Introducing the Class of 2026
Six Certified Senior Housing Professionals have earned the Certified Senior Downsizing Coach® credential — and what it took to get there is worth understanding.
There is no shortage of real estate professionals who say they work with older adults. There is, however, a significant shortage of professionals who have done the work to understand what that actually means.
That gap is exactly why the Certified Senior Downsizing Coach® credential exists — and why the professionals who earn it stand apart.
Today, we are honored to introduce the SREI Class of 2026 — six individuals who completed the Downsizing Coach Skills Training and are now credentialed as Certified Senior Downsizing Coaches®.
Meet the Class of 2026
- Terri Dimond — Santa Barbara, California
- Lorraine Montalbano — Northern New Jersey
- Ian Thompson — Nanaimo, British Columbia
- Rachel Davis — Naples, Maine
- Karena Stipp — Raleigh, North Carolina
- Carla Stevens — Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Each of these professionals already held the Certified Senior Housing Professional (CSHP) credential. Earning the CSDC is a separate, additional commitment — not a continuation of the same course, but an entirely different body of knowledge.
What the CSDC Requires
The Downsizing Coach Skills Training was built around a straightforward premise: real estate training, on its own, does not prepare professionals for the complexity of late-life moves.
When a mature adult leaves a home they have lived in for 20, 30, or 40 years, the transaction is often the least complicated part. What surrounds it — the decision-making process, the family dynamics, the loss of familiar surroundings, the uncertainty about what comes next — requires a different kind of skill.
The CSDC training addresses that directly. It is grounded in how older adults process major life transitions, how to support decision-making without overriding autonomy, and how to guide clients through the adjustment that often follows a move — whether they are relocating across town or across the country.
This is not a designation earned in an afternoon. It is a serious course, taken seriously by the professionals who pursue it.
Why This Matters for the Families They Serve
Families navigating late-life transitions — often long-distance, often emotionally charged, frequently without a clear plan — do not need someone who can simply list a home. They need someone who understands the full picture: the emotional weight of leaving, the practical logistics of downsizing decades of belongings, the confusion around senior living options, and the grief that can accompany a move even when it is the right decision.
A Certified Senior Downsizing Coach® has trained specifically for that reality. They bring structure to a process that often feels overwhelming. They ask the right questions. They know when to slow down and when to move forward.
That is what the families in Santa Barbara, New Jersey, British Columbia, Maine, North Carolina, and Iowa will now have access to.
Congratulations, Class of 2026
To Terri, Lorraine, Ian, Rachel, Karena, and Carla: this credential represents a real investment in the people you serve. We are proud to have you in the SREI community.