Meet the Finalists and Judges Powering the LCS InnoTank Competition

LCS has announced the five finalists for its 2026 InnoTank competition, an internal pitch event designed to elevate innovative ideas from both corporate and community employees. The winning individual or team will receive a $10,000 grand prize.

“InnoTank reflects the entrepreneurial spirit that drives LCS forward,” said Frank Vedder, LCS Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer. “We’ve made innovation a clear focus across our organization, and our employees have embraced it. Their passion is evident in the 52 impressive submissions we received this year. We wish each of our finalists the very best as they prepare to present their ideas next month.”

Each InnoTank idea is kept confidential until the live competition where each finalist will present to a panel of judges during the LCS Community Operations Conference in Des Moines, Iowa, on May 12, 2026.  The five 2026 InnoTank finalist individuals and teams include: 

1. Cheryl Strickland Doerr, Director, Operations Management – LCS
2. Antonia Avelar, Director of Marketing, and Ekesh Dubois, Director of Information Technology - The Forum at Rancho San Antonio 
3. Cynthia Storm, Director of Memory Care – Clarendale Ann Arbor
4. Liza Steinfeld, Administrator, The Clare; Allen Boutin, Associate Executive Director, Freedom Pointe at The Villages; and Miranda Moore, LCS Clinical Systems Trainer
5. Matt Ervin, Senior Manager IT Collaboration, Gunnar Klyn, IT Systems Engineer, Jeff Wittstock, IT Program Manager – LCS

Vedder and Chris Bird, LCS President and CEO, will help judge the live competition along with a resident judge and industry-leading experts:

• Katie Sloan, President and CEO of Leading Age, the association of nonprofit and mission-driven providers of aging services. Sloan advances strategic priorities that increase impact through advocacy, enhance member value, and foster innovative solutions to improve services and supports for older adults.
• Katie Schmitz, Head of Principal Investing and Fund Management at Ziegler and the Managing Principal of the Ziegler Link-age Funds, a venture capital fund family with an investment policy designed to support innovation, collaboration and growth among entrepreneurs and senior living and healthcare providers.   
• John Hayes, a Sandhill Cove resident who has served as Resident Council President, and brings a distinguished career in television broadcasting. He has held leadership roles including News Director and General Manager and later founded a company that grew into the largest owner of television stations in the United States.

LCS’s inaugural InnoTank event earned a Gold Award at the 2024 McKnight’s Technology Awards & Summit. The award recognized providers who develop and implement innovative solutions to enhance their organizations and advance the senior living industry.

Additional details, including finalist concepts and the competition winner, will be announced following the live event.