Allyson Nathan was born with the passion to make a difference. Her personal experience with senior living dates to 1992 when she was introduced to it during a tour of the community her grandmother, Tina, was preparing to move to in Clinton, NY. She found the experience life changing and from that day forward, dedicated her career to helping other people’s grandparents, or other family members, the same way someone helped her Grandma Tina.
That “aha” moment changed everything for a young communications major with no real direction. She suddenly noticed the development of a community in her hometown of Manlius, NY and tracked down the person who would soon become her boss. From there she entered the world of professional consulting at Senior Living Associates (now Kleger Associates), a Philadelphia-based senior housing marketing firm where she mastered the art of opening brand-new communities for senior housing providers in the northeast. Her work at SLA resulted in a role at CareMatrix that led her to Las Vegas, NV. Following the successful community opening there, subsequent leadership roles followed at Alterra Healthcare (now Brookdale) and Silverado Senior Living, among others, until she temporarily changed course during the economic downturn when she served as Vice President of Marketing and Sales Support on the team that launched the reverse mortgage division of Countrywide Bank.
While grateful for the wealth of high-level corporate experience garnered at Countrywide, she couldn’t return to senior living fast enough and formed her own senior industry marketing firm in 2010 to support senior housing operators and affiliated businesses. Her clients included: Cadence Senior Living where she served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing and helped create the brand identities for Cadence Living, Inspira Senior Living and Acoya Senior Living; Retirement Community Specialists (RCS) where she was the corporate sales and marketing specialist until joining its development partner, IPA Management, as Corporate Director of Marketing overseeing marketing and sales for LivCommunities, known for the Generations senior living and Liv multifamily housing brands; a house-call physician practice that served senior living residents; and Thoma-Holec Design where she continues to manage the nationally renowned senior living interior design firm’s marketing and PR needs.
Following a 25-year career, primarily marketing retirement and senior living communities, she founded Fortina Solutions in 2019 to assist individuals and families navigate the maze of senior living options that halts most people’s interest. Named for her grandmother, Tina, Fortina Solutions strives to provide peace of mind through education needed to empower her clients to take control of their futures.
Allyson holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University at Buffalo and her Certificate in Marketing Strategy from Cornell University. Her volunteer and non-profit affiliations include 100 Women Who Care – Santa Fe, the New Mexico Women in the Arts, Hadassah – Santa Fe Chapter, and several professional and social networking groups.