privacy andsufficient services toallow frailpeople to
remain in residence. Theidea of assisted living as an
alternativetonursinghomeshadallbutdied.Eventhe
board of Wilson’s own company—having noted how
manyothercompanies were takinga less difficultand
less costly direction—began questioning her standards
andphilosophy.Shewantedtobuildsmallerbuildings,in
smallertownswhereelderlypeoplehadnooptionsexcept
nursing homes, and she wanted units for low-income
elderly on Medicaid. But themoreprofitabledirection
was bigger buildings, in bigger cities, without
low-incomeclienteleoradvancedservices.She’dcreated
assistedlivingtohelppeoplelikehermother,Jessie,live
abetterlife,andshe’dshownthatitcouldbeprofitable.
Buther boardandWall Streetwantedavenuestoeven
biggerprofits. Herbattles escalateduntil, in 2000,she
stepped down as CEO and sold all her shares in the
company she’d founded.
Morethanadecadehaspassedsince.KerenWilsonhas
crossedintomiddleage.WhenIspoketoher notlong
ago, her crooked-toothed smile, slumped shoulders,
readingglasses,andwhitehairmadeherlookmorelikea
bookishgrandmotherthantherevolutionaryentrepreneur
who’d founded a worldwide industry. Ever the
gerontologist, she gets excited when the conversation
veerstoresearchquestions,andsheisprecisewhenshe
speaks.Shenonethelessremainsthesortofpersonwhois
perpetually in the grip of big, seemingly impossible
problems. The company made her and her husband
wealthy,andwiththeirmoneytheystartedtheJessieF.
RichardsonFoundation,namedafterhermother,inorder
to continue the work of transforming care for the elderly.