The Vision

The Village at St. John ~ Re-opening!

The Village at St. John in Woodland is re-opening soon!

‍A Rebirth.
‍After faithfully serving the seniors of Yolo County for 59 years, it was necessary to pause services due to the impact of the pandemic.

Over the last year, the board of directors has been diligent about finding a dependable and innovative solution for this home town jewel and in October 2022, adopted The Village Concept. This world renown approach to senior care has proven to thrive even throughout the height of the Covid outbreak.

‍What’s coming?
‍Will you join us in making history? We are delighted to announce that The Village at St. John will be the first retirement village in the U.S. to adopt a simple yet cutting edge concept founded by The Hogeweyk Village in the Netherlands.

This groundbreaking methodology focuses on “bringing normal back” to our seniors, where personal choice, freedom, and dignity are key. Over the past 20 years, The Hogeweyk’s model has inspired numerous countries all over the world.

‍Creating home.
Our beautiful nine acre village in Woodland has begun taking applications for residents as it reopens in phases. From studio cottages for independent seniors to Village Group Homes that offer more care, our residents’ individual needs matter.

To accomplish this, new residents are meticulously matched to live around like-minded residents by identifying their unique “Lifestyle Preferences”. This matching approach enhances quality of living and group harmony by focusing on residents’ similarities as demonstrated at The Hogeweyk. The end goal is to help residents find their people!

‍Choose your flow.
‍Each Village Group Home operates as a family unit of eight with a carefully chosen Care Team that’s dedicated to harmony and well being.

The dedicated Care Team helps customize each Home’s daily and weekly rhythm based on individual needs and interests. From quiet time outside enjoying the fresh air to visiting with new friends for coffee, the day belongs to them. They get to choose.

‍Get moving.
‍With personalized care, we believe in getting our residents back into “normal living” as soon as possible. This active approach reactivates decades of healthy habits over time.

From getting ready in the mornings to visiting a friend at the village café, planting seasonal flowers, enjoying one of our clubs, or accompanying their Care Team on a visit to the village market for groceries, they innately know how to live.

This intentional back-to-basics approach is not only healing for the physical body, but it can even ignite their passions that have been tucked away. We will help them step back into their unique expression and be an important part of The Village. Their Village.

‍The heartbeat.
‍When we focus our intention on wellness and personal passions, amazing things happen in the body and spirit. People begin to thrive!

To make this happen, the daily rhythm and needs of each resident becomes the heartbeat of The Village. Everything they need or enjoy is just a stroll away from Home.
On purpose.

There are some things in life that you simply have to experience to fully understand the impact.

That is what care home visionary, Lynn Sison, realized over a decade ago when she saw the impactful CNN special on The Hogeweyk Village. After owning over 11 care homes over the past twenty years, the bar for what’s possible for senior care in the U.S. was raised for Lynn.

Inspired by innovation.
Determined to see senior care evolve in the States, Lynn enrolled her business partners to travel to Amsterdam and meet with the founders of The Hogeweyk in the summer of 2022. It was a trip that changed everything for them as a team. Inspired, there was no way to unsee what they experienced together - residents with severe dementia thriving in a village setting… even through Covid.

The back story.
The Hogeweyk is a senior care facility located in the Netherlands that has received widespread attention and acclaim for its innovative approach to caring for people with all forms of dementia. Hogeweyk has an astounding track record of successfully navigating the pandemic’s uncertainties where healthy residents maintained the ability to move about the village freely with visitors safely allowed.

The Vivium Care Group, represented by Jannette Spiering and Eloy van Hal, have been credited with pioneering a new model of care that emphasizes normalization, socialization, and quality of life. This care model has inspired the development of similar facilities worldwide, and they have become advisors to duplicate their methodology at The Village at St. John in Woodland, CA. The first of it’s kind in the U.S.

Developed by the Vivium Care Group and the architecture firm BuroKade, it was designed to resemble a typical neighborhood with houses, a pub, a restaurant, a theater, and various clubs and activities. The goal is to provide a sense of purpose and community for residents and to combat boredom, loneliness and hopelessness.

The focus on normalcy.
The foundation is based upon the deinstitutionalization of senior care and liberating people living with dementia by including them in society. Truly, The Hogeweyk’s inspiring model has become the new gold standard for senior care and housing for Lynn Sison and her partners.

Visit their website.

Dan Smith

Dan Smith is a maverick entrepreneur with a unique background in chemical engineering and private equity. He started enterprising at the young age of 12 and made the impressive accomplishment of retiring by 31.

Early in his career, Dan contributed to the 140x growth of a public company and played a role in its $41 billion sale to ExxonMobil. He has also served as the CEO of a public company New York City based and worked as a private equity advisor on Wall Street, negotiating nine-figure international deals with the heads of nationally-owned companies....

Even though Dan had created tremendous personal freedoms in the early decades of his career, he then discovered many subjective aspects of his life weren’t reflecting the freedom of choice he had created. This journey led to his dedicating the second half of his career to understanding the interactions of human psychology, physical illness, unseen personality patterns, and the unconscious limitations presented by them.

He has spent countless hours learning from world-renowned health and quantum science experts to understand the root causes of physical illness and stress. His specialty is connecting how these root causes show up in founders’ unconscious patterns within their businesses and relationships. Merging energetics with business creation has become his passion. This consulting approach attracts forward thinking business owners and influencers by helping them operate with powerful intentionality in their business missions.

Lynn Sison

Lynn Sison is a highly accomplished and experienced individual with a diverse range of skills and expertise in various fields. She began her career as a self-employed accountant, providing services to small businesses and individuals. Her work included preparing personal and corporate tax returns, as well as managing the finances of high net-worth individuals.

In addition to her accounting background, Ms. Sison is also an accomplished entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience in real estate development, sales, and mortgages. She has owned and operated multiple residential care facilities for the elderly for over 21 years, and is a certified Administrator in both California and Arizona. This diverse experience has allowed her to gain expertise in a wide range of industries, including financial services, high tech, and healthcare services. ...

Ms. Sison has also had notable success in the business development field, having management and executive experience from two internet startup companies in the financial services industry. Furthermore, she has demonstrated her ability to raise capital through her successful raising over $3M in real estate and healthcare ventures.

Ms. Sison's educational background is also noteworthy, she holds a bachelor's degree in Accounting from Pepperdine University and a master's degree in Spiritual Psychology with an emphasis in Consciousness, Health, and Healing from the University of Santa Monica. This combination of education and experience has given her a unique perspective on business, accounting and healthcare. Allowing her to approach her work with a holistic mindset, ensuring the well-being of her clients and her facility residents.

Shannon Smith

Shannon Smith is passionate about all things health, wellness, and business energetics. Her own health struggles led her to study holistic medicine for the last 19 years with an emphasis on identifying the root cause of illness and stress. After studying with world renowned health leaders, The Art of Healing became her professional mission over the past ten years where she and her husband, Dan, lead many private retreats for influential leaders over the globe as they merge healing with founders and their businesses.

As well, she and Dan are founders of a private real estate holdings company for the last 30 years that focuses on renovating residential rentals. Shannon’s love for making things beautiful began with flipping “fixer uppers” at nine years old with her savvy real estate parents. ...

Dan and Shannon are a part of the new visionary team and co-owners at Gloria’s Country Care. CGG is an established care home on a five acre farm in Woodland, CA operating with the same village philosophy and visionary team.

With a degree in Speech Communication and Business, Shannon has merged her love for people, deep conversations, and heart centered business into one as she leads the branding and marketing for all of their business pursuits.

After creating together for over 35 years, Dan and Shannon have four vibrant children and a new grandson with complementary missions. Their family is often known as The Veggie Family that loves to travel to Disney World, watch movies, ponder quantum science, snow ski, and host transformational events.

Jenee Rawlings

Jenee Rawlings is a seasoned professional in the credit union industry, with over 33 years of experience in various executive roles. She has extensive knowledge in Human Resource Management, Finance, Leadership, and Organizational Development.

Jenee holds a bachelor's degree in Business Management with a focus in Organizational Psychology, and earned her master's degree in Business Administration with honors from Arizona State University. ...

She currently serves as the President and CEO of Yolo Federal Credit Union, and her leadership and expertise were recognized by the Sacramento Business Journal when she was named as a "Most Admired CEO" in 2022.

Jenee is also a dedicated community volunteer, and has served on the Board of Directors for The Village at St. John's since 2015.

Marilyn Mitchell

Marilyn Mitchell is a long-time resident of Yolo County, having lived in Woodland for over 75 years. She graduated from Woodland High School and earned a bachelor's degree in Social Services from Chico State University.

After working in retail management for over two decades, Marilyn began a 19-year career with Yolo Superior Court as a Legal Process Clerk. Over the years, she advanced to the position of Deputy CEO over operations and facilities. ...

Since her retirement from the court in 2009, Marilyn has been working as the office manager at St. John's Preschool. She is an active member of St. John's UCC, where she has been involved in the chapel services at St. John's Retirement Village for over 25 years, sang in the church choir for 58 years, and served on church boards for 50 years.

Marilyn currently holds several leadership positions, including being the treasurer for the church and preschool, President of the Board for The Village at St. John and treasurer for the Community Christian Academy.

Jane Martin

Jane Martin is a native of Yolo County with a farming heritage, and she earned her bachelor's degree from the University of California at Davis.

She began her career working for the Yolo County Department of Child Support Services, where she spent 27 years as a team supervisor and subject matter expert for the state of California. ...

Jane is now retired. She and her husband have three children. They are enjoying their time as grandparents to six grandchildren with one on the way. In her free time, she enjoys playing piano for her church and volunteering for The Village at St. John since 2005.

Bringing Normal Back

Where you matter

Find your people

The Village at St. John ~ Re-opening!

Making Global News - The Original Village, Hogeweyk

Meet Our Village Team