Maria B. Dwight

President and CEO, Gerontological Services, Inc.
mdwight@gsi.org

Maria Dwight, president and founder of Gerontological Services, has over 40 years’ experience in programming and planning facilities and services for older people with emphasis on the inter-relationship of housing, health and social services. She leads the strategic planning compliment of our services, with broad experience nationally as well as overseas.

Maria is a frequent speaker at universities and conferences and has been a lead faculty member of Harvard’s Graduate School of Design Summer Seminars for over 30 years. She is often a presenter at international conferences in Asia and Europe. As a professional consultant, her firm has worked with developers, colleges and universities, hospitals, housing and long-term care providers throughout the US by providing strategic planning, market analysis, market segmentation, operational and space programming, marketing plans and materials. Maria’s professional career includes the establishment of the first municipal geriatric authority in the US. In recognition of her efforts, the Maria B. Dwight Geriatric and Rehabilitation Center was named in 1977.

Maria has been an active member of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA). She has served on the boards of a number of non-profit organizations, including Centura Health of Denver, Colorado; Center for Healthy Aging, Santa Monica, California; Alternative Living for the Aging, in Los Angeles, California, and Stonewall Communities of Boston.

Maria received her undergraduate degree from Hampshire College and her master’s degree from the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California.

Education

• Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, Andrus Gerontology Center, University of Southern California, Master of Science, Administration
• Hampshire College, Amherst, Massachusetts, Bryn Mawr College, Bachelor of Arts, Urban Studies

Professional Memberships

• Aging Services of California
• American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging
• American Society on Aging
• Gerontological Society of America
• Urban Land Institute, Senior Housing Council
  
• Wise and Healthy Aging

Awards and Honors

• Achievement Award for Exemplary Leadership in Catholic Health Ministry, Sisters of Charity Health Care Systems, 1996
• National Advisory Council; 1981 White House Conference on Aging
• Dedication of Maria B. Dwight Building, Holyoke Geriatric, 1977
• Who’s Who in American Women, 1977 – Present
• American Association of Homes for the Aging, Presidential Citation, 1972
• Young Woman of the Year Award, 1963
• American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, Chair’s Citation, 2006
• Davis School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California, Alumna of the Year, 2008

Community Service

• American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging:  Former Member-at-Large, House of Delegates; Environmental Planning and Design Committee; Continuing Care Committee (Chair); Continuing Care Retirement Community Committee, Leadership Development Committee
  
• California Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, Development Committee Member
• Center for Healthy Aging, Santa Monica, CA, Board of Advisors
• Wise and Healthy Aging, Santa Monica Board of Advisors

Past Community Service

• Board of Overseers, Heller School of Advanced Social Research, Brandeis University
• Centura Health, Denver, CO, Board member
• Design Evaluation – Social Uses of Elderly Housing, M.I.T./H.E.W., Advisory Committee
• Junior League of Holyoke, Inc., President
• Massachusetts Commission on Status of Women, Member
• Massachusetts Department of Elder Affairs, Advisory Committee
• Massachusetts Department of Public Welfare, Advisory Board
• Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency, Advisory Board
• National Council on the Aging, Planning Housing Environments for the Elderly, Advisory Committee
• Urban Ministry, Inc., Past President and Founder
• Western Massachusetts Health Planning Council, Vice President
• White House Conference on Aging, National Advisory Committee, Delegate, 1981
• Williston-Northampton School, Easthampton, MA, Board of Trustees

Testimony and Lectures

• Aging Services of California (ASC, formerly CAHSA)
• Quo Vadis: Berlin Germany 2008
• Harvard University: Lead Faculty (1985-present): Graduate School of Design; Graduate Schools of Public Health, Medicine
• Asian Conference: Bangalore University, India 2006
• IAHSA Asian Conference: Hyderabad, India 2003
• Asian Health Conference Singapore 1998
• International Association of Homes and Services for the Aging Conferences: Australia, England, Norway, Malta
• Boston University: School of Medicine
• University of Massachusetts
• Mt. Holyoke College
• Hampshire College
• University of California: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Irvine, San Diego
• American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging
• Associations of Non Profit Homes: Arizona, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Virginia, Michigan, Colorado, Oregon, Washington
• National Council of Jewish Women
• National Association of Jewish Homes for the Aging
• American Hospital Association
• Assisted Living Federation of America
• American Society on Aging
• Association of Western Hospitals
• National Association of Home Builders
• National Association of Senior Living Industries
• Multi-family Home Builders Association
• Office of Economic Opportunity
• U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor
• Special U.S. Senate Committee on Aging
• Senate Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs
• National Real Estate Development Center
• Northwest Center for Continuing Education
• Urban Land Institute
• University of Southern California:  School of Architecture and School of Gerontology
• U.S. Conference of Mayor’s Task Force on the Aging
• The Economist Conference: 2^nd Roundtable on Healthcare Systems in Asia