About

Kevin has more than twenty-seven years of finance, accounting, investment, and operations experience in various industries. Mr. Schwab joined Givens Communities in 2021.

Supported by a senior management team and department managers, Mr. Schwab is responsible for the overall organization, which serves approximately 1,550 residents and currently employs more than 500 full and part-time staff.

Along with the senior management team, he is responsible for Givens Estates, a Life Plan Community in Asheville; Great Laurels, an affordable community for seniors in Waynesville; Highland Farms, a Life Plan Community in Black Mountain; Gerber Park, an affordable and middle-income community for seniors in Asheville; and LifeMinistries, a community-based, health-focused outreach program.

Before joining Givens Communities, Mr. Schwab was most recently the CEO of St. Camillus (Milwaukee, WI) since 2016 and has worked at St Camillus for over twenty years in multiple capacities, previously as CFO and COO.

Kevin earned a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Marquette University and a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee.

Allen has been Chief Financial Officer since 1995. He is responsible for the financial
operations of the Corporation, including the annual operating budget, financial reporting, forecasts, third party reimbursement, etc.

Allen is a Certified Public Accountant. He serves on the Investment Committee of the United Methodist Foundation of Western North Carolina, Inc., and the Finance Committee of LeadingAge North Carolina.

Prior to coming to Givens, Allen was Assistant Controller for a hospital in Grundy, Virginia, Chief Financial Officer for a psychiatric hospital in Hickory, North Carolina; and Senior Auditor for Deloitte and Touche.

Allen is a graduate of Appalachian State University with a BA in Business Administration.

Scott Farkas returned to Givens Communities as the Chief Operating Officer in October 2023. Scott has over 15 years in the nonprofit healthcare sector and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Scott’s professional journey began in public accounting at Dixon Hughes, where he consulted nonprofits, hospitals, governmental entities, and senior living providers.

In September 2012, Scott began his career with Givens as the Controller at Givens Highland Farms. His exceptional leadership played an instrumental role in navigating the campus through an acquisition transition, culminating in the establishment of a financial foundation alongside his colleagues. Scott became the Controller at Givens Estates starting in 2014 through December 2020, when he left to serve as the Chief Financial Officer at ThriveMore, a senior living provider with multiple locations in NC.

In this capacity, Scott shouldered the responsibility of ensuring formidable financial performance, spearheading the transformation of an underperforming facility through divestiture and acquisition, and facilitating the organization’s unwavering growth trajectory. Beyond his financial acumen, Scott engaged in a collaboration with Sales and Marketing, amplifying the organization’s census while diligently streamlining operational efficiencies across all facets of the enterprise.

As Givens Communities’ Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Neal promotes competitive positioning and better brand experiences. Neal leads a team focused on extending the Givens brand via partnerships, connections, content, and transformational experiences, drawing on his knowledge and skills in public relations, communications, marketing, and sales. By implementing effective and efficient systems, tools, and processes consistent with Given’s mission, vision, and values, Neal’s leadership allows his team to exceed all-time census and occupancy objectives year after year.

Neal joins us with over 35 years of experience in healthcare and senior living. In both the for-profit and non-profit sectors, he has held the positions of Administrative Director, Vice President, Division Vice President, Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer, and most recently as Chief Operating Officer for the eighth largest senior living company in America.

Neal received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1987. In his spare time, Neal can be found splitting time between the mountains and the beach, or hanging out with his dogs Max and Jack.

Teresa Stephens has directed Givens Affordable Housing since 2010.

Teresa joined the Givens staff in 2005 as Coordinator of Buncombe Medication Assistance Ministry, became Development Assistant in 2006, and became HUD Coordinator and Executive Assistant in 2007. Her affordable housing certifications include NCP-E, SCS, CPO, and AHM.

Teresa is licensed as a North Carolina real estate broker. She is responsible for Givens Affordable Communities, consisting of Givens Gerber Park 180 Tax Credit/HUD 202/Section 8 apartments and 82 middle-income apartments in Asheville, and Givens Great Laurels at Lake Junaluska, a community of 64 Tax Credit apartments and 36 HUD 202/Section 8 apartments. She is currently serving as a member of the LeadingAge NC Board of Directors.

Teresa’s previous work experience was as a community care coordinator as well as in advertising and marketing. Ms. Stephens has a Master of Science degree in Gerontology and Management of Aging Services from the University of Massachusetts/Boston and a BFA from Western Carolina University.

Richard’s 23-year career in technology has been dedicated to serving different levels of healthcare and senior living organizations in both rural and urban environments.

Richard has served in a leadership role for two healthcare organizations over the past 16 years. Richard’s personal mission in technology during his career has been to ensure that any application of technology improves the resident’s, patient’s, and staff members lives, as well as successfully meeting the organization’s implementation needs, goals, or compliance.

Outside of his career, Richard has served on various community boards and provided content and support to several healthcare conferences, such as HIMSS and LeadingAge. When the opportunity arises, Richard enjoys volunteering to help smaller organizations make sound decisions with their limited IT resources.

Christian is a millennial leader that brings HR knowledge along with generational insight and energy into HR leadership.

Christian is part of the Givens leadership team, bringing strategic and innovative ideas to life to continuously improve the work environment through leadership development, effective partnering and support of colleagues, culture initiatives, and DEI task forces.  Christian holds a Master’s degree in human resources management from Western Carolina University and a Bachelor’s degree in music performance from the University of North Carolina, Asheville.

Christian is PHR-certified through the Human Resources Standards Institute. She started at Givens part-time as a programming assistant, working with residents in assisted living while completing her master’s degree. She was then promoted to the Administrative Assistant position, supporting Human Resources, Financial Operations, and Technology, post-Master’s degree.

When Givens Highland Farms was acquired, Christian moved into the HR Manager position supporting Givens Estates, and when the former Human Resources Director retired, she was promoted into the Vice President of Human Resources role, overseeing the Human Resources function for all campuses.

Brian Guengerich is a native of Asheville, North Carolina, and graduated from Montreat College with a degree in human services in 2006.

Brian started his career at the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club in Asheville, eventually becoming the organization’s Chief Executive Officer. Brian then went to work for the National Boys & Girls Club as the Director of Organizational Development and eventually secured a staff position at Montreat College as the Vice President for Advancement.

Brian comes to Givens with 15+ years of non-profit experience. He lives in Black Mountain with his wife Danielle and their three boys, Davin, Pax, and Tate.

David Smith has served as the Vice President of Facilities and Construction for Givens Communities since 2024. Previously, he has served as the Givens Estates Interim Executive Director (2023), Associate Director (2021-2023), Facilities Director (2018-2021), and Grounds Director (2005-2018).

David is responsible for overseeing the efficient operations of Environmental Services, Grounds, Maintenance, and Safety and Security on the Life Plan Community campuses and is responsible for all construction projects across Givens Communities.

David is an avid outdoorsman, serves as a local scout leader, and volunteers with the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy. He has a B.S. in Ecology and Environmental Biology from Appalachian State University.

Kirsten Cone has worked in healthcare and aging services since 1997.  She started her career at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center as a physical therapist.  From here, Kirsten spent 8 ½ years with Kisco Senior Living as both the national director of wellness for three 55+ senior apartments and twenty-three full-service senior living communities (IL, AL, and ALZ) and as an executive director.

After relocating to Western NC from Southern California, Kirsten led rehabilitation services across NC and SC in 14 skilled nursing homes, focusing on quality services and resident health.

Prior to joining Givens Estates in 2024, Kirsten led the CarePartners PACE (Program of All Inclusive Care for the Elderly) and Private Duty services for the past 9 ½ years in both operations and as the Program Director. 

She is a graduate of The University of Connecticut with a B.S. in Physical Therapy and received her Master of Business Administration degree from The University of North Carolina—Greensboro. 

Kirsten enjoys giving back to her community and has served on the Cal State Fullerton Center for Successful Aging and the International Council on Active Aging advisory boards.  Kirsten presently lives in Fletcher with her family and enjoys hiking, Pilates, travel, and being a foodie.

Ken is a graduate of the University of Miami, Ohio. He has over 25 years’ experience working in the retirement community industry. He began his career at Maple Knoll Village in Cincinnati, Ohio.

From there, Ken spent seven years with Immanuel Health Systems in Omaha, Nebraska. As Wellness Director, he managed the Wellness Center and program for their Lakeside Community and led the development of Wellness Centers for three of their six communities.

In 2005, Ken joined Givens Estates as their wellness director, led the development of their new wellness center, and continued to build their wellness program. In July of 2014, Ken took on the role of Associate Director of Givens Highland Farms, and in March 2015, he became Executive Director after the retirement of the previous Executive Director.

Ken has led and continues to lead the GHF campus through an aggressive master plan. Ken currently serves on the Montreat College President’s Advisory Council, the SVCM Endowment Committee, the Black Mountain Swannanoa Chamber Board, and the Mission Hospital Board of Trustees.

Jessie’s passion for aging services began when she trained as a Certified Nursing Assistant in high school. 

During Jessie’s undergraduate studies at DePaul University, she interned with the Givens’ HR team, where she first learned about our mission, vision, and values. She later joined Givens Highland Farms as their HR manager. 

Before Brexit, Jessie moved to England to pursue her MSc in International Health Management from Imperial College London. Following her studies, she joined Elder, the UK’s largest live-in care agency, as their operations manager.

Jessie returned to NC in 2022 to rejoin Givens Communities as our Executive Director of Home and Community-Based Services.

A native of Polk County, Erin’s career in aging began at 16 as a Certified Nursing Assistant at Autumn Care of Saluda. Erin is a graduate of Lenoir Rhyne University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where she obtained a MS in Gerontology and Non-Profit Administration.

Erin’s professional career began after college with Lutheran Services for the Aging and Carol Woods Retirement Community, two nationally recognized providers of non-profit aging services in North Carolina. As a recipient of the Somers Research Internship on Long-Term Care and Aging from the National Academy of Social Insurance, Erin spent part of 2006 at LeadingAge National as a research intern. This ignited her passion for the planning and evaluation of aging services.

After 10 years at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services as a Program Evaluator and Manager, Erin and her family came home to Western North Carolina.

As a Quality Improvement Specialist with the NC Quality Improvement Organization, Alliant Health, Erin worked with aging service providers across 25 Western most counties. She joined Givens Estates in 2018 as the Independent Living Life Enrichment Department Director, a newly formed department that merged 3 pre-existing departments.

In 2022, Erin volunteered to participate on the exploratory committee of a Continuing Care at Home program, a concept she has been interested in since graduate school. Erin was named Executive Director of Givens Choice in November 2022.

Erin and her husband Wilkes live in Henderson County with their 3 young sons.