On Tuesday, Stella Shank celebrated a remarkable milestone — 30 years at the Regency at Glen Cove, where she is now executive director. Under her leadership, the assisted-living residence has flourished, providing a nurturing environment for seniors to live with dignity and independence.
Shank’s path to the Regency began when she was a student at St. Joseph’s College, in Patchogue, studying gerontology and on her way to becoming a certified recreational therapist specialist she started working at the Regency three months before she graduated college as the recreation director.
“That was the best job, because I was taking the residents of the city to Montauk and then taking them to see Broadway shows. It really allowed me to understand the population I was working with, and recognize that all they wanted was a little TLC and an opportunity to be heard.”
Shank, 51, was connecting with seniors long before she made it her career. Growing up in a multigenerational Greek household on Long Island, she spent summers in Greece, immersing herself in her grandmother’s world.
“I always bonded with the seniors. I always wanted to sit at the adult table,” she said. “I always wanted to hang out with my grandmother, my yaya. My yaya and my uncle, my feo, lived with us our entire lives, so I was always surrounded by older generations.”
After she became the Regency’s recreation director in 1995, Shank she took on various roles, including human resources, business office manager and case manager. She took on roles related to marketing, community relations, and, for 12 years, she was the director of special projects, as her previous administrator’s right-hand person. For the last three years, she’s been the executive director.
In that role, she has more than doubled the Regency’s residential population and its workforce, to 125 residents and nearly 100 employees.
“I have an attitude of happy staff equals happy residents,” Shank said, “and that’s been the key to our success.”
Her sister, Erica Ferrara, has worked alongside Shank for 24 years as the facility’s memory care director.
“We live and breathe the Regency — we always say that,” Ferrara said. “On our way into work, we call each other and talk about the Regency. On the way home, we call each other and talk about the Regency. It’s all good things, or things we can improve.
Shank’s professional journey has been deeply personal as well. She got engaged while working at the Regency, and when she married, 50 residents attended her wedding. “I had corsages made for them,” she recalled. “It was such a full-circle moment. Now my two little kids that the Regency threw me baby showers for are both in college — one in grad school and one as a sophomore.”
Shank credits her husband, Peter, for being by her side, and supporting her along the way. “I probably couldn’t do my job without my husband,” she said. “He takes care of everything for me at home. He sends me and my sister lunch every day, he makes dinner — and he works full-time. I wouldn’t be able to maintain my household and have this job without him.”
Leading the Regency is more than just a job for Shank — it’s a calling. “I adore my residents and I adore my staff,” Shank said “I couldn’t do it without them. This is my life’s work, for sure. I look forward to coming to work every day, and that’s not such an easy thing for most people to say after 30 years.”
Her leadership philosophy is rooted in empathy and experience. “I think I learned life lessons from my residents, enjoying being in the moment, not always winning, which I’ve now applied to working with seniors with memory issues,” she said. “You have to go with the motions of life and try not to fight it.”
Ferrara praised her sister’s hands-on approach, saying she has a “motherly” take on most situations. “She doesn’t just sit behind the desk and be an administrator. She listens, she learns, and she applies what she knows to make this place better.”
Shank isn’t just for the residents, she also is a means of support for her staff. it’s also for the staff. With a strong team, a clear vision, and a lifelong passion for senior care, Shank has built a career that has transformed lives. “Every day, I wake up knowing there’s going to be an issue — big or small — but it’s how I cope with it that sets the direction for the team,” she said. “And at the end of the day, I love what I do. That’s what matters most.”
