Biography

Marvin A. Kaiser, PhD, joined Mary’s Woods in 2011 as its Chief Executive Officer. As CEO of Mary’s Woods, Marvin focuses on resident affairs and community relations, building an expanding financial base for Mary’s Woods, and leading its strategic visioning. He is Dean Emeritus of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon, where he served from 1993 to 2011. Marvin also served as the Executive Director for the Society for Values in Higher Education. He received his doctorate in sociology with a focus on gerontology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1979. He has been involved in social work, both in nursing homes and in clinical settings. Marvin serves on various community boards, including Oregon Mentors, the Right Brain Initiative, Campus Compact and Catholic Charities of Oregon. At the invitation of the mayor of Portland, Marvin co-chaired Portland’s Vision PDX, the project that developed the city’s vision through community engagement beginning in 2005. Recipient of several awards and honors, Marvin was awarded and served as a W.K. Kellogg National Fellow from 1985 to 1988. He was invited as a special guest to the United Nations General Assembly on the occasion of the Tenth Anniversary of the World Assembly on Aging in 1992. Marvin, published extensively in the field of aging, has focused his scholarly efforts both on domestic and international aging issues and on community development. He has served in various consultative positions to both the U.N. Office on Aging, the United Nations Office at Vienna, the Center for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs, and the U.S. Agency for International Development, Health Division.