Rita Altman, M.S.N., R.N., C.V.M., is senior vice president of Memory Care and Program Services for Sunrise Senior Living where she uses the latest evidence-based research to design and oversee the implementation of their memory care and assisted living programs. She earned her B.S.N. from the University of Pennsylvania, and Master of Nursing Science degree, in Nursing Leadership and Management from The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. She has more than 35 years of nursing experience which includes nursing education, staff development training, intergenerational programming, and management in childcare, adult day care, assisted living and skilled nursing settings. 

Rita is a Validation Master, and studied under Naomi Feil, who developed the Validation Method. She is a regular contributor on topics related to senior care and memory loss for the Huffington Post, and Sunrise Senior Living’s Ask Rita blog. She has spoken on the topic of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias both nationally and internationally and has collaborated and participated in several televised media presentations related to communicating with individuals with Alzheimer’s disease including HBO’s Alzheimer’s Project.