Senior Services of America Management Team

Lee Field
Chief Executive Officer and President

As founder of Senior Services of America, Mr. Field’s experience with senior housing encompasses over 30 years in marketing and operations, acquisition, development and finance of senior housing and care service alternatives for the elderly. During his career, Mr. Field has been instrumental in the completion of over $500M in senior housing and assisted living transactions.

Prior to the formation of Senior Services of America in 1999, Mr. Field served as an executive officer of Alterra Healthcare Corporation. Mr. Field was President of ALS Canada, a subsidiary of Alterra Healthcare Corporation. Prior to being President of ALS Canada, Mr. Field served as Senior Vice President of Acquisition. During his tenure as the company’s acquisition officer, Mr. Field completed in excess of $130M in transactions for the company.

Prior to joining Alterra, Mr. Field held a succession of executive positions including Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Crossings Corporation from 1993 until the Crossings Corporation merger with Alterra in the spring of 1995. As Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Field was instrumental in the company’s growth and recognition as an early leader in the assisted living industry. Mr. Field held the position of Vice President of Operations from 1989 to 1993, and held managerial positions in Marketing and Market Feasibility upon joining the company in 1984. Crossings Corporation was a developer, owner and operator of senior housings and assisted living projects with 1,500 units located throughout the Western United States.

As a recognized advocate for the senior housing and elderly care service industries, Mr. Field has been an industry speaker regionally and nationally and has successfully lobbied for state legislation in support of the industry. Mr. Field currently serves on the Board of the National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL), as well as the Board of Washington Health Care Association (WHCA).  He also serves as Chair of the Washington Center for Assisted Living Reimbursement Committee. Mr. Field has previously served as the President of the Northwest Assisted Living Facilities Association (NorALFA), served on the Board of the American Senior Housing Association (ASHA) and held the position of Co-Chairman for the organization. Mr. Field served as a member of the National Advisory Committee for (CARF) the Rehabilitation Accreditation Commission and as a member of the assisted living task force for the American Health Care Association (AHCA).

Lee has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Eastern Washington University and has continued studies in Geriatric Mental Health through the University of Washington.

Randy Trettevik
Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Trettevik is a principal of Senior Services of America (SSA) and served as the Chief Financial Officer since 2000. Mr. Trettevik has over 30 years’ of industry experience. He has completed transactions in excess of $250M involving the acquisition, development, financing and disposition of senior housing properties.

As CFO, Mr. Trettevik is responsible for the overall financial operation and management of SSA, including budgeting, forecasting and financial reporting. In addition, he oversees the tax and legal aspects of the Company and plays an integral role in strategic planning and asset management. He also oversees financing transactions for the Company, including conventional and government agency loans, as well as long-term leases and joint ventures. Mr. Trettevik is the Company liaison for third-party management clients.

Prior to the creation of SSA, Mr. Trettevik joined Careage Development Company specializing in senior housing and health care properties.  He served as Senior Vice President. He was responsible for the acquisition and development of senior housing properties, which included free-standing properties, as well as campuses with multi-levels of care and services. In addition, Mr. Trettevik was responsible for securing construction and acquisition financing for projects. Mr. Trettevik was integrally involved with creating and implementing investment strategies for Careage. The geographic focus of the company was on the West Coast. While at Careage Development he was instrumental in the formation of AEW/Careage, a joint venture with AEW Capital Management.  The joint venture was backed by a $50M equity commitment and implemented a business plan to invest in senior housing properties totaling $200M.

Prior to joining Careage, Mr. Trettevik served as Vice President of Safecare Company, the senior housing division of SAFECO Corporation (NASDAQ:SAFC). Mr. Trettevik built and managed a portfolio of properties which included hospitals, nursing homes, retirement centers and assisted living facilities throughout the nation, through development joint ventures and acquisition. During his 16-year career with various Safeco companies, Mr. Trettevik was responsible for the acquisition and disposal of assets as well as creating joint ventures with industry owners and operators. Mr. Trettevik was instrumental in establishing a number of joint ventures with third-party developers and operators.

Mr. Trettevik began his career with the public accounting firm Deloitte, Haskins and Sells in 1981 specializing in the audit of real estate and health care companies.

Randy is a graduate of the University of Washington where he earned his degree in Business Administration and subsequently passed the exam and became a Certified Public Accountant.

Kathleen Ditcharo
Chief Administrative Officer

Kathleen brings proven experience as a hands-on leader who is willing to roll up her sleeves and work alongside colleagues at all levels of the organization to drive process improvement and value. In her role, Kathleen is responsible for all accounting and financial reporting matters and works closely with the executive team to execute the strategies of the organization.

Kathleen has over two decades of finance and accounting experience and prior to joining SSA in June 2018, she was the VP Accounting for Sound Physicians. During her 12 years at this high growth national health care company she was a champion for change spending several years leading her team through start up business cycle activities culminating in a major recapitalization with a public company investor in mid-2014, and the acquisition of a similar sized competitor later that year. Kathleen was a key executive leader in the subsequent integration efforts and implemented several impactful technology and business process solutions to help the combined organization scale.

Kathleen graduated from the University of Washington, Tacoma and holds an active CPA license. A life-long native of the Pacific Northwest she lives in Tacoma and enjoys spending time outdoors and volunteering in her local community.

Elena Roppel
Vice President of Operations

Elena began her long term care career in 2002 as a caregiver/restorative aid. Elena quickly moved on to positions in staff development and quality assurance before becoming an Executive Director. Elena was the Executive Director for Homeplace Burlington and The Bellingham at Orchard. During Elena’s career she focused on memory care and the art of challenging behaviors and training for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Elena received her certification as a Cognitive Stimulation Instructor in 2013. Elena has dedicated her adult career to memory care, resident and family advocacy, along with building awareness in her community and others of Alzheimer’s and Dementia.  Elena obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Healthcare Administration from University of Phoenix and a Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University.

In 2012 Elena was awarded the Assisted Living Executive Director of the Year from the Washington Healthcare Association for her many contributions to the memory care community as a whole. 

Elena spends her free time coaching high school basketball, select softball, serving little league president. She and her spouse have two children. They love the outdoors and enjoy RV camping.

Lisa Detweiler
VP of Sales and Marketing

With over 20 years of sales and marketing experience, sixteen of those years in the senior services and housing industry, Lisa has served within each facet of the healthcare continuum which began in an acute care setting facility where she lead the marketing efforts of leadership team.

She has served as a Corporate trainer for the Nation’s largest referral company, creating content and providing orientation training on the various services and nuances within the breadth of line in the senior housing industry. Lisa also held positions as a regional sales and marketing leader for national provider organizations. She has worked with customers and professionals along the full array of long-term service and support settings — independent living, home care, assisted living, skilled nursing, in-patient short-term rehabilitation and home health and hospice. Her primary focus is driving occupancy development through coaching, training and sales mentoring, as well as strategy development and execution.

Within each setting of the continuum, Lisa has kept a keen eye on the evolution of our industry and strives to continue to learn and grow while adapting to the challenges and changes of our ever-evolving business. Lisa believes, “If you are not changing and evolving, then you are not growing”. This belief has allowed for the opportunity to put that mindset into action by leading and mentor teams of sales professionals throughout the Pacific northwest and Western regions of the country.

Serving seniors and their families is not Lisa’s only passion. Lisa has recently made her way back to the PNW. She is living in Oregon with her with her daughter and black lab, Indigo. When they are not at the coast or gardening, Lisa is involved in volunteer work and fundraising for Shriner’s Hospital for Children and Rett Syndrome Research Trust.

Lisa studied at Bay College and DePaul University and is currently pursuing a certificate in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion from Michigan State.