Amy Schectman, who has led 2Life Communities through 15 years of transformative growth and impact, will retire as Saul and Gitta Kurlat Chief Executive Officer effective Oct. 2. Lizbeth Heyer, currently serving as 2Life’s President, will step into the role of Saul and Gitta Kurlat Chief Executive Officer at that time.
“I feel very proud of the work we’ve done at 2Life to advance aging in community as the path to optimal aging, a model that generates longer, healthier lives and more joyous living,” Schectman said. “I am inspired by our residents who contribute their wisdom and energy to creating loving communities, and by the extraordinary staff who bring warmth and brilliance to our work.
“Creating communities of loving kindness is sacred work, especially important in a society that often ignores or dismisses older adults and where elder economic insecurity is the highest in the nation. Social connection, which our housing nurtures, is the best possible antidote to loneliness.
“I have been so fortunate to work in a field that’s collaborative, innovative, and determined, and I remain passionate about our commitment to dignity and joy for every older adult. In passing the baton to Lizbeth and the next generation of affordable housing leaders, I am confident that our work has provided a firm foundation for continued progress at this critical time for the industry.”
Under Schectman’s visionary leadership, 2Life Communities significantly expanded its scale and reach, most notably:
- Elevating the visibility of issues related to senior housing across political, cultural, and philanthropic spheres, emphasizing the vital role of community in optimal aging;
- Launching Opus by 2Life Communities, an innovative continuing care retirement community (CCRC) model that solves the problem of how to create cost-effective, community-based living for the middle market; and
- Doubling 2Life’s housing portfolio, which today encompasses more than 1,800 apartments across 12 Boston-area properties, housing more than 2,000 older adults.
Before joining 2Life, Schectman served in a range of public-sector leadership roles. These included two stints in state government, as the director of public housing and rental assistance and as the director of capital planning and budgeting; planning director for the Boston Housing Authority; and Brookline’s first economic development director. She has been on the boards of major statewide housing organizations.
For the past two years, Schectman and Heyer have led 2Life as CEO and President, respectively, in a shared leadership model that emphasizes collaboration, mission-driven decision-making, operational stability, and organizational growth. The organization has been consistently recognized as a Great Place to Work and one of the state’s Top 100 Women Led Businesses.
After learning from Schectman about her wish to retire, 2Life Communities’ board of directors entered into a process to determine the future leadership of the organization and transition process. With confidence in her long-term track record leading 2Life and excitement for her being the right leader for 2Life’s next chapter, the board of directors unanimously approved Heyer as the future CEO upon Schectman’s retirement in October.
A frequently consulted expert in affordable housing and housing-healthcare integration, Heyer played a significant leadership role in 2Life’s growth and innovation agenda since joining the organization in 2014. She spearheaded the development, acquisition, and modernization of more than 1,000 subsidized apartments and led the integration of a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) partnership into 2Life’s housing strategy. She currently serves on the board of the Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA).
Before joining 2Life, Heyer was Associate Director of Public Housing and Rental Assistance at the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, where she led initiatives to preserve and reform the state’s public housing system, expand the rental voucher program, and create the HomeBASE program that provided housing for more than 6,000 homeless families. Earlier in her career, she led real estate efforts for the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation and worked as a community organizer advancing local, state, and national efforts to preserve expiring-use subsidized housing, reflecting a long-standing commitment to social justice and universal access to affordable housing.
“My career has been defined by deeply meaningful work, a commitment that has intensified during my 12 years at 2Life,” said Heyer. “Our mission to combat elder economic insecurity and loneliness while championing joyful and dignified aging gives my career a profound, personal purpose. I am incredibly proud to lead 2Life into the future at this pivotal time, as the need for affordable senior housing is greater than ever, and the social safety nets our seniors rely on face immense challenges.”
During the transition period until Oct. 2, Schectman will continue in her role as CEO while Heyer will continue as President.
About 2Life Communities
2Life has been at the heart of positive change in the affordable senior housing ecosystem since 1965, with our residents at the center of everything we do. We are on a mission to ensure that all older adults have the opportunity to age in community: to live full lives of connection and purpose in dynamic, supportive environments. To that end, we develop, own, operate, and provide supportive services to every one of our communities. In all we do, we advocate for and empower older adults guided by our shared values of lovingkindness, community, and repairing the world. To learn more, please visit 2LifeCommunities.org.
