Senior Staff

Jason Santiago

President / CEO

​​Jason Santiago came to Good Shepherd Communities as Chief Operating Officer in September, 2022. He has over 17 years in long-term care, most recently serving as the Vice President/Chief Operating Officer of Long-Term Care at Oswego Health, Oswego, NY. In his role at Good Shepherd Communities, he will be responsible for the day-to-day operations as well as executing the organization’s long-term goals. Jason obtained his Masters of Public Administration Health Services Management from Mercy College. He serves on the Board of Directors for both LeadingAge NY and The Children’s Home of Wyoming Conference.

Sam Arnold

CFO

Sam comes to Good Shepherd Communities with over 24 years of nonprofit, healthcare financial experience. Sam most recently served as the Regional Controller/CFO at St. Mary’s Villa Nursing Home, a member of the Covenant Health System based in Massachusetts. St. Mary’s is a CCRC (Continuing Care Retirement Community) with 122-skilled nursing home beds and 64 personal care at home beds. Prior to his position with Covenant Health and St. Mary’s Villa, Sam worked for Willow Point Nursing Home in Vestal, NY. Willow Point Nursing Home is a 300-bed county-owned nursing home located in Broome County. Sam held various positions at Willow Point Nursing Home over his 20 years at Willow Point serving as accountant, Accounts Payable Supervisor, Fiscal Manager, and served his last 4 years at Willow Point as the Deputy Nursing Home Administrator for Fiscal Services. Sam has extensive experience with billing, accounting, and budgeting oversight. In his role as CFO at Good Shepherd, Sam will provide operational oversight to the Finance Department at Good Shepherd Communities. Sam will also be working with the Good Shepherd leadership team on strategic initiatives.

Mary Wassel

COO

Mary Wassel, LMSW, LNHA has been active in the Healthcare field for over 25 years; with her focus being on Long Term Care services. Mary received her Bachelor of Arts with a concentration in Gerontology from SUNY Cortland. Mary received her Master’s Degree in Social Work with a concentration certificate in Gerontology from Syracuse University. Mary has worked in a spectrum of aging services from Adult Day Care, Home Care, Assisted Living, Hospice Skilled Nursing/Rehab Services and consulting with LeadingAge NY in both proprietary and not for profit arenas. Her passion continues to be providing education in Long Term Care and serving the community with her fresh innovative outlook as well being part of the supportive interdisciplinary team. Mary’s energetic approach to collaboration and leadership has aided in her being deemed as a change agent. She has been involved in multiple state wide initiatives including active involvement with DSRIP, Mutual Aid Disaster planning initiatives, Value Based Program initiatives, Palliative care, Quality Measure workgroups as well as other Quality initiative programs including GOLDStamp for wound care improvement, ETTA and implementation of the INTERACT program for improved collaboration with clinical and Medical staff. She has served on a number of Board of Directors for Long Term Care providers; past Chair for The NY Association for Long Term Care Administrators’ Board of Directors. Mary is a 2014-2015 graduate of a LeadingAge NY Leadership Academy and has served as a coach over the past 8 years.

David Fawns

Vice President – Human Resources

David has a Masters of Business Administration from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a Masters of Education from Western Washington University, Washington. David has worked for several retirement communities in Oregon, Washington, and Pennsylvania, with his last position being Vice President of Human Resources at Guardian Healthcare, Brockway, PA.

David started with the organization in November, 2021.

Mary Kay McKinney

Executive Director GSVE

Mary Kay McKinney is the Executive Director of Good Shepherd Village at Endwell. She assumed this role in January, 2022. After building one of the area’s most successful real estate agencies, Mary Kay began working at Good Shepherd Village at Endwell in August 2009. She is a designated Senior Real Estate Specialist.

Mary Kay possesses a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Services and Social Work from Binghamton University. As Director of Sales and Marketing, she brought Good Shepherd Village from opening to stabilized occupancy within twenty months and maintained an occupancy rate of 97% in Independent Living residences. In her prior role as Director of Independent Living, she also oversaw the Resident Services Coordinator and the Assistant Director of Resident Services and Wellness.

Patricia Hitchcock

Executive Director Chase

Patti Hitchcock joined the Good Shepherd Team as the Executive Director of Chase in December 2023. She is a Registered Nurse with a Bachelors of Science in Nursing from Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, NY. After years of serving as a Director of Nursing in Long-Term Care, she transitioned to an Assistant Administrator and returned to school to obtain her Long-Term Care Administrator License through St. Joseph’s College of Maine. Prior to joining Good Shepherd, Patti worked with UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital in Norwich, NY as the Administrator of their Long-term care facility.

Ariel Smith

Executive Director Fairview

Ariel graduated from SUNY Poly Tech with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration. She continued her education at Roberts Wesleyan University, completing their Nursing Home Administration pathway program. Ariel started her career three years ago at a nursing facility in Syracuse, NY, as the Director of Operations. Shortly after, she was promoted to Assistant Administrator at a facility in Cortland, NY. Throughout her experiences in the field, Ariel has gained significant knowledge in how to handle the geriatric population to ensure they feel heard and that they matter. Ariel’s deep passion for the quality of care for the elderly came from when she was a young child whose great-grandfather was placed in a nursing home due to Alzheimer’s. Outside of work, Ariel enjoys spending time in the Adirondacks and Catskills. Some of her favorite activities are hiking with her dog, snowboarding, and spending time with loved ones.