When Carol Silver Elliott was in high school in Rochester, NY, she hosted her own FM radio interview show. She was so committed to her role that she woke up early to sell doughnuts outside the cafeteria to raise money for the station.
How did that ambitious young radio host end up as the chairwoman of the board of directors for LeadingAge and president and CEO of New Jersey-based Jewish Home Family? Through her gift for communication, drive to connect and natural abundance of energy.
“My husband would tell you I never met a microphone I didn’t like,” she says. “I think it’s true. At my core, I am a communicator. This is who I am and what I do.”
When Elliott was working her first hospital job in Wisconsin back in the early 1980s, she met a local public relations executive, Tom Jones, through the United Way. With his encouragement, Elliott became the youngest, and first female, chair of the Greater Beloit United Way at age 28.
“His constant support, encouragement and good humor helped me to see how someone’s interest and commitment can help you grow, and that same level of interest and commitment can be reflected throughout your career,” recalls Elliott, who holds a bachelor’s degree in TV-radio and a master’s degree in communications.
Forty years later, Elliott is still paying it forward. Her management philosophy to this day is simple: Life is about relationships.
In Elliott’s line of work, that philosophy plays out in hundreds of ways. Whether she’s resolving timing issues with her local utility, mentoring younger colleagues, or sourcing PPE during the early days of COVID-19, Elliot relies on the strength of her relationships to get things done.
“This work takes a lot, and she has a lot,” says Don Shulman, president and CEO of AJAS, where Elliott serves on the executive committee and board. “She has a high energy level and a powerful battery that keeps her going in her own community, at LeadingAge, at AJAS and, not to mention, in her devotion to her residents and mission.”
That high energy level is evident as you look at Elliott’s incredible career, which includes writing a biweekly column in The Times of Israel, and plenty of doting on family — which comprises six sons, a daughter and nine grandchildren — and their assorted activities.
Never one to sit still, Elliott used the pandemic quarantine routine to attain a lifelong goal: She earned her yoga instructor’s certification. She spent her days coming into the office in full PPE, then signing on for yoga instruction training through Zoom every evening for three hours, and for six hours again on Sundays, with practice in between. Now, she leads biweekly chair yoga classes for residents on each campus and a weekly class for managers.
“Yoga is about so much more than movement, or asana,” she observes. “It’s about centering and grounding. Teaching yoga has been a way for me to channel some of that energy. With the elders, I focus on opening our chests, being able to expand, so we have prana, that breath of life.”
And as everyone quickly learns, wherever Elliott goes there is always plenty of life.
— Nicole Bowman
Resume: 1979-1987, Works in community relations and public relations at hospital systems in Wisconsin and Illinois; 1987-2000, Holds executive communications roles at Stamford Health System and Unity Health Foundation; 2000, Becomes CEO at Career Development Services in Rochester, NY; 2005-2014, Returns to human services with Jewish Senior Life in Rochester and Cedar Village in Ohio; 2007, Joins Association of Jewish Aging Services board; 2012, Joins LeadingAge board of directors; 2014, Becomes president and CEO of Jewish Home Family; 2015, Earns elder law certificate from University of Toledo; 2016, Joins New Jersey elder abuse task force; 2017-2021, Serves as chairwoman of LeadingAge.
From the November 2021 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
