Industry professionals are remembering former LeadingAge Board of Directors Chair and Ecumen President and CEO Kathryn Roberts, Ph.D., as a “transformational leader” as well as a visionary, a mentor and a friend.
Roberts died Saturday at her home in Stillwater, MN. She was 70.
Roberts was sworn in as chair of the LeadingAge Board of Directors in late 2015 at the organization’s annual meeting, and she began a three-year term in the role in January 2016 at the same time that Katie Smith Sloan became president and CEO of LeadingAge.
“Kathryn was a transformational leader, bringing a perspective to our field that was born out of leading large nonprofit community organizations in Minnesota,” Sloan told McKnight’s Senior Living Tuesday. “She thoughtfully led LeadingAge’s Board of Directors during a time of transition and, as an organization, we benefited greatly from her quiet and determined leadership.”
At the time Roberts became board chair, she had been a LeadingAge board member for seven years. She also chaired the organization’s Long-Term Services and Supports Financing Task Force, charged with creating nonpartisan solutions to address long-term care financing.
“Kathryn was one of the brightest, forward thinkers I ever met,” Steve Fleming, president and CEO of The WellSpring Group and Roberts’ predecessor as LeadingAge board chair, told McKnight’s Senior Living. “She shepherded LeadingAge through a crucial time after the retirement of Larry Minnix, leading the search committee which ultimately selected Katie Smith Sloan, then turning right around as then chair of the board, and with Katie, starting a comprehensive strategic planning process. She was more than a colleague; she was a dear friend and will be greatly missed.”
Roberts had become the leader of Shoreview, MN-based Ecumen in 2003 and held that role until early 2019, guiding the company’s transformation from being a nursing home provider to a more diversified senior housing and services company. Under her leadership, the organization was named one of the “Best Places to Work” by the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal for 10 consecutive years.
“There is no overstating what Kathryn meant to Ecumen, to those we serve and to so many of us personally. Our hearts are breaking for her family and all those who knew and loved her,” current Ecumen President and CEO Shelley Kendrick said. “Kathryn was a visionary, a leader, a mentor and a friend. She was a true servant leader who measured her success by her impact on others.”
Among the initiatives Ecumen credited Roberts with introducing during her tenure:
- The Ecumen Awakenings program, which stresses caring for people who have dementia without relying on highly sedating drugs.
- Housing solutions designed to anticipate evolving demands for independent and assisted living. For instance, the first of Ecumen’s Zvago cooperative independent housing communities opened in 2017, and Abiitan Mill City opened in 2016 as the first senior services community in the core of downtown Minneapolis.
- A workforce program using philanthropic grants to introduce nursing students to senior caregiving in rural Minnesota, increasing awareness of the field as a career choice.
- Expansion of Ecumen Hospice, which in 2019 served more than 10 times the number of people in the state of Minnesota than it did in 2003.
“Not only did Kathryn set an ambitious and courageous course for Ecumen to grow and to serve more people, but she was committed to inspiring and encouraging others in their careers and lives,” Kendrick said. “As our current CEO emeritus, Kathryn continued to inspire people to support Ecumen to further its mission. She made such a difference and will be sorely missed.”
In 2017, Roberts was named to a Top 50 Influencers in Aging list for the year by Next Avenue, a PBS publication covering issues for people aged 50 or more years. Less than two years later, she stepped away from the top spot at Ecumen to lead philanthropic development for the organization and to represent the company as a speaker at events that highlight the organization’s expertise and advocacy work.
At the time, Ecumen was No. 27 overall on the LeadingAge Ziegler 200 list of largest not-for-profit multi-site senior living organizations in the United States and No. 5 in number of assisted living units. The company, more than a century and a half old, also offers independent living, short-term rehabilitation and skilled nursing, affordable housing and home and community-based services such as home care and hospice. With more than 40 communities in eight states — in Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Idaho, Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee — Ecumen in 2019 employed almost 4,000 people and served almost 20,000 customers annually.
Also that year, Roberts was named a member of the inaugural class of McKnight’s Women of Distinction, one of 19 women working in long-term care who were inducted into the Hall of Honor.
Roberts worked on age-related issues outside of Ecumen as well. Internationally, she was involved with the World Health Organization’s Global Network for Age-Friendly Cities and Communities. Closer to home, she worked with the city of Apple Valley on initiatives to create a more age-friendly city. Roberts also was a former president of the board of VocalEssence, where she worked to bring choral music and other forms of artistic expression to older adults in ways that encourage self-expression.
Born in 1951 in Worthington, MN, Roberts earned a Ph.D. at the age of 27 and later was recognized by the University of Minnesota’s College of Education as one of its “100 Distinguished Alumni.” Her career spanned five decades.
Before joining Ecumen, Roberts worked in the Minnesota state government, serving under five governors representing three political parties. Among her roles, she was the director of the management analysis division of the state Department of Administration and acting commissioner of human rights.
As one of the first female directors at the Minnesota Zoo, Roberts led a transformation credited with leading to increased attendance and revenues. She also was a former chairwoman of Minnesota’s Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, where she headed efforts to sue Major League Baseball and successfully stop the elimination of the Minnesota Twins.
She was named as one of the Twin Cities’ “Best Brains” by Minneapolis / St. Paul Magazine in 2008.
Roberts is survived by her husband, James Hiniker; daughter, Alexandra Hausler; stepsons, Jay and Micheal Hiniker; six grandchildren; and additional relatives. Her family plans to hold a celebration of her life “at a time when COVID is no longer a serious crisis,” according to a published death notice. In lieu of flowers, they suggest donations in her memory to the Minnesota Zoo or the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota.
