For Mimi Lewis, the winner of the 2026 LeadingAge Leadership Award, communication and relationship building are essential components of her role as program director of R3: Right Care, Right Place, Right Time for Hebrew SeniorLife (HSL), based in Roslindale, MA. Whether it’s helping her staff support communication between residents and their health care providers, leading staff presentations or mentoring those new to their careers, Lewis thrives on bringing her authentic self into every interaction.

Lewis’s communication style is not only authentic and effective, but warm and engaging, according to Stephanie Small, executive director of R3 at HSL and the individual who nominated Lewis for the Leadership Award.

“Mimi exhibits very thoughtful leadership, and her style of presenting information reveals her passion for her work,” said Small, who hired Lewis in 2017 as a wellness coordinator for R3. “People leave conversations with her wanting to work with us. There’s just this nuance she has in the way she connects so beautifully with people.”

Focus on Wellness 

The focus of the innovative R3 program is wellness in senior housing communities—a wellness nurse and a wellness coordinator work on-site to help support residents around their mental and physical health, with the goal of improving their quality of life.

The Leadership Award Review Committee noted Lewis’s leadership “in building this initiative from the ground up and expanding its reach significantly—from serving 400 older adults across six communities to more than 2,400 served across 16 communities. The R3 model is now supported by more than 50 team members across the community, reflecting the leadership, organizational capacity, and collaborative culture Mimi has cultivated to sustain and expand the work.”

Lewis, who has been program director since 2022, said R3 staff look at six domains of risk when it comes to evaluating wellness: falls, mental health (which includes examination of isolation and loneliness, along with mental health history), food insecurity, nutrition risk (hydration is key here) and cognitive risk. The final category is ER/Hospital risk “broadly,” which Lewis said, “is kind of our stand-in for frailty,” adding what puts someone on that risk list “can be something as benign as their age or as worrisome as several comorbidities.”

The assessment data is entered into the R3 software system, but this is where staff-resident communication comes into play, according to Lewis. “We’re looking at resident risk from concrete categories but we’re also trying to take a big picture, relationship-based approach to identifying risk,” she said. “I really believe how a resident answers a question just gives you one piece of the picture. There is so much that can be picked up nonverbally or from a staff member’s experience of a resident.”

Another step towards improving wellness is also rooted in communication. “One of the biggest things our staff is doing is supporting communication between the residents and their health care providers,” said Lewis. “A lot of times residents need support talking to their [primary care providers] about the changes they are experiencing and asking them for help.” 

Beyond that, Lewis said her staff is always encouraging residents to get to know the nurse care manager in their own residence. “We want them to develop a relationship with the person who will be there for them as things change,” said Lewis. Attending sessions on health and fitness topics is another way for residents to become invested in their own health while giving them the opportunity to be in community with others. 

The Importance of Listening

When asked to describe her leadership style, Lewis said she values collaboration. “I like to hear people’s challenges and I’m also a big problem solver,” she said. 

Small also believes these qualities contribute to Lewis’s strengths as a leader. “Mimi is really good at hearing the issue someone is struggling with—she’s good at drilling down to what’s really going on,” Small said. “She’s also someone who doesn’t need to take credit for success. She’s looking to uplift her staff.”

Lewis recalls a personal learning moment in her leadership journey when a data transfer project she was spearheading was taking much longer than expected, for a variety of reasons. Rather than continuing the work without looping in her staff, she opted to directly address the issue— which she said was appreciated by her team.

“I realized that I can’t solve every problem with transparency, but I remember that it felt very authentic to me to open up that tension,” Lewis said. “It’s important for me to be seen as authentic.” 

Serving as a mentor also brings Lewis satisfaction. “I’ve made a few romantic matches in my life,” she said with a smile. “I get a similar thrill when I’m able to talk to somebody about what the right place is for them. Or when I see somebody struggling and they come to me with a challenge. I really want to help.” 

Outside of her role at HSL, Lewis is a communicator in an entirely different way: she and her husband are parents to two children, ages 6 and 4. “I love being with them. We are at this stage where we’re co-creating community—they are meeting kids at school and we’re getting to know those parents.” Lewis and her husband are also active in their Jewish community. 

As she looks to the future of the aging population, Lewis said, “I’m really excited for the challenges that baby boomers and those coming up will bring to the industry. I think it’s really important for those of us who cut our teeth in this work with the previous generation of older adults to step back and think: how do we need to change with this new generation of consumers? 

“Being in the space of affordable housing and helping people navigate services is going to continue to be so hard no matter how savvy the consumer is,” she said. “I definitely see myself in a growth industry.” 

Photo: Leise Jones Photography