Servant Leadership

Ken Jaeger founded MorningStar Senior Living on a profound truth: that of honoring God in all aspects of his company’s business practices and relationships, a foundational commitment that has directly contributed to offering residents a superior quality of life. With this principled approach and a strict adherence to the original mission, MorningStar has enjoyed prodigious growth since its inception in 2003. As a reflection of that success, Ken was named a recipient of the prestigious EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2016 award in the Mountain Desert region in the Healthcare and Life Sciences category.

Ken Jaeger’s 35+ years of experience in Senior Housing covers the full spectrum of senior living operations and management, including successful start-ups, acquisitions, turnarounds of distressed properties, and multi-site leadership. Ken has a proven track record of assembling and mentoring teams to profitability, while always providing the highest quality care.

Prior to founding MorningStar, Ken acted as a consultant and manager for several premier Senior Housing operators, including Aegis, Integral and Alterra, for which he operated up to 50 properties concurrently with revenues exceeding $100 million. From 1998-2003, he served as Vice President of Operations for the western division of Sunrise Senior Living where he was responsible for opening 17 new homes in Denver, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. Earlier in his career Ken spent 10+ years as an executive director for skilled nursing, assisted living and independent living communities.

Heavily involved in serving the poor around the world, he has given much of his time and resources throughout his career to building, funding and serving an orphanage in Nicaragua and to providing safe drinking water in Ethiopia and other African countries. Read more about the work of the MorningStar Foundation at Serving Globally.

Ken attended University of Minnesota at Moorhead where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Community Health Care.

She began her career at Ernst & Young as an auditor in the real estate group of its Orange County office. From there she joined KBS Realty Advisors in Newport Beach, where she was responsible for a $1.8B portfolio with assets across the U.S. Her next role was that of CFO/VP of Corporate Finance for MBK Senior Living, responsible for acquisitions, dispositions, accounting, finance, insurance, tax and compliance.

Expressly drawn to the mission of MorningStar, Jamie relocated to Colorado in 2016 where for the next four years she served MorningStar as Chief Financial Officer. After five years away, first as President of Solera Senior Living then as CFO for Aegis Senior Living, Jamie enthusiastically returned to MorningStar in 2025 as President/CIO.

She is quick to credit her grandparents for the formation of her character. Through Grandmother Jane’s 10-year struggle with Alzheimer’s, Jamie learned how devastating this disease is to the entire family. Not a day goes by in which she isn’t inspired by the amazing soul who was (and is) Jane Riley. Through this personal experience, Jamie’s servant-leadership is based on love for others, a style that puts team first by living out our core values.

Raised in Southern California, she holds a degree in Business Management with an emphasis in Finance from Chapman University, and an MBA from Pepperdine University. Jamie is vice chairperson on the Senior Housing Council Board of the Urban Land Institute.

In his role as Chief Operating Officer, Chad James is responsible for overseeing companywide operations, optimizing processes and ensuring seamless alignment with our partners and MorningStar team members. He works closely with all departments to streamline operations and champion a culture of continuous improvement through an empowering work environment. He is gifted in rallying teams around the priorities that matter most, moving with urgency while balancing the faceted needs of residents and their families, teams and investor groups.

Since joining MorningStar in 2022 Chad has shown exceptional dedication to the core principles of the MorningStar brand as a culture-driven servant leader, recognized for superior performance in functional management, increased sales, operating income, market penetration and customer service. He has played a vital role in the growth of our operations, first as a Regional Vice President of Operations then in the role of Senior VP of Operations. Chad’s superb attention to detail and balance of margin and mission have been instrumental in the growth of MorningStar.

Upon completing his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Lee University, Chad sought a professional path that aligned with his personal values and the character-shaping influence of his grandmother. “Seniors have always played an important role in my life. Grandma Trudy taught me to always enjoy the moment, work hard (even when no one is watching), and prioritize relationships. If Grandma were here today, she would be proud of the work we do at MorningStar.”

Chad started his senior living career with Life Care Centers of America learning all aspects of the industry. His education at Life Care launched him on a nine-year journey as Executive Director for six skilled nursing campuses where he became proficient in managing multiple operations with exceptional leadership, project coordination and analytical problem-solving skills. In 2019 he joined Veritas Management Group as Regional Director of Operations with responsibility over 10 skilled nursing facilities.

An enthusiastic, moral and results-driven leader, Chad is honored to contribute to MorningStar, a company distinguished by integrating a strong sense of mission and ministry into its operations.

Chris Livesay, SPHR, Chief People Officer, joined MorningStar in January 2020 as VP of Human Resources, becoming Chief People Officer in April 2023. Chris remarks, “I’m thrilled to be part of an organization and leadership team that is clear in its shared vision and mission, making this a culture where we’re encouraged to live by our Core Values: love, kindness, honesty, goodness, fairness and respect.”

Chris has worked in Human Resources since 2001, participating and leading all facets of people operations for small companies of less than 100 employees to large companies with over 50,000 employees. Among them have been nonprofits, property management, hospice, and health-care organizations. Most recently prior to MorningStar, Chris was HR Director for PASCO, a home healthcare company serving the disabled community.

“In my career,” says Chris, “I’ve seen that success is almost always rooted in good people aligned toward a common goal. I feel blessed to help with those initiatives at MorningStar, where the common goal is loving and caring for seniors. Nothing brings me more joy than being in a community seeing our team set up well to thrive in serving our seniors well. They, both the senior and our team, deserve no less than that.”

Chris’s passion for seniors traces originally to his Grandma Bea. “As a boy, I thought every grandparent was like her, only later realizing I’d won the lottery. She modeled how to love and serve God, how to be silly, how to treat others, how to write a letter…and teaching me how to be a gracious loser at Checkers.”

At MorningStar, Chris has implemented tools and systems with his team in all facets of people operations to help scale for growth while keeping true to the heart of who MorningStar is. It is his passion to have systems in place to hire & onboard well, invest generously in that team to be able to serve well through having the right resources and training, and seeking to be best of class in compliance and total rewards. “It is truly my joy to steward a place where team members are proud of their job and their company, coming in daily fully invested in being part of our great mission at MorningStar.”

His undergraduate degree in Organizational Leadership was earned at Purdue University with a Master’s of Divinity from Denver Seminary. He is a certified Senior Professional In Human Resources (SPHR).

With positive intensity and a dynamic style, Javi Arceneaux, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, approaches challenges head-on and leads with heart. The exceptional results of her teams are a credit to Javi’s analytical skills rooted in a focus on healthy, collaborative culture.

In her executive role, Javi is responsible for leading sales strategy and growth initiatives, leveraging 15+ years in senior housing sales and operations, real estate, project management, financial analysis, asset management and business development. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated a keen ability to build and coach high-performance teams whose performance builds revenue, increases market share and improves profitability.

Before joining MorningStar, Javi held executive roles at leading brands including Atria and Holiday. Here she was instrumental in driving revenue growth and improving sales operations. She cut her teeth as a local Director of Community Relations for Sunrise Senior Living, there first experiencing the joy of senior advocacy through exceptional customer service and dedication to helping older adults live better. As a Regional Director of Sales and Operations at Holiday Retirement, Javi supported teams that won awards for outstanding growth and performance. She also served variously as Regional Director of Sales, Regional Director of Operations, Vice President and Senior Vice President, scaling her portfolio from 12 communities to over 150.

One of the reasons Javi was drawn to MorningStar is its commitment to supporting the Casa Bernabe orphanage in Nicaragua, where she was born before immigrating to the U.S. at two years old. Javi is an enthused volunteer at the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry and with Cake 4 Kids, baking designer cakes for children living in shelters and foster care. “I’m strongly committed to giving back in thanks for the many blessings that have been bestowed upon me.”

She graduated from San Jose State University with a degree in Political Science, later receiving an Executive MBA with a focus on Strategic Planning from Golden Gate University. Javi is committed to continuing education, receiving certification from Cornell University in Asset Management and holding an RCFE license from the State of California.

Melissa Clement, RN, MSN, traces her calling to serve seniors to grandparents who figured large in her girlhood in small town Nebraska. In high school, Melissa became a certified nurse aide, soaking up more of the wisdom seniors have to offer. “Through the years they have taught me the importance of relationships, to never take a moment for granted…to embrace the days.”

Melissa joined MorningStar in 2020 as a Regional, drawn “by the company’s core values and its emphasis on servant-leadership. Ours is such a collaborative team, always looking for the next opportunity to improve.” Her career builds upon a solid record in executive leadership in project management, staffing, budgeting and finance, team building, strategic planning and decision making.

Now as Chief Wellness Officer, Melissa engages in multi-state oversight of clinical programs, works with risk management to strengthen resident outcomes, implements QAPI programs and coaches a growing team of nurses and care managers in 11 states. Skilled and dedicated in regulatory compliance, Melissa has led our communities through countless (often deficiency-free) surveys. She is passionate about elevating clinical training and education, and advancing MorningStar’s wellness initiatives.

The early years of her career were invested in large hospital settings before transitioning to senior care in 2018. Melissa is a member of the Colorado Health Care Association, Assisted Living Nursing Association, Colorado State Nursing Association and American Nurses Association. For the last eight years, she has found satisfaction in volunteering with YHC Clinic, a free public health center in Metro Denver.

Melissa earned her BSN degree from Platt College School of Nursing, three years later earning a Master’s in Nursing Leadership from Grand Canyon University. She is a certified dementia practitioner.

As an Executive Vice President at MorningStar Senior Living, John Jaeger serves as a partner to the entire Executive Team, providing strategic leadership, operational oversight and support across all disciplines within the company. John is responsible for enterprise-wide projects focused on process improvement, training, new development, information management and enhancing the resident experience. His attention to detail and ability to think systematically through complex issues are skills that serve greatly in our growing company.

He joined MorningStar in 2010, moving into a full-time role in 2014 upon graduating from the University of Colorado with a degree in business management (whereupon he was named the Business School’s Outstanding Graduate).

John served four years as an Investment Analyst within the development arm of MorningStar, then as an Operations Specialist, before becoming the Executive Director of MorningStar at Holly Park in Centennial, Colorado, in its preopen phase. In his three years as ED, the Holly Park community was spectacularly successful, setting records not only within MorningStar but across the senior housing industry. While John quickly credits his team, it was unquestionably his servant-leadership that made the difference. His brand of influence is best represented in his own words, “It’s not about us. It’s about the person in front of us. It’s what can we do to steward who they are and value them as gifted and contributing. We can impact so many lives on a day-to-day basis by leading our team through serving them.”

In 2018 John was involved in the creation of the MorningStar Foundation helping to shape its core initiatives in service the poor in our local communities and around the world.

For seven years he served on the board of Touch of Love International, a nonprofit focused on microfinancing for small businesses in Africa and Central America. For three years as a volunteer for Verbo Ministries in Nicaragua, he managed donor relations by serving as a liaison between local Nicaraguans and US-based supporters.

“MorningStar’s impact is far and wide, greater than what we directly see in front of us. It’s an incredible blessing to come alongside my father as we do our best to honor God while advancing the mission and vision of the company he built. To bring those aspirations into a reality we experience every day—that’s my mission and my calling.”