Shaping the Future of Senior Living
For David Schless (’89 M.S.), leadership in American senior housing has always been about people, families and dignity. Over a career spanning decades, Schless has helped advance research, advocacy and education around aging and Alzheimer’s care — work that this year earned him a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Alzheimer’s Association.
Since its inception in 1991, Schless has served as the president and CEO of the American Seniors Housing Association, or ASHA, a not-for-profit organization that represents companies that develop, own and finance senior housing.
“Over the past 35 years, we have made enormous progress particularly as it relates to the options now available to those with Alzheimer’s and related dementias,” Schless says. “Additionally, I have been able to work closely with the Alzheimer’s Association in their efforts to support families and to increase funding to find a cure for this horrible disease.”
Schless says his work through ASHA with the Alzheimer’s Association has been incredibly rewarding both personally and professionally.
“The member companies of ASHA have collectively raised more than $50 million for the Alzheimer’s Association since 2014,” he says. “We have been involved in helping the Alzheimer’s Association advocate for increased research funding from National Institutes of Health and for other aspects of their important work for many years. I am grateful to their leadership and to the thousands of volunteers working to find a cure for this dreadful disease.”
Schless’ interest in aging studies and senior living advocacy dates back to the 1980s — he earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Connecticut. When it came to his graduate studies, Schless was drawn to North Texas’ Center for Studies in Aging, which was renowned across the country for pioneering multidisciplinary geriatric care and conducting groundbreaking research.
“North Texas has a terrific program in aging services and long-term care administration that was started in the late 1960s,” he says. “It was the very best graduate program in the U.S. for those in the long-term care profession.”
Schless moved to North Texas to earn his master’s degree, taking classes with and meeting some of the key faculty members who started the gerontology program in 1967, including Herb Shore, Hiram Friedsam and Cora Martin.
Schless says his experience in the graduate program at North Texas was very practical, hands-on and oriented to professionals working in the fields of aging services or long-term care — exposing students to relevant research and theory and helping develop leaders in the field.
Thomas Fairchild, who was a member of the faculty and chair of the Center for Studies in Aging, served as Schless’ advisor.
“He was enormously important to me and to my career,” Schless says. “Not only was he my advisor, he also was deeply connected with organizations in senior living and long-term care. Tom helped me land an internship with the National Association for Senior Living Industries (NASLI), which directly led to my first job doing research in the field.”
The internship at NASLI also opened doors for Schless to meet prominent figures in the senior housing field, including a couple, Jim Stroud and Mary Leary, whose recommendations helped Schless land a job with the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC). It was NMHC that hired him to launch their Seniors Housing Committee in 1991, which would later become the ASHA.
And ever since, Schless has made it his mission to use his UNT education and passionate personal drive to help the senior living industry improve and become better equipped to meet the needs of older adults and their families.
“I have always had a passion for research,” he says. “I believe the numerous research studies that ASHA has funded and been involved with since the early 1990s have truly helped the profession advance and improve the lives of older adults and their families.”