Wellness Forum

As vice president of Wellness & Programs for Touchmark, Marge is responsible for developing and implementing programs that enrich people’s lives through individualized physical, intellectual, and spiritual activities. Additionally, she provides support and oversight for Touchmark’s assisted living and memory care programs.

Prior to joining Touchmark in 2003, Marge served as national program director for Regent Assisted Living, Inc., where she developed programs for 32 assisted living communities in nine states. She also had her own consulting business for senior living providers and agencies. In addition, she worked for 15 years at the Multnomah Athletic Club, where she created a wellness program for members 2 to 90 with special needs. She also was responsible for supervising and training instructors, personal trainers, aquatic personnel, and other staff.

Before that, Marge worked in special education for 15 years, first with the Columbia Education Service District and later at Portland State University.

She received her doctorate in education from Oregon Health Sciences University. She also holds a master’s degree in education from Portland State University and a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from the University of Washington.

A specialist in exercise/physiology of the aging, Marge is active in the community and served on the board of the Oregon Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Association, chairing its Portland Leadership Council. A guest professor for Oregon State University, Portland State University, and the Oregon Gerontological Association, Marge is sought internationally as a conference speaker. She also is a contributing journalist to the International Council on Active Aging (ICAA) as well as a course developer and master trainer for the Oregon Health Care Association. In 2009, she was appointed to the ICAA Advisory Board. She and the other industry leaders help steer the association in its operations and in its role as a leader in active aging. ICAA Advisory Board members also will participate in ICAA 2020, an initiative set up to create a vision for the future of the active-aging industry.

Marge is a recipient of the Touchmark President’s Award, given to a team member by Touchmark founder and CEO Werner G. Nistler, Jr. in recognition of exemplary work.

Away from work, she enjoys walking with her dogs, hiking in the Columbia Gorge and at Cascade Head along the coast, biking, swimming, writing poetry and fiction, and spending time with her grandchildren.

Dr. Marge answers your confidential questions about health, wellness, aging, and more.