Kathryn Roberts
CEO and President
Ecumen                                                         

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Kathryn Roberts was named CEO and president of Ecumen in 2003. She leads a team of 4,000 people who together comprise one of the country's largest non-profit providers of senior housing and services.  Ecumen, which is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, provides housing in Minnesota, Idaho, Iowa, North Dakota and Wisconsin.  It also provides housing development and consulting services nationally.    Kathryn is a frequently sought commentator on the future of aging and aging services in America.

In 2008, Kathryn was appointed by Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty to a five-year term as chair of the newly formed Veterans Health Care Advisory Council. This followed a year-long appointment serving on the Governor’s Veterans Long-Term Care Advisory Commission. Prior to Kathryn's role in aging services, she held a number of leadership positions in state government as well as in a variety of not-for-profit organizations.

Kathryn began her career in public administration supporting the implementation of court-ordered deinstitutionalization of the developmentally disabled in Minnesota. From there she served as Director, Management Analysis Division of the Minnesota Department of Administration. In 1984, Kathryn served as Acting Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Economic Security and transitioned to the role of Assistant Commissioner where she managed all administrative and technical staff and services in a department of 2,500 employees, directing in-house information and research functions and controlling an $800 million budget.

Once referred to by the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper as “state government’s
#1 management doctor,” Kathryn led the transformation of several state agencies in Minnesota. At age 34, she was appointed by then Minnesota Governor Rudy Perpich to lead the faltering Minnesota Zoo. Kathryn, who had no zoo experience, became the country’s first woman to lead a major zoo. Through entrepreneurial and creative approaches, the zoo’s attendance and revenues reached all-time highs. One of several innovative partnerships that occurred under her leadership was the creation of the only environmental studies high school located within a zoo.

Kathryn is one of the few people to be appointed to leadership positions by Republican, Democrat and Independent governors. Serving as an appointee of Governor Jesse Ventura to head the state’s professional sports agency, she led the effort to sue Major League Baseball and successfully stop contraction of the Minnesota Twins.

Prior to joining Ecumen, Kathryn served as vice president of the Minneapolis Foundation, where she administered a $30 million annual grant program. Kathryn earned her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Minnesota, her M.S. in Special Education from Mankato State University and her Ph.D. in Educational Administration from the University of Minnesota. She was recognized by the University of Minnesota’s College of Education as one of its “100 Distinguished Alumni” for the College’s first 100 years. Kathryn serves on the boards of the Citizens League and the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA).