Why Purpose Matters More Than We Realize with Ricardo Pena

Why Purpose Matters More Than We Realize with Ricardo Pena, Vice President of Life Enrichment & Therapeutic Activities at Marquis Health Services

When someone's life changes because of aging, illness, or a diagnosis, how do we make sure they don't lose the things that make them who they are? I've thought about this a lot, both personally and professionally. We can become so focused on meeting someone's care needs that we sometimes overlook the things that make life worth living. Their relationships, their creativity, their sense of purpose, and their need to feel needed. This is something we can all relate to, whether we're caring for someone we love, working in healthcare, or thinking about our own aging.

My guest today is Ricardo "Ricky" Peña, Vice President of Life Enrichment & Therapeutic Activities at Marquis Health Services. With more than 20 years of experience, Ricky has dedicated his career to helping older adults find joy, connection, and purpose. His background in music and theater brings a beautiful perspective to his work, from creating original music and resident performances to supporting people living with dementia. He's also a national speaker and certified dementia trainer, but what I appreciate most is how simply he describes his work: "loving people is what I do."

In today's conversation, we talk about what it means to know someone, why preserving identity matters, and how music and creativity can help us connect when words aren't enough. We explore what families and healthcare professionals can learn from life enrichment, why social health matters just as much as the opportunities we create for physical care, and how we can give people more opportunities to contribute rather than always being the ones receiving help. This is part of our Future of Community series with Rendever, where we're exploring how we create stronger connections and communities that recognize everyone has something to give.

Listen to our episode HERE.

To learn more about Marquis visit HERE.

A special thank you to Rendever for partnering with me on The Future of Community series. Through Rendever and CommunityOS, we’re looking at how we can better understand social health, strengthen connection, and help people feel known and part of their community. I’m grateful to be part of this work and to keep these conversations going.

Rendever is helping senior living communities and healthcare organizations put social health into practice. Through immersive experiences, dementia education, live programming, and CommunityOS, Rendever gives teams tools to better understand each person, strengthen connection, and see where someone may be becoming disconnected. CommunityOS brings resident engagement, social health insights, family connection, and programming together in one place, helping communities move beyond simply offering activities to more intentionally support belonging, purpose, and connection.

About Ricardo Pena

Ricky Peña serves as Vice President of Life Enrichment & Therapeutic Activities at Marquis Health Services. With more than 20 years of experience, he leads resident engagement, dementia education, and innovative programming across skilled nursing, assisted living, independent living, and memory care communities. A national speaker and certified dementia trainer, Ricky is passionate about creating meaningful experiences that strengthen connection, celebrate individuality, and enhance residents’ quality of life.

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We are not medical professionals and are not providing any medical advice. If you have any medical questions, we recommend that you talk with a medical professional of your choice. willGather has taken care in selecting its speakers but the opinions of our speakers are theirs alone. Thank you for your continued interest in our podcasts.

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