Who We Are
Our primary commitment is to grow hand-in-hand with our residents, their families, and our employees. We do this by exemplifying great care, choice, and a fulfilling lifestyle featuring All of the Fun, None of the Chores™ for all those we serve.
Mission
To bring family and hospitality home.
CORE VALUES
Kindness
Empathy
Optimism
Courage
Self-awareness
Curiosity
Vision
To provide the finest senior living experience.
Senior Leadership
Phil Benjamson
President
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Phil Benjamson has been named President at Abby Senior Living in Dallas, Texas bringing 17 years of senior living, servant leadership experience to help build on the foundation of excellence Abby has been delivering since 1999. Mr. Benjamson joins Abby from AlerisLife, where he was the Chief Operating Officer Five Star Senior Living and Ageility Therapy and Rehab. Within his leadership organization were 139 senior living communities, 150 Therapy locations and 10,000 Associates dedicated to server seniors.
Prior to AlerisLife, Mr. Benjamson was the Chief Operating Officer for Resort Lifestyle Communities and Blake Management group both of which were developing, operating and growing their management companies similarly to what we will do at Abby Senior Living.
Mr. Benjamson will focus on growing the organization’s industry-leading, hospitality-driven operating platform, while facilitating Abby’s expansion of their third-party operating platform. All focused on delivering on the company’s mission to be the best place to live and work in seniors housing with “All of the Fun, None of the Chores”!
Brian Clarke
CEO of Abby Development
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Brian Clarke is the founder and CEO of Abby Senior Living. Mr. Clarke is responsible for the growth and strategic planning of the company. Founded in 1999, Abby specializes in seniors housing and multi-family development, construction, and management. Mr. Clarke’s experience also includes the development and management of Class A offices and build-to-suit retail.
Mr. Clarke’s management skills and affinity for working with seniors were forged in the mid-1990s as the owner, president, and CEO of Life Medical, a medical and rehabilitation equipment company. His interest in senior lifestyle enhancement quickly led to hands-on involvement in the design and development of senior housing communities.
After selling his medical company in the late-90s, Mr. Clarke recognized a void in quality senior living facilities in secondary markets and subsequently began financing and developing facilities throughout East Texas. Since then, Mr. Clarke has designed, developed, and constructed numerous CCRCs throughout Texas, Louisiana & Mississippi.
Sally Stuart
Director Of Human Resources
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With over 20 years of human resources experience in healthcare, Sally joined Abby Senior Living in 2013 as Director of Human Resources. Prior to joining Abby, Sally worked at The University of Texas Health Center at Tyler and Texas Spine and Joint Hospital in HR administration. In addition, she served as an adjunct faculty member at The University of Texas at Tyler, teaching various classes in the School of Business. Her responsibilities with Abby include talent acquisition, ensuring compliance with state and federal employment laws, benefit administration, worker injury program, training and other related duties.
Sally received her BBA in Organizational Behavior from SMU in Dallas and her MBA from SFASU in Nacogdoches.
Dawn Bearden
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With a focus on team development, mentoring, and problem-solving, Dawn excels in achieving organizational goals. She collaborates effectively with sales & marketing teams, community leaders, and management professionals to enhance quality of life and patient outcomes. Dawn is adept at crafting innovative, evidence-based education and high-risk prevention strategies, delivered through various mediums including bedside, lecture, and web-based platforms.
Dawn’s communication skills extend to public speaking, sales, and vendor relations, facilitating effective collaboration with executives, physicians, and frontline staff. Her ultimate mission is to lead, mentor, and ensure the delivery of exceptional care to clients.
Darin Leonardson
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Darin graduated from South Seattle Community College with a Culinary Degree and an Associate Degree in Applied Science. He also recently finished schooling at Ashford University for a bachelor’s degree in organizational management. Darin is happily married with three beautiful children, Isabella, Cameron, and Logan. He loves to skateboard with his kids and teach them how to both garden and cook. He believes God has blessed him with the ability to touch people with his enthusiasm for cooking and eating well. He currently lives in Dallas, Texas and believes the best way to live is through a balanced lifestyle. One third of your life should be family; one third community and the final third should be work. It should be in that order.
Prior to opening his own company, Darin was the VP of Culinary at Rapid Recovery Centers focusing on the healing aspects of food through for this new post-acute transitional care company. Prior to this role he was the Director of Hospitality at Golden Living overseeing over 300 properties, serving over 60,000 meals daily. He was the Corporate Food and Beverage Manager at One Eighty, a Leisure Care company with 38 properties around the world. Prior to that, he was Executive Chef at The Bellettini, a Leisure Care property in Bellevue, Washington. Darin has also worked for Google as General Manager and Executive Chef and as an Executive Chef for a variety of restaurants in Washington State, including Toi, The Bellevue Club Hotel, and Elliott’s Oyster House.
Darin has also been featured as a celebrity guest chef for Holland America’s Cruise Line on four prior voyages, sailing on the Nieuw Amsterdam in the Caribbean and Amsterdam around the World Voyage and the Ms. Princendam for a South American World Cruise.
