The Ivey, a non-profit memory wellness day center for people living with Alzheimer’s disease and other conditions, has hired Janet LeClair as chief operating officer.

LeClair will lead the day-to-day work of The Ivey, which provides daytime care to people living with Alzheimer's disease and other types of memory loss. LeClair will manage all internal operations with the goal of providing more services to even more families.

The addition of LeClair comes as The Ivey is poised for significant growth. The Ivey is launching a fundraising campaign to expand its campus by building two licensed family-care homes. Designed to accommodate short-term overnight stays, the homes will provide families with much-needed respite from the relentless demands of daily caregiving. The campus expansion will address a critical need in the Charlotte community.

Included in The Ivey’s growth strategy is the evolution of its current monthly educational series to a more comprehensive program of educational and therapeutic workshops and classes. New classes will be offered for people with mild cognitive impairment who want to "tune up" the brain and keep the mind and body sharp. The Ivey estimates this program, to be known as The Ivey Memory Wellness Institute, will be available in early 2015.

LeClair brings extensive experience in operational management, sales, human resources, and finance to The Ivey. She was most recently vice president of Client Experience for Infinisource, an HR technology company, and previously led growth initiatives and relationship management for a division of ADP. Prior to that, Le Clair served as president of HR XCEL after a long and successful career at Wachovia.

LeClair also brings personal experience to this role. She was raising four children and working full-time when her late mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. LeClair became her mother’s primary caregiver. “When families come to The Ivey looking for help for their loved ones, I know what they are going through because of my family’s experience,” she says. “The level of care and support to our members and their families is unparalleled. This role ties together my personal and professional interests and I’m honored to support The Ivey during such an exciting period of growth.”

Lynn Ivey, founder and CEO of The Ivey, will now focus primarily on long-term strategy, fundraising, community education and market growth. “Janet is a tremendous asset for us,” Ivey says. “She combines a warm, compassionate manner with a proven track record of success in management and leadership.”

Those interested in finding out more about The Ivey’s planned family-care homes or donating to the project can contact Lynn Ivey at 704/909-2070 or lynn@theivey.com.