Dr. Lydia Nguyen, Principal Researcher at LifeLoop, has been named a 2025 Future Chief by Senior Housing Information.
To develop into a Future Chief, a person is nominated by their friends. The candidate should be a high-performing worker who’s 40 years of age or youthful, a passionate employee who is aware of how one can put imaginative and prescient into motion, and an advocate for older adults and the dedicated professionals who guarantee their well-being.
Nguyen sat down with Senior Housing Information to share what drew her to the senior housing & senior residing business, the most important management classes she has realized, her ideas on the way forward for senior housing & senior residing, and way more. To be taught extra concerning the Future Leaders Awards program, go to https://futureleaders.wtwhmedia.com/.
SHN: What drew you to the senior housing & senior residing business?
Nguyen: I got here to this subject by way of a mixture of private expertise {and professional} curiosity. I’ve now had two grandmothers who lived with dementia (Alzheimer’s illness and vascular dementia), in order that subject at all times hits near house for me.
I additionally studied neuroscience in grad faculty as a result of I discover the mind fascinating, notably in relation to growing older and dementia. For my analysis, I recruited older grownup contributors from the local people, hospitals, and senior residing communities. After they would come to the lab, I at all times had time to speak with them at size, and I discovered myself drawn in by their tales and views.
Later in grad faculty, I started engaged on a analysis challenge centered on utilizing know-how to help social engagement for older adults, together with these with delicate cognitive impairment. I liked seeing my work profit individuals in actual time. It gave me a deep sense of function, and opened up a brand new line of analysis for me on the intersection of growing older and know-how.
Once I was job searching, I knew I wished to proceed doing analysis that had real-world impression and that stayed in that intersection of growing older and tech. As luck would have it, LifeLoop (iN2L on the time) was hiring a researcher, and their mission instantly resonated with me. I noticed a possibility to make use of knowledge to inform the story of why know-how issues for older adults. Knowledge is energy and it’s extremely rewarding to assist LifeLoop’s senior residing companions shine by way of analysis and insights.
SHN: What’s your greatest management lesson realized since beginning to serve this business?
Nguyen: Relationships and connections are every little thing in senior residing. That is an business constructed on belief, collaboration, and shared function. Folks need to know who you might be, what drives you, what you care about, and whether or not you’re really in it for the lengthy haul. I’ve realized that exhibiting your ardour and dedication issues simply as a lot as what you understand. Once you construct sturdy relationships, you create area for mutual help, which is vital in a subject as dynamic and people-centered as this one.
SHN: When you might change one factor with an eye fixed towards the way forward for the senior housing & senior residing business, what wouldn’t it be?
Nguyen: I’d like to see a elementary shift within the narrative round growing older each inside and out of doors of the business. We’re residing longer, however our programs and mindsets haven’t caught up.
Too typically individuals solely take into consideration decline after they consider growing older and so they see senior residing as a spot you “find yourself.” Throughout a latest Senior Dwelling Innovation Discussion board (SLIF) presentation, Bob Kramer stated one thing that has actually caught with me: “Ageism is definitely prejudice towards our future selves.”
We have to remind folks that growing older isn’t one thing that occurs to different individuals; it’s one thing taking place to all of us on daily basis. It’s time to champion a extra expansive, forward-thinking view: growing older shouldn’t be about decline, however about getting into new phases of life which might be simply as dynamic, purposeful, and filled with potential as every other.
In senior residing, we have to think about the total resident expertise and create vibrant, empowering communities the place day by day life is supported by the precise instruments, individuals, and approaches to assist people reside totally with function, ardour, and pleasure at any age, in no matter method is most significant to them. I’m proud to be at an organization like LifeLoop that’s working towards that imaginative and prescient by way of considerate use of know-how and collaboration with senior residing suppliers to create areas the place older adults can proceed to reside wealthy, engaged, and significant lives.
SHN: In a single phrase, how would you describe the way forward for senior housing & senior residing?
Nguyen: Reworking.
SHN: When you had a crystal ball, what do you suppose will impression the senior housing & senior residing business now and into 2026?
Nguyen: From now into 2026 and past, I believe the continued convergence of healthcare and senior residing will make main waves.
Worth-based care and preventative well being fashions are gaining traction, and senior residing is uniquely positioned to play a key position, so long as we embrace it. We ought to be shifting away from a reactive, sick-based mannequin of care to 1 that prioritizes wellness, social determinants of well being, and proactive engagement. That shift would require new mindsets, partnerships, and knowledge methods, however it’s additionally an unimaginable alternative to raise the position of senior residing within the broader continuum of care.
SHN: In your opinion, what qualities should all Future Leaders possess?
Nguyen: Future Leaders must be wonderful listeners and so they must be good at empowering others. Meaning recognizing and elevating others’ strengths and realizing when somebody wants help and after they want a mild push.
It’s additionally not nearly driving your individual imaginative and prescient ahead, however about serving to others develop, make significant contributions, and step into their very own management.
SHN: When you might give recommendation to your self wanting again to your first day within the senior housing & senior residing business, what wouldn’t it be and why?
Nguyen: If I might give myself recommendation, it might be to discover ways to inform tales with my analysis.
Early on, I assumed as a researcher I’d get to remain behind the scenes, however I’ve discovered myself doing way more public-facing shows and thought management than I anticipated. I’ve realized that having the ability to pair analysis and knowledge with lived experiences is what actually exhibits the impression of our work and makes an actual impression on individuals.
