About Us
About Us
Exceptional Senior Placement (ESP) is truly a labor of love. Founded in 2006 with the challenge of helping a friend find the right placement for a loved one, ESP is owned and run by David and Rachel Cohen. The company’s founding principles were of caring and support, and these principles govern ESP to this very day. Over the years, the ESP team realized how important emotional support is to family members who need help with senior placement. Those foundational principles of compassion, dignity, and respect are the pillars that uphold the daily operations at ESP. ‘We treat everyone who reaches out to ESP for assistance in a manner consistent with our core values. We have a passion for what we do, and we derive a great sense of fulfillment by helping individuals and families find the proper placement for themselves or a loved one.’
The Exceptional Senior Placement Services Team
The ESP team has a deep understanding of their communities. The process they use to help clients find a long-term solution is one that has been trusted by individuals just like you. Each year, ESP tours over 600 communities with clients. Thus the company has a direct link to the pulse of the industry, and ESP applies that expertise in serving its clients.
Rachel Cohen
David Cohen
Suzie McCormac
Susan Thaxton
Devon Kessler
Erica Beeman
Living our Values through Social Responsibility
Our Mission & Initiative
While senior placement is the core of our business, our Team believes in giving back to local and national organizations whose mission aligns with protecting and improving the very seniors we aim to serve. While our goal is to focus on what we do best – service through placement – we pledge to support organizations that will make the most immediate and profound impact on seniors through both charitable financial donations and donations of our time. With a focus on broad topics related to aging, this involves but is not limited to, Alzheimer’s research and support, technology as it relates to seniors, fall prevention, fraud detection, and elder financial abuse. With a forward – thinking mindset, we believe that both our community and environment are only as healthy as those who choose to protect it by giving back through sustainable methods. As a team, it’s within our daily scope and reach to serve seniors in regards to all aspects of life’s journey, through the continuum of aging, all the way to the end of life.
Our initiative consists of the following:
1). Awareness & Advocacy – An ongoing educational campaign called, ESP ALERTS!, aimed at providing the latest information about scams, including tips to protect vulnerable seniors from fraud and ill will. ESP ALERTS! will also include timely and relevant information about topics that aim to improve a senior’s quality of life. These ESP ALERTS! can be found on our website, our Facebook page, and our Linkedin company page. To be sure you receive the latest information, simply “like” our company Facebook page and/or follow us on Linkedin. You can also subscribe to our quarterly newsletter by emailing, info@eseniorplacement.com ,and ask to be included on our distribution list. It’s our goal to arm our clients and the public with information about protecting seniors with the goal of improving their quality of life.
2). Purpose Beyond Placement- – As a contribution to the community at large, and as a celebration of our successes, we will financially donate to local and national organizations dedicated to serving the betterment of seniors along the entire aging spectrum. Additionally, we may donate directly to a local Bay Area senior who was the victim of a scam or fraudulent behavior as verified by law enforcement. The public may submit a prospective donee for our consideration. (Donee must reside within the greater Bay Area.)
3). ESPlant-A-Tree — this initiative aims to make a positive environmental impact through honoring the seniors we directly serve. By partnering with One Tree Planted, a nonprofit dedicated to helping the environment through reforestation, our Team will donate toward the planting of five trees for every elder we successfully place in a senior community. A tree that is planted in honor of a journey to a senior community serves as a living tribute that benefits both present and future generations. Just as trees are an important and essential component for the environment to thrive, so too are seniors, who are a vital part of our community. Our ESPlant-A-Tree tally began in November 2020 and is proudly listed below.
Annual Giving Back
2020
2019
2018
2017
ESPlant-A-Tree
I have always thrived in careers where I can help people. I spent my first 20 plus years out of college in various Human Resources roles from assisting in job placements, navigating employees with the complexity of health insurance, and providing at-work accommodations to employees with various levels of needs. During this time I also became a personal trainer and focused primarily on working with aging clients to encourage them to stay active, maintain their balance, and avoid osteoporosis. 
With the loss of my Father In Law thrusting my family’s life in to a spiral as they tried to navigate care options, Hospice, and even just “the new day to day” when the stable rock of the family suddenly needed help, life took a new perspective for me. My corporate career just did not seem fulfilling in the right way for me personally and my husband and I knew we wanted to do something more meaningful for us in impacting others.
When I was a kid I thought my grandpa was a cowboy. He owned horses, he chewed a toothpick between his lips, and he wore a Stetson cowboy hat. While he wasn’t really a bonafide cowboy, he did wear many different hats throughout his 94 years. He first wore an apprentice cap before donning a fireman’s helmet working for LAFD until his retirement. That’s when he wore a bucket hat, while he and my grandmother would sit in their tiny rowboat, casting fishing lines into the lake that was nestled at the perimeter of their property.
Inspiration.Kindness.Compassion.Patience. Perseverance. These are a few of the words that come to mind when I think of my mom. She was the oldest of six girls who grew up in a small fishing village called Spencer's Cove located on Long Island in Newfoundland. She left the island at the age of 17 and by the time she was 20 she was a registered nurse. I had the privilege of growing up with this amazing woman who, as my role model, was instrumental in shaping my life. My own career path took me into hospitals and skilled nursing facilities as a Registered Dietitian. My first opportunity to work with seniors began in a Continuing Care Retirement Community when I was a twenty-something Dietitian. While I have worn many hats through my career, it is those first years of working in a retirement community that left a lasting impression. I can recall many of the residents, the stories we shared and the impact they had on my life. Part of my professional and personal journey has been learning to understand dementia and dementia care.There is nothing more informative than being thrown into the deep end of the pool while helping a loved one with dementia. That’s what it felt like after my mom was diagnosed with Azheimer’s disease. While I learned a lot through supporting my mom during this time, I also began working in a senior community that specializes in dementia care. Being in the presence of over one hundred residents who have been diagnosed with dementia reinforces the value of listening, patience and truly being in the moment.
After spending the first 20+ years of my professional life in Hospitality Sales and Marketing for some of the largest hotel companies in the world, I had created a comfortable life for myself working in corporate America. And yet, after spending so many hours each day creating vacations and corporate travel programs, I couldn’t help but feel there was something more I could be doing each day to impact the greater societal good. Then, as is the case with many “adult children” both of my parents were diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses. My mother’s breast cancer had recurred after 30 years in remission and my father’s bladder cancer was a first-time diagnosis. We were faced with the frightening realization that although effective, the treatments would not save my mom’s life this time, and my father, while given a few more years of life, would ultimately succumb to his disease. Walking my parents through their end-of-life processes gave me an “up close” view of what the aging and medical processes are like in the United States. It is overwhelming caring for aging and often medically ill parents, raising young children, and still managing demanding careers working full time. To say it is a lot to handle is putting it mildly. 
People often tell me I have an old soul. I prefer to say that I’m “well-seasoned” mixed with a bit of grit that can only come from being raised in a large midwestern family with solid kindred ties. 
From the time I was a child, spending time with elders has always been a part of who I am. My god-parents were Native American and I believe that is where my admiration, my understanding and my compassion truly stemmed from, as their culture defined what it is to respect your elders. I always had an unwavering desire to help those older than me with chores, companionship and anything else that makes their lives easier and more meaningful. The gift of hearing life stories being told and watching faces light up in delight that someone wanted to hear more, will always be my favorite part of spending time with clients and elder friends.