LeadingAge Michigan was pleased to honor Marti Coplai with the Life Member Award at the 2025 Member Awards Gala on Tuesday, May 20, at the Radisson Plaza Hotel in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Each award winner was nominated by their peers and selected by an esteemed group of committee members from among many nominations across the state. Over 250 people gathered to celebrate the elite group of 26 award winners and recognize their collective achievements.
The Life Member Award recognizes a distinguished individual who has made significant contributions to the field of aging services and has created a lasting and meaningful legacy. The nominee must have worked for a LeadingAge Michigan member and has retired from such employment.
Marti joined Angela Hospice in 2015 as Executive Director and assumed the position of President & CEO in March 2019, serving the southeast Michigan community until she retired in December 2024. Over the course of Marti’s tenure, she led the Angela Hospice team to accomplish a number of significant initiatives, propelling the organization to where it is today, and ensuring sustainability for the future. These initiatives include: leadership through the COVID-19 pandemic; quality initiatives, such as MVI quality implementation and expansion of AVA telehospice services; strategic initiatives, such as, the addition of palliative care programming; grant-funded projects; grief outreach; re-branding; development of a comprehensive strategic plan; leadership development and focus on the Angela Hospice team to advance competitive wages and compensation.
Additionally, the most recent initiative in which Marti led the Angela Hospice team is the expansion of hospice care services to North Oakland County, extending the geographic region for Angela’s Home Hospice Care services and partnering with Lourdes Senior Community to provide inpatient hospice care to meet a growing community healthcare need. However, this expansion would not be possible except for the organizational strength and mission centered reputation Angela Hospice has garnered for excellence in hospice and palliative care. Of note is that Marti intentionally transitioned from a career in marketing to healthcare administration in 2004 motivated by a personal experience with loss. Her passion for person-centered care and supporting the teams that provide that care was evidenced in her work at Glacier Hills and EHM and has been the hallmark of her career in senior living and end-of-life care and services.
LeadingAge Michigan extended a heartfelt congratulations to Marti Coplai for her commitment and service to bettering the lives of seniors in the state of Michigan. To learn more about the 2025 Member Awards Gala and other award honorees, review the 2025 Member Awards Gala Program or visit LeadingAge Michigan on YouTube.
