Dan Colucci began his career at Hearthstone in 2000 as Controller, and in 2005 he was promoted to Chief Financial Officer.  As Hearthstone's CFO, Dan is responsible for the day-to-day accounting and finance issues of the company. He also works with families and residents on billing issues and their financial concerns. Another aspect of his role is working with the management team and Human Resources to insure Hearthstone's employees receive fair compensation and benefits. As a member of the Hearthstone "Core Team" Dan is instrumental in budgeting contract negotiations, banking and other financial matters and he advises the principles on long range planning.

Prior to joining Hearthstone, Dan spent nine years of his career in the healthcare industry. Dan graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with a BBA in accounting and has over eleven years work experience in accounting, finance and management information systems.

Sue Blackler, Director of Operations and Training

Sue Blackler joined the Hearthstone team in 1995 with over twenty years of experience working in nursing homes and home care. She provided care for a relative with Alzheimer's for five years, and has worked on a home health agency hospice team, caring for a diverse population of patients of all ages, including people with end-stage cancer and dementia. She worked for the Town of Upton, connecting home-bound elders with services, and was a member of the state Ombudsman Program. She has expertise in emergency preparedness and fire safety, and has worked with local fire departments and police in our various locations to develop and implement systems to ensure safety for residents and staff. Most recently, she has been instrumental in the development of Hearthstone's Enhanced Life Program.

Sue trains all new staff and provides supervision for the mentors. Mentors at Hearthstone are experienced resident assistants who work with new Resident Assistants until they are ready to work on their own. In addition, Sue provides support and training to Life Quality Directors, and is part of the group who train Program Directors, Nurses, and Administrative Assistants. She creates and supervises the in-service training programs at all sites, and is part of the team responsible for quarterly Quality Reviews at each site. She also helped create the processes that have been encapsulated in "The Hearthstone Way."

She graduated from the Train the Trainer Program taught by Dr. Paul Raia through the Massachusetts Alzheimer's Association, which, along with a training developed for Hearthstone by Nancy Mace, author of The 36-Hour Day, forms the basis of the Hearthstone Alzheimer Care training program.

Sharon Johnson, Director of Marketing

Sharon joined the Hearthstone team in 2001 and brings with her a background in sales and marketing. Prior to joining Hearthstone, she worked as Marketing Director for ReTele Communications, specializing in marketing telecommunication equipment and video conferencing. She holds a degree in Marketing Management.

Sharon represents Hearthstone in the community by serving on many boards and committees. She works closely with the Outreach Coordinators and Executive Directors to bring the Hearthstone message to the communities we serve.

In addition to working with the marketing team, Sharon also works on Project Development and serves as Administrator for the Hearthstone Foundation.