Julie Podewitz
CEO & Founder
Julie is a senior living sales expert with many years’ experience and a proven track record. Senior Living sales is her passion. She is successful in team building and development – coaching at all levels, including executive, sales and marketing teams, management, and regional and divisional directors.
Julie has spent time on both the provider and consultant side, all focused on sales and marketing. Julie began her career as a community sales director and quickly filled census-challenged buildings. Her experience as a teacher, trainer and coach gave her great insight to consult with hundreds of communities across 46 states. She has spent the past eight years in the VP Sales and CMO roles on the provider side.
All along, she kept her foot on the ground, never losing the “here and now” experience of the customer – the prospects, families, community, executive and ownership entities she serves.
She and her team have walked the walk, have grown with the business, know what works, what to do, and how to do it. Many consider her the “go to” resource; heck, she wrote the book! By starting her business, Julie expands her passion for sales, teaching, and seeing others succeed and grow their occupancy.
Julie and her husband Jim share a passion for their daughter Ava, their two dogs, Winston Churchill and Maggie, music trivia, and enjoying their Tennessee farm.
“The senior living space needs to acknowledge the need for top sales talent, to invest in training and development of this talent. Selling senior living requires advanced skills. We need to commit to what we know works – sales fundamentals – and pivot to meet the demands of the ever-changing world of digital marketing as well as the needs and desires of our customers. Customer-focused sales is never more relevant than in senior living.”
Dani Merlino
Vice President of Strategic Development
With over 20 years of experience in the senior living industry, Dani excels in sales training, occupancy building, culture renovation, and financial profitability. Grounded in the roots of the industry, Dani relies on her past experiences of starting at the ground level and growing into VP positions, as well as her thirst for knowledge and passion to improve the industry to effectively lead senior living communities to the ultimate success of high occupancy, financial sustainability, and customer satisfaction.
Paving the way for other rising stars in the industry is a passion of Dani’s as she thoroughly enjoys mentoring others in the industry and watching them succeed, both on the provider and vendor side.
Sharing her knowledge through presentations at conferences such as SMASH and Argentum, Dani enjoys pushing the boundaries of the industry in hopes of expanding the minds of those in the industry to ultimately help and serve as many seniors as possible.
Dani has been featured on podcasts with the 100% Club and FURTHER as she discussed the inner workings of the discovery process, culture, and what makes a thriving community ‘tick’. She is also a past member of the advisory boards of FURTHER, WelcomeHome Software, and OneDay.
Dani lives in Illinois with her husband Nick and 3 children. As a busy family of 5, you can often find them at ballfields, playing boardgames, or running in a million different directions with kids activities.
Dresden Cincurak
Vice President of Training and
Sales Success Specialist
Dresden Cincurak’s love for the senior population started at a very young age. She would often spend her summers visiting her grandparents for weeks in rural Oklahoma – there was nowhere else she would rather be than with them. Her grandparents were her heroes. When her beloved grandpa developed Dementia and moved into a community, she vowed to make things easier on the residents and their families as her career. After graduating from the University of Washington in Seattle with a Bachelor’s in Theatre, Dresden moved to Nashville, TN and landed her first senior living gig as the lead concierge in an Independent Living community. From there, Dresden advanced through the ranks learning all aspects of the industry while holding roles within the community and at a corporate level. Dresden has served seniors as a Sales Director, Dementia Care Program Manager, and Executive Director. Her support roles have included Sales Specialist, Regional Sales Director, Divisional Dementia Care Manager, Corporate Director of Memory Care and Life Enrichment, and Vice President of Sales. She has also created and implemented a specific dementia care program for those with cognition impairment for a senior living community based in Birmingham, AL.
Dresden is married to Matthew and mother to her favorite kid, Jackson. When not working, Dresden can be found on the lake, camping, spending time with friends and family, helping others achieve their health goals as a health coach, and showing real estate. Dresden is honored to be part of the Grow team and looks forward to helping your teams “Grow.”
Melinda Haney
Vice President of Operations and
Sales Success Specialist
Melinda’s passion for helping older adults has fueled her 20+ years in the senior living space. She has assisted residents and families with all levels of senior living and has held 98+% occupancy in her communities for years. Her communities are often voted “Best of” in their local markets.
Melinda has experience in many levels of senior living sales: Community Relations Director, Admissions Director, Director of Sales & Marketing and Regional Director of Sales and Marketing. Melinda trains Executive Directors & RDOs and leads new associate onboarding. She is also a CRM and data analytics expert.
Melinda understands the sales position uniquely well; as a self-starter, influencer, party-planner, educator, community volunteer, jugger, leader and importantly as a team player. She also has experience as a family member, advocate, and caregiver.
Melinda has two sons who are University of South Florida Bulls. The boys might say, so to not have an empty house, Melinda and her spouse keep busy by breeding Black Miniature Schnauzers. We might tell you a different story.