Serving Seniors President and CEO Melinda Forstey leads with heart, purpose, and impact.

Stepping into her role in 2025 after 16 years of leadership experience including as Chief Operating Officer, Melinda represents a fresh approach as Serving Seniors moves into its sixth decade of service: Ready. Hopeful. Powerful.

Serving Seniors is ready to meet the urgent needs of thousands of older adults living in poverty. Under Melinda’s direction, Serving Seniors has expanded its nutrition program to deliver over 1.5 million meals annually. It is a leader in developing affordable housing communities across San Diego County. It is driving the adoption of more prevention programs, such as shallow rental subsidies which are cost-effective and compassionate.

Serving Seniors is hopeful not as dreamers, but as doers. Melinda Forstey was instrumental in producing the landmark 2021 Serving Seniors Needs Assessment on older adult homelessness, which is now shaping policy at the local, state, and national level – and driving practical, actionable solutions.

Serving Seniors is powerful through Melinda Forstey’s strategic, compassionate, and transformative leadership. Under her guidance, Serving Seniors has become a Top Workplace and a national model addressing the growing crisis of older adult homelessness. It understands that true power for change is rooted in coalition building and community.

By forging strong partnerships and uniting voices across sectors, Serving Seniors amplifies its impact and creates a movement greater than the sum of its parts.

Melinda Forstey and Serving Seniors represent leadership which is not just changing lives — it is leadership changing the conversation about older adult homelessness in San Diego County and beyond.