life Enrichment Director
Brian was born and raised in a small town in northeast Nebraska, attending college at Wayne State and graduated with a BS in Exercise Science. Having moved to Colorado in 2002 where he completed my internship at the Colorado Athletic Club, and then spent seven years there as a personal trainer. Brian initially got into the senior living industry in 2007 working as a Wellness Program Coordinator for Rehab Care, which led to a Resident Programming position in 2014. “I have been working in Resident programming and events for 7 years now and I truly love the interaction with the residents.” Brian enjoys the hospitality component involved in senior living and especially loves the interaction that he has every day with the residents. “What I love most about my job is seeing the big smiles after a successful program.” Brian’s two daughters keep him busy on the home front, while he enjoys getting outdoors, golfing and running when he has free time.
Mary Lawrence
Life Enrichment Director for Monarch House
As the 3rd of 7 children in her family, Mary has enjoyed being a caregiver from an early age. As a young adolescent, she volunteered (where her father worked) at the V.A. Hospital in Ft. Lyon, Colorado. There, she recalls making moccasins and playing Checkers with the veterans; each time she returned home after her visits there, Mary would share with her mom what a noticeable difference she was making in the lives of the patients. Mom insisted that compassion is one of our most valuable assets; and, if humbly given, is a mutual gift.
As a part-time professor for many years in the fields of communication and leadership, Mary is committed to life-long learning, growing and sharing her love for learning. She is a role model and trainer in dementia education. Mary has enjoyed working with older adults in senior living for many years; she has worked with and learned from residents living in independent, assisted living and (her favorite) in memory care. Mary believes that our elders in Monarch House are the most vulnerable; they have the greatest need for us to listen deeply, to learn who they are; and to reflect back to them: Light, Life and Love.
Mary lives on Lookout Mountain in Golden, Co; and sometimes, she brings her beloved dog Apollo with her to the community!
Chef Nicole Gotzinger
Culinary Director
Nicole Gotzinger is the Culinary Director at The Carillon at Belleview Station. Chef Nicole is a native-Coloradan and grew up in Littleton, CO. She comes with over 10 years of experience in Health Care and Senior Living; bringing memories and experience of fine dining to her residents and finding it to be her true passion. Chef Nicole graduated with a Culinary Degree through the Rocky Mountain Chefs of Colorado Apprenticeship program in 2018 and became certified through the ACF with her CC title. Currently she is in pursuit of mentoring the apprenticeship program, at The Carillon at Belleview for future young culinarians. Outside of culinary, Nicole enjoys the great outdoors, hiking, boating, traveling, spending time with her family, friends and her little-man, Church (aka puppy). She truly believes “you can be anywhere when your life begins.”
Wilson Gonzalez
Executive Chef
Wilson Gonzalez was born and raised in Southern California and has worked in senior health care for 13 years. “I fell in love with working for seniors at Holly Creek Retirement Home and ever since then have had the passion and love for cooking elevated meals for seniors.” Gonzalez graduated from Rocky Mountain Chefs of Colorado Apprenticeship program in 2019 and became certified CC from ACF & CC. Outside of culinary Gonzalez enjoys going to the movies at the theater, skateboarding, going to the park with his kids, traveling to California to the beach and enjoying all the moments with his 4 children.
Craig Sparkman
Assisted Living Director
Craig was born and raised in Baltimore where he attended the University of Maryland. As part of an operations team, he moved to Colorado in 1997 to manage a customer service call center. Craig has a degree in business and a master’s in organizational management. After 22 years in operations/customer service he took some time away from the workforce to care for his autistic son, Jackson. During this time Craig became a CNA and spent the first year of Covid on the front lines in skilled nursing. This is where he developed a passion for senior living. Craig has worked in skilled and assisted living over the last three years focused on enriching the lives or residents. Away from work and school Craig and Jax are a team and can often be found listening to music, chasing bunny rabbits and rainbows, building trains or plotting an invasion of plants vs zombies.
Scot Burkhart
Health Services Director
Scot was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio and first came to Colorado in Aug of 1993 to visit a friend. Unknowingly arriving during the World Youth Day events, he was “captured by the beauty, vibrancy and friendliness of Denver.” What started as a one-week visit turned into a permanent move.
He started in healthcare as an Office Coordinator in 2000 for a local Hospice. In the years since, he’s held a variety of administrative and clinical roles in hospitals, as well as skilled nursing & assisted living facilities throughout Colorado. He earned his LPN from the Community College of Denver in 2008 and his Bachelor of Professional Studies in Business & Management from Excelsior College in 2021.
Scot has been with his partner David for over 20 years. They enjoy travel, dining out and spending time with their three adult children, extended family and friends.
Terri Visger
Fitness Director
Terri is the Fitness Manager here at the Carillon. She is a Colorado native who was born and raised in Grand Junction. She lived in the Bay Area of Northern California for 15 years where she started her career in fitness. With over 30 years' experience in the fitness industry, Terri is NASM, ACE and Senior Specialist certified. In addition, she has numerous other fitness certifications across several fitness and exercise disciplines. She has been the Athletic Director at many clubs throughout her career but feels most at home with the amazing and capable residents she works with daily in her current position. When she is not at work, she enjoys glamping with her husband and ever-growing family. She loves gardening, biking and striving to be the best she can be. The residents are such a special part of her job and she enjoys working with such unique and interesting people and cherishes being able to help them improve their quality of life on a daily basis.
Allison Meredith
Sales Advisor
Allison joined The Carillon at Belleview Station in September 2024. She brings with her 18 years of service in senior living sales. She loves helping seniors and their families discover all that The Carillon has to offer. "What I love most about being a Sales Advisor are the connections and relationships that are made with the residents and their families." Allison attended University of Colorado at Boulder, graduating with a BA in Communication. In Allison's free time she enjoys running, snow boarding and spending time with her husband and 3 adult children which she adores!
Shayna Ungerleider
Move in Coordinator in Sales
Meet Shayna, a proud Illinois native who stayed in the Midwest for her studies, earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology and gerontology from The University of Iowa. She initially joined the Ascent team as a Life Enrichment Director at Carillon’s sister community Rosemark at Mayfair Park where she thrived on creating fun and meaningful experiences for the residents. Now, as our Move-In Coordinator, Shayna is thrilled to help new families and future residents make a seamless transition into our community. Outside of work, Shayna enjoys hiking, yoga, trying new cookbook recipes, and spending quality time with her adorable miniature schnauzer. If you’re new here and need a warm welcome or a buddy for activities in your first few weeks, Shayna is always happy to help!
Ascent Living Leadership
The Ascent Founders are notable for their roll‐up‐your‐sleeves, detailed, and focused approach that is further augmented by creating a familial environment within each senior living community we own and/or operate. We create highly successful and market differentiated communities that we can hang our hats on. We are ambitious; however, we have the discipline and patience to operate within our means.
Tom Finley
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Tom Finley is a founding member of Ascent. Prior to Ascent, he held positions with a senior living and development company as a finance and development manager. His professional career in finance and real estate began with Arthur Andersen in their tax consulting practice. He then worked for ProLogis, a large REIT, in various capacities ultimately serving as fund manager for a $2 billion property trust which was publicly traded on the Australian Stock Exchange. He is a member of the Board of Trustees for Havern School, a nationally recognized school serving students with diagnosed learning disabilities since 1967. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from the University of Arkansas, and a Master’s Degree in Taxation from the University of Denver, and is a certified public accountant (inactive). Mr. Finley is responsible for the strategic direction of the company, its communities, and future growth opportunities. He oversaw over $300 million in completed senior living development and acquisitions for the company over the last several years. He has over 23 years of experience in finance, real estate, and operations.
Susie Finley
Founder and President
Susie Finley is a founding member of Ascent. Her professional career in senior living spans over 24 years. She began her career working in various capacities in day-to-day operations for local and regional senior living operators in the Midwest. Mrs. Finley then joined a large national senior living firm, where she has served as Executive Director for multiple communities in the Denver market. She joined Ascent in her current capacity in 2013. She received a Bachelor of Science in Gerontology from The Ohio State University. She is a licensed Nursing Home Administrator and an Assisted Living Administrator. Mrs. Finley serves on the Board of Trustees for Temple Emanuel & serves on the Assisted Living Advisory Committee for the Colorado Department of Health. Mrs. Finley previously served as a Board Member and the Assisted Living Chair of the Colorado Healthcare Association from 2011 to 2018. She is responsible for the evolution of Ascent’s operating model, strategic planning, functional programming, project design, and optimizing ongoing operational performance.
