Loren Shook

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As Founder of Silverado with Jim Smith and Steve Winner, and its former CEO for nearly 30 years, Loren Shook is often recognized as a memory care futurist. Loren is a true visionary – helping to transform an industry while creating thousands of healthcare jobs – but he is most driven by a lifelong commitment to changing lives.

Loren works with Wayne Sanner, CEO, Silverado’s Executive Team and the Board of Directors to help shape the company’s long-term vision, culture, and strategic direction. As Executive Chairman, he focuses on advancing Silverado’s mission and culture through supporting the company’s leaders, strategic planning, identifying new opportunities, fostering key public policy relationships, and championing innovations that continue to transform dementia care. His leadership helps position Silverado to fulfill its vision of changing the world for people living with memory impairment, facilitating people living their fullest life to the end of life and those who care for them.

A recognized leader in senior housing, Loren frequently speaks at state, national and international conferences and has presented before the Senate Special Committee on Aging, sharing insights on improving quality of life for individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.

Loren is the recipient of numerous awards, including the American Seniors Housing Association (ASHA) Senior Living Hall of Fame Award 2026, University of California Irvine’s Institute for Memory Impairment and Neurological Disorders (UCI MIND) 2015 Community Leadership Honoree Award, Southern California 55+ Housing Council’s Person of the Year Award, Boomer Business Summit’s Innovation in Leadership and Service Award, Mission Hospital Foundation’s Vision Award, Ernest & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year award in health care and others. He co-authored New Possibilities in Memory Care: The Silverado Story and The Silverado Story: A Memory Care Culture Where Love is Greater than Fear and authored the chapter “Pioneering Memory Care with a Culture of Love Greater than Fear” in the book Paths to Leadership in the Senior Living Industry by Matthew Lifschultz and Edward L. Schneider and other publications. Before founding Silverado, he served as President and COO of Community Psychiatric Centers, an international NYSE company.

Loren is proud of creating an environment where people help other people achieve their dreams – such as a caregiver who becomes a Registered Nurse and Director of Health Services, an activities staff member who becomes Vice President of Operations for many communities, a case manager who becomes President and CEO of a multi-state behavioral hospital company, or an associate who starts their own company. His greatest passion in life is helping everyone he touches to find a quality of life – including friends, family, Silverado residents, patients, and associates – and witnessing what the Silverado team has done to improve the quality of life for the memory impaired by demonstrating for others what is possible and then seeing those principles adopted throughout the world, improving countless lives beyond our reach!

Other Key Accomplishments

• Co-founder of Silverado, which currently has 27 communities in ten states specializing in serving those with Alzheimer’s and other memory impairing conditions, 8 Silverado Hospice sites, including Palliative care
• Wall Street track record with 17 years of consistent compounded earnings growth of 15 percent or more
• A key player in the growth and development of Community Psychiatric Centers, an NYSE company, from 9 to 50 behavioral healthcare systems throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom with a market value of over $1 billion

Current Board Member

• University of Southern California Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, Board of Councilors
• American Seniors Housing Association, Executive Board of Directors
• Vision Centre Advisory Council

Past Board Member

• University of Southern California Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, Board of Councilors
• Argentum, Chairman of the Board and Board of Directors
• Covenant Health Network, Board Member
• Mission Hospital Foundation, Chairman of the Board and  Board of Directors
• National Investment Center (NIC), Board of Directors, and Chair of the Operations Advisory Committee
• University of California Irvine Institute for Memory Impairment & Neurological Disorders (MIND), Advisory Board of Directors
• California Assisted Living Association (CALA), Chairman of the Board and Board of Directors
• Texas Assisted Living Association, Board of Directors
• Alzheimer’s Association of Orange County, President, Board of Directors
• University of Maryland Baltimore Campus, Erickson School of Aging Studies, Board of Councilors
• Community Psychiatric Centers, Board of Directors
• National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems, Board of Directors & President

Find our more about Loren on lorenshook.com.