LeadingAge Announces Kim Gaskell as 2025 Leadership Award Winner

WASHINGTON—LeadingAge, the association of nonprofit providers of aging services, announced that Kim Gaskell​​​​, vice president of operations for member organization RiverWoods, Exeter, New Hampshire, is the recipient of its Leadership Award. Gaskell will be honored on April 8, 2025, during the general session of the association’s annual Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C., next month.

The LeadingAge Leadership Award, now in its second year, recognizes a leader at any level within a member organization and is presented to an individual whose unique leadership attributes have made a significant difference in their organization or local community. 

Gaskell is known by staff and residents for her many strengths: decisiveness, a collaborative spirit that engages residents and staff, skill in organizing operations and the ability to create community with compassion and a sense of fun. She joined RiverWoods in 2018 as the first executive director for the organization’s still-under-construction new community, RiverWoods Durham. When the COVID-19 pandemic began four months after the community’s opening, it threw RiverWoods into an unexpected new reality, and Gaskell rose to the challenge.

“From successfully navigating RiverWoods through the pandemic into a period of post-COVID expansion, Kim’s actions and management approach in recent years exemplify the qualities of a true leader,” said LeadingAge president and CEO Katie Smith Sloan. “Her ability to manage through challenges with resilience while fostering collaboration and prioritizing improvement is a clear reflection of her abilities. Her passion for the work—both enhancing the lives of older adults and caring for her team—is inspiring, and to learn from one of her colleagues that Kim makes even the hardest days better is testament to her deserving of this honor.”

An empathetic and innovative leader, Gaskell prioritizes transparency and community building, on campus and off—for instance by fostering partnership with the University of New Hampshire, to improve senior care through internships for students and technology. Her focus on collaboration and positive change has enhanced the RiverWoods experience for both residents and staff. Learn more about Gaskell here. 

“Kim’s leadership is inspiring and deeply impactful,” said RiverWoods Director of Marketing Heather Phillips. “She has an extraordinary ability to balance decisiveness with empathy, always considering the well-being of our residents while empowering her team to grow and thrive. … she is always looking for new ways to improve our processes and services by encouraging us to challenge ourselves, step outside our comfort zones and solve problems creatively. Her leadership has directly contributed to improvements in team morale and resident satisfaction, and her impact will continue to shape our organization for the better for years to come. Last, but certainly not least … she is fun, enthusiastic, thoughtful, warm, curious and innately kind.”

“A considerable number of personality traits contribute to successful leadership,” said Curt Ley, chairman, of RiverWoods Durham Resident Council. “Perhaps least recognized, but most important among them, is the ability to listen. Kim listens, not only to her supervision and resident constituency but, perhaps more importantly, to her staff.”  

“In my over 20 years of school administration, both in U.S. schools and in prestigious international schools around the world, Kim is probably the most outstanding example of an incredibly talented young leader and professional that I have ever had the privilege to know and work with,” said Deborah Karmozyn, RiverWoods Durham resident board of trustees member. “She has made a big difference in the lives of others. Kim Gaskell embodies RiverWoods’ purpose and values: ‘Be yourself; respect; not for self; sustainability; curiosity and community.’ ”