Taking Care Documentary Screening & Panel Discussion

Tonya Embly is certified by the National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners and has received PAC Training by Teepa Snow. Her passion in life is working with those living with dementia and assisting families that are going through situations like those she went through while caregiving for her own parents?. Tonya has been the Director of Memory Care at The Kensington Falls Church for the past 7 Years.

Courtney Lavender, a licensed Nursing Home and Assisted Living Administrator, Certified Care Manager, and Certified Dementia Practitioner, has over 26 years of experience in long-term care. With Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Gerontology from the University of Southern California, she specializes in guiding families through the complex decisions involved in caregiving and senior care. Drawing on both her professional expertise and personal experiences as a caregiver for her father and her mother, who lives with Alzheimer’s, Courtney provides compassionate assessments to help families evaluate needs, navigate care environments, and explore resources for home care or transitions to senior living. Her passion is to support families with clarity and confidence during life’s most challenging moments. 

Alan Gilbert is Principal at Trident Communications, a marketing, public relations, and content development consulting firm he founded in 2002. For nearly 11 years, he oversaw, coordinated, and hands-on contributed to all aspects of his mother’s life, including her healthcare both at home, in hospitals/rehabilitation facilities, and at The Kensington Falls Church. Together, Alan and his mother navigated her declining physical and mental health with the goal of achieving the best possible outcomes and maximizing her quality of life and their time together every day, regardless of the daunting circumstances.