Keren Brown Wilson, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor, Institute on Aging
Office: 470L URBN
Phone: 503-725-5237
Fax: 503-725-5100
E-mail: kbw@pdx.edu
Dr. Wilson teaches courses in political and administrative issues in aging and international aging. She has worked in community-based care since 1976. She was an owner and the operator of the nation's first assisted living facility in Oregon (1981-1986). In 1985 she developed the first Medicaid-reimbursed program for assisted living. She is widely recognized as the architect of the Oregon Model of Assisted Living and has served as an adviser to numerous states on assisted living. From 1986-1994 she was owner of Concepts in Community Living, Inc., a company that manages not-for-profit assisted living residences in the Northwest. Dr. Wilson served as President, CEO and Vice Chair of Assisted Living Concepts from 1994-2000. Currently she is President of the Jessie F. Richardson Foundation, a charitable organization working to promote affordable, innovative housing and long-term care. The Foundation provides technical assistance, training, and research on assisted living. Its focus is on low-income and special-needs populations. In addition, the Foundation has an area of focus in Latin America that includes direct aid to the elderly. In 2004, she, Dean Marvin Kaiser and Dr. Margaret Neal, developed IOA's first service-learning course on International Aspects of Health Care, which involves didactic study and two weeks of service in Nicaragua, working to improve the quality of life of Nicaraguan elders. Dr. Wilson has served as Chair of the Assisted Living Federation of America, on the Board of the American Society of Aging, and on the Institute of Medicine Panel on Quality in Long Term Care. She currently serves on the Portland State University Foundation Board, the Women's Center for Applied Leadership, and she is Chair of Portland State University Presidents' Circle and is the Vice Chair of Assistance to the Elderly, a non-profit organization serving low-income Spanish-speaking elderly. She has conducted several research projects on assisted living and currently is studying medication use in assisted living, the impact of specialized exercise programs on frail elderly, citations during state surveys of assisted living and residential care in the State of Oregon, and the use of negotiated risk agreements.
