The CEO Series: Mather’s Mary Leary, Pt. 2

By Jim Nelson | April 7, 2025

There are so many things to love about The Mather’s new 62+ luxury CCRC in Tysons, Virginia.

The community features two high rises, connected by a third-floor amenity podium, sitting on nearly four acres, with three of those acres being green space; there are public and private park spaces including an urban lawn for concerts and a dog park; badminton and bocce courts; walking paths with seating areas and sculptures; and an outdoor yoga terrace.

Among its 38,000 square feet of indoor space is a dazzling array of amenities, beginning in the foyer with an impressive piece of commissioned wall art. Throughout community beaucoup care has been put into a design that spotlights cultures, curated and commissioned artwork, sculptures, and artifacts from around the world. Keeping with the global feel, the community’s three distinctive restaurants employ international menus, while amenities and gardens have names that honor worldwide cultures, emphasizing the ubiquitous theme of connection, unity, and nature. In fact, the building’s architecture is biophilic, a design concept that incorporates natural elements to address the idea that we humans have an innate desire to connect with nature. And, for good measure, the Tysons building was pre-certified LEED Gold, indicating that The Mather demonstrated a high level of commitment to environmental responsibility.

We’ll dive much deeper into the wellness aspect of The Mather in Tysons in a future article, but for now it’s instructive to know that the community will be submitting for WELL Building certification later this spring. Because wellness and wellbeing comes in many shapes and sizes, The Mather includes a fitness center with Theragun technology; an indoor saltwater pool; a group exercise studio (where a yoga class was just starting when we visited); cardio/weight training; a Pilates studio; and a luxury wellness spa replete with a Welnamis Vibroacoustic sound wave therapy bed. We were bummed to have missed a chance to experience the community’s Sensory Symphony Swim.

Because The Mather in Tysons was built during COVID, the building includes an enhanced HVAC system that exhausts all return air outside rather than recirculating it throughout the community, with special lamps in the air ducts killing airborne microbes. Plus, doors, faucets, and other elements of the building are touch-free.

And then there’s the community-wide tech. Mather VP of Information Technology Charley Sankovich filled us in on how each residence is a “smart-home” that enables “residents to control various aspects of their living environment using either their mobile devices or voice commands.” They can adjust their thermostat, operate motorized blinds, control the lights, manage the video doorbell, request services, and view community events on a display (Alexa) or through their cell phone via apps.

In part 1 of our conversation with Mather CEO Mary Leary, we got into the nuts and bolts of the new life plan community in Tysons. In part 2, we get to learn about Mary’s favorite aspects of the community.


SENIOR LIVING NEWS: Let’s talk about the fun things that set The Mather in Tysons apart. I saw a lot of commissioned artwork when I was there, including the one hanging in the foyer of the mailroom, which is pretty fun. Tell me about the artifacts and the commissioned artwork.

MARY LEARY: We want every Mather community to be unique and to reflect the local market and the people who choose a Mather community as their home. We realize that people looking to move to The Mather have traveled all over the world. Many have lived in or were born in other parts of the world, so we thought we would pay homage to them and their experiences by displaying artifacts from around the world that they might have picked up during their travels. Whether it was Moroccan urns or a necklace from Laos or carved blessing swans from Thailand, we looked for items that reflected a wide variety of world cultures. We hadn’t come up with that theme when we originally envisioned the community, but we evolved into that as we worked with people who placed a deposit with us; we recognized that they were bringing amazing experiences and insights and memories from around the world. We wanted community spaces to be reflective of what their apartments might be, so whether it was in the living room or even in the lounge, we sought to place items that they might and actually do have in some of their homes. Sourcing these items was a true labor of love, a lot of fun. The commissioned art [has] always been a signature element of all Mather communities; what is unique about The Mather is that we sought to identify artists from around the world which might reflect themes from other cultures. One example, we display a Japanese-style kimono that was made by an artist from the Democratic Republic of Congo, utilizing materials found in Africa. So that was a unique twist on a Japanese theme.

SLN: What are your favorite things about The Mather Tysons?

ML: The art and artifacts displayed throughout the community; I believe it’s truly unique.

I would say also that Mather’s extreme focus on wellness comes through in the spaces that people experience. The programs that are offered are very special. A fitness center with Pilates reformers is not something you’re going to see at a typical senior living community. Infrared saunas, the Vibroacoustic sound wave therapy bed, AI-powered body composition analysis — I think it makes the Mather a residential wellness community. It’s not a typical senior living community. We’re actually positioning The Mather Tysons as a wellness community, and that’s paying off because I think the people who are moving to The Mather are younger, they’re focused on their health and wellness. They want to participate in programs and utilize the various tools and resources we have there. I think it’s a great example of the future of senior living communities.

The other thing I would say is that we really sought to have The Mather be a very welcoming place, not only for residents, but also for team members. Knowing that the people who live and work there would be from around the world, we tried to make everyone feel welcome, whether it was through the interior design, the programs we offer to both residents and team members, or the cuisine. I think that has paid off in terms of the people we’ve attracted to make The Mather their home or a place of employment.