Brian Kolenich has been a passionate and dedicated leader at Ohio Living since 1991, taking on various leadership roles and currently serving as the executive director of Ohio Living Lake Vista. With over 30 years of experience in nonprofit senior living, Brian has made a lasting impact by creating innovative programs that truly enhance the well-being of residents. His work includes the development of a cutting-edge aquatic therapy program and the Mahoning Valley Lifelong Institute, both of which played key roles in two successful capital campaigns, raising $1.8 million to support senior wellness and lifelong learning initiatives.
A respected leader in performance excellence, Brian is an alumni/master examiner with the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s highest honor for quality and organizational performance. Since 2003, he’s contributed to the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program, including helping author the first nonprofit case study used to train examiners. He also served as a judge for the Partnership for Excellence from 2020-2024, a Baldrige-based initiative that supports organizations across Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and West Virginia.
Beyond his professional accomplishments, Brian is deeply committed to his community. He served for ten years on the board of the United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley, where he chaired the Impact Committee and earned the United Way’s Impact Service Award in 2013 for his advocacy work on behalf of at-risk older adults. Brian also co-founded the TEDx initiative in the Mahoning Valley from 2014 to 2016, helping to bring new ideas and innovation to the region.