Benchmark Senior Living Names Dawn Bradley as Vice President of Culinary

Senior Living Industry Veteran Has Innovated & Achieved High Resident and Associate Satisfaction for More Than 25 Years

WALTHAM, Mass., Oct. 1, 2024 Benchmark Senior Living, the largest senior living provider in New England, is pleased to announce the appointment of Dawn Bradley as the new vice president of culinary. With a wealth of experience managing senior living and healthcare dining services, this appointment underscores Benchmark's commitment to continuing to elevate the dining experience at its 66 communities throughout the Northeast.

Bradley has over 25 years of experience addressing the unique dietary needs of senior living community residents and patients in healthcare settings, while focusing on providing a high-quality dining experience. As vice president of culinary for Benchmark, she will oversee all aspects of dining, including the culinary concepts at each Benchmark community, conducting continuous research to drive customer satisfaction and foster innovative, and sourcing the highest quality ingredients to craft exceptional menus.

"Dawn's commitment to excellence meets the high standards to which Benchmark holds itself." -John Hartmayer, Benchmark's chief operations officer and executive vice president

Additionally, Bradley will spearhead unique initiatives aimed at enhancing the culinary experience for residents while helping ensure Benchmark's commitment to keeping them connected to who and what matters most in their lives. Bradley will also provide leadership and guidance to Benchmark's regional and community associates, with the goal of creating seamless kitchen operations and dishes that exceed expectations.

Before joining Benchmark, Bradley was the senior vice president of healthcare and senior living for NexDine, a national dining services company, where she led a major increase in client satisfaction and experience enhancement. She also spent nearly a decade at Sodexo, the global leader in sustainable food, where she eventually served as vice president of operations overseeing 80 dining locations in nine states. Bradley began her career working directly for senior living providers, including two of the nation's largest.

"Dawn's commitment to excellence meets the high standards to which Benchmark holds itself. She also has extensive experience with large and growing organizations like ours," said John Hartmayer, Benchmark's chief operations officer and executive vice president. "Over our 27-year history, superior dining experiences have become a Benchmark hallmark, so we're excited to be able to hardness Dawn's tremendous expertise and business acumen so that we can continue to raise the culinary bar even higher."

Benchmark's excellence in dining has been evidenced by dozens of state and industry culinary awards for things like best chef and best dish. For the last two years, Benchmark has been the exclusive senior living sponsor of the popular Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival in Newport, R.I.

For more information about dining at a Benchmark community, visit https://www.benchmarkseniorliving.com/dining-services/.

About Benchmark Senior Living

Benchmark is New England's largest senior living provider with 66 independent living, assisted living, memory care and continuing care communities and over 6,700 dedicated associates providing compassionate care and outstanding experiences throughout the Northeast. The Waltham, Mass.-based company was founded over 27 years ago by Tom Grape with the purpose of Transforming Lives Through Human Connection. Since then, Benchmark has continued to set the industry standard, having won over 300 hundred local, regional and national awards for its care, programs and as a top workplace. Benchmark has been named one of the Top Places to Work for 16 straight years in The Boston Globe's annual employee-based survey and received repeated recognition in FORTUNE's Best Workplaces for Aging Services list. In 2024, Benchmark communities received 62 U.S. News & World Report Best of Senior Living excellence awards based on resident and family feedback. For more information, visit BenchmarkSeniorLiving.com.