In this episode of Business LO, Heather Graves Ramsey of Coach to Brilliance interviews Travis Duncan, CEO of Mary's Woods, a Life Plan Community. They discuss the organization's mission-driven approach, focusing on modernizing operations and enhancing resident experience without losing the community's unique essence. They also explore community engagement initiatives, economic contributions, and plans for future partnerships. Plus, Liz Hartman has the helpful insider info you want with What You Need to Know in LO, which includes details regarding the Tree Lighting Festival and the annual Holiday Party.
LIZ HARTMAN:: [00:00:00] This is Business Lo, a podcast by the Lake Oswego Chamber of Commerce, which connects, educates, advocates, and champions, our business community. We have nearly 500 members from international corporations to home-based businesses, and we serve them all. Each episode of Business LO gives insider information to the local business community and the neighbors who support them.
LIZ HARTMAN:: And now let's talk Business Lo.
MICHELLE ODELL:: Today is October 15th, 2025, and this episode will be published on November 1st. And today we're talking to the CEO of one of the largest nonprofit charitable organizations. In Lake Oswego and their impact on the community and what we can all learn from them. Okay. Joining us is Travis Duncan, CEO of Mary's Woods, which is a life plan community that opened in 2001 that operates as a nonprofit 5 0 1 [00:01:00] C3 charitable organization.
MICHELLE ODELL:: Unlike for-profit communities, Mary's Woods reinvests profits into the community to further their mission and vision. They are here to serve the residents, not corporate shareholders, and driving the conversation today is Heather Graves Ramsey, owner of Coach to Brilliance. She specializes in executive coaching and leadership development, and with all the insider information we want.
MICHELLE ODELL:: Is Chamber, CEO, and your go-to gal, Liz Hartman. She has what you need to know in lo. I'm Michelle Odell. Let's talk business Lo Heather, let's take it
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: away. Travis, I finally have you captive here. So excited to learn more about you, but also about Mary's Woods. So tell us a little bit about you, how you found your way to Mary's Woods.
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: I've been in the senior living industry for quite a while. I was up in a community in Seattle for the last 12 years and looking to [00:02:00] make an upgrade, and so I was really drawn to Mary's Woods. I've known about it for a long time. It's, it's a well known community given its size, given its scale, what it does, being part of the community that it's in.
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: And so it was when I heard about the CEO opening, I, I jumped at the opportunity to fly.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: We're lucky to have you. Not everybody knows about Marys Woods, so we'd love to hear a little bit about the residents, employees, how many people you have on campus, all that good stuff.
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: We are a little bit hidden here, even though probably many people drive by us and probably wonder what we are, but
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: we do actually.
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: Yeah. We're here to demystify that today. So, but we're really a small city tucked within Lake Oswego. We have about 780 residents, nearly 450 employees, and if you add contractors, family, visitors, volunteers throughout the day, you know, we have probably a thousand to 1200 people on campus at any given time, so,
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: wow.
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: It, it's a big operation. You know, as we or Introed, we're a life plan community, meaning we have. Mostly [00:03:00] independent living, but also other levels of care. We do assisted living, residential care facility on campus as well as memory care. So we serve kind of that whole spectrum of needs as residents age. We sit on a 40 acre campus between Merrill Hurst University or the old Merrill SST University on.
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: Property that was set aside by the Sisters of the Holy Names many years ago. And so that's that's a little bit about what we are. We're really a connected neighborhood within our acreage, and we have some villas. We have some homes that are more like condo living. We are a healthcare provider. We have 10 dining venues on campus, a lot of green spaces, activities, spaces, fitness spaces.
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: So really anything residents need to sustain themselves within our campus, we try and provide.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: It is an amazing community and honestly, everybody that I talk to that lives there loves it there. So it definitely is something special that you're creating for them, for the, the residents, for the people that live there.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: I'm curious though, that's a lot of people to have on campus at any one [00:04:00] time. Where in the world do they park
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: in any number of places? We were just asked today if we could take out a couple spots and add a tree, and we had to, we had to say no. No, unfortunately. But. There's parking, all that ring. Our buildings.
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: We have some underground parking under some of our buildings some surface lots, which you can see almost everywhere. And then we try and get as many of our employees as we can to use you know, mass transit. So if they can bus here or commute or do other things, we, we recommend that highly as well and subsidize that.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: Oh wow. Okay. You've been here for how long?
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: Just hit my one year on September 30th. So, well,
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: happy anniversary. Very cool. Well, thank you. Yeah. So one year and you know, they usually say a CEO needs to take some time, take a look at what's going on, and then kind of come with their vision. But what, what is it that you hope for for Mary's Woods?
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: My overarching goal is to modernize our operation without losing the magic that makes Mary's Woods what it is. You know, our residents will tell you how. Amazing the campuses, and we don't want to lose what makes us special, but we definitely know we need to lean [00:05:00] into technology, especially technology.
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: We're investing in a lot of that just to bring our systems up to levels that they should be at. We want to invest in technology that will support. Aging and, and maybe lessen the need for some staffing as the staffing crisis gets a little bit harder to manage. We've done a lot of leadership changes over the last year.
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: We've brought in some leaders from the outside who've made huge impacts. We've also promoted a great deal of people from within, which is nice, something we're developing new leaders, obviously something we're super passionate about, so it's been great to be able to do that as well. Yeah. We're focusing heavy on the resident experience.
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: What residents that currently live here want is not always what residents that are coming in want. The baby boomer generation has a lot more needs and desires as they enter senior living. So we're trying to answer that call by updating our services, enhancing them where we can, and really focusing on resident wellness.
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: That's, that's the biggest one we hear about a lot, and the one we wanna focus on the most. Yeah. The other [00:06:00] thing we want to do. And you know, one of the exciting things about being on this podcast is we wanna strengthen our connection to the external community.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: You know, I'm very excited to hear that just because again, there's the people that are there seem like they're super happy, and part of that wellness is engagement and belonging.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: And not just within your community, but with the community as a whole. So I'd love to hear you say that, just outta curiosity. What's an example of something technology wise that you're upgrading?
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: None of it's really exciting stuff. If you're not working here currently, but we're upgrading our point of sale system and dining.
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: We're upgrading our electronic health record system. We're upgrading our servers and our infrastructure to provide a little bit more redundancy in services. Our phone system, you know, things like that that are not super bells and whistles and shiny things for residents to see, but things that will support our staff in taking care of these residents.
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: So, but they
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: are, yeah, at the same time, yeah, like health records, having easy access to stuff, being able to. [00:07:00] Take care of folks in that way. And then even just the point of sale in the dining hall, it helps you to be able to control costs so that you can give that back to folks and, and know really what you've got going on.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: So great. Yeah. Yeah. You're not alone. There's a lot of, a lot of folks that are going through transformation and you know, in a lot of their tech areas.
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: Once we can get through those. Tech upgrades those systems, we can really start to look at technology that's going to focus on the resident experience and how to predictive analytics.
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: AI is such a big discussion right now. There's so many things that will enhance the resident experience and really support them in their aging journey that we will get to next round. Yeah,
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: you gotta have the basic needs met first for sure. You mentioned the secret sauce, like wanting to keep that secret sauce.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: Help us with a little bit around like what does that secret sauce look like?
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: Resident engagement's, the big one, these residents moved here for a reason and just listening to them and, and giving them what they need to be engaged on this campus and to be [00:08:00] part of this community is what we wanna focus on.
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: You know, we wanna be an organization that listens and that reacts fast to those needs and, and one that really believes in our mission and our culture. So important for us is that we don't wanna lose touch with why we were founded and why we're here, which is really to take care of the needs of these seniors, but really our employees and our community and all persons that need our support.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: Love that. So I love what you're doing for your residents, but this is a podcast for a lot of our businesses. And so one of the curiosities that we have is, you know, when you look at some of the economic drivers and the fact that you must have a huge impact on us. Thousand people at your campus at any one time, what have you, but what are some of those economic drivers that you see?
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: Yeah, you know, I think our residents are an economic engine that you don't always see, but with so many of them here, they're using the services of our community. You know, they have to leave our campus to do so many things. No matter how much we try and provide here, they're still [00:09:00] out and supporting local restaurants, boutiques, salons, healthcare providers, any number of things, and as are our employees and their family members and others that.
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: Are tied to this community, but maybe not living here. And so it's really just that support by using the services, I think is the biggest way we're supporting the community. What comes next is looking at ways we can support it in other ways, and that's really that engagement we want as we focus on the external community, how we can be better volunteers, how we can be better supporters, how we can sponsor different things or bring the community inside our walls to do some of those things as well.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: Yeah. There's certainly something that comes from having a purpose and feeling purposeful. And so that whole plugging in, like I have a dream someday that, you know, there's a bus coming to Rotary and a bunch of, bunch of people from Mary's Woods. We do have a lot already that are members. And then also, you know, we see your buses all around shopping and that sort of thing.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: And so that's a huge thing that you're doing for them too, to [00:10:00] make sure that they can get out there. So. You also have a lot of employees, and that for sure is an economic driver. Can you talk a little bit more about that?
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: Not all employees live in Lake Oswego, so it's not quite the same as what our residents can give back, but beyond the wages that some of the taxes and things that go back into the community, a lot of that.
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: What we're giving to the employees does circle back. They're still using some of the housing around their dining on their way home or using the services that are closer to their work. So childcare or some of those pieces. So we're also an operation that is not seasonal. These employees are on site.
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: 24 7 every day of the week. You know, all year long. So since we're not really phasing in and out, we are that economic support all the time for them. And we're hoping they build careers here, want to move here and really become part of the community. So we're, we're trying to bring 'em in and keep 'em here as long as we can.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: Absolutely. Yeah, there's a lot of work around affordable housing and how do we make sure that the people that work in places like [00:11:00] yours, but also the schools and the fire, everybody, that they can live, work, stay in play. We want them all here. What's the percentage of residents that you have that are from here in Lake Oswego or even Oregon?
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: About 80 plus percent of our residents are from Oregon. A lot of them are from. Very locally, Westland lake Oswego area, so we don't have to train as many of them on what we are. Of the little bit less than 20% that are not from Oregon. They're moving up here. On occasion because they know who we are and they love our community, but most often it's to be closer to family, which is in the area.
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: So they already know the area well. They've visited a lot. They've decided to move closer to their kids and, and we're just a place they can land so that they can do that.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: You'd mentioned kind of getting. Out in the community a little bit more. What might that look like?
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: We're really looking for ways to connect more intentionally, so local businesses, schools, nonprofits, civic groups.
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: There's so much opportunity for [00:12:00] collaboration even between local restaurants, hosting pop-ups on campus, students engaging with residents. In a mentorship program, healthcare and tech partnerships that can improve quality of life. We really wanna build those bridges, really intergenerational bridges where we can, but between innovation, traditional ideas, whatever it is.
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: So we're open, you know, that's what I would say to the community. We're open for your ideas as well, so if there's a way you think you'd like to connect, please reach out to me directly and we'd love to talk about a partnership.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: Say the word, we will, we can bring them over. And
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: if you're willing to come to us, you know, unfortunately, not all of our residents are as mobile as they used to be.
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: Right. But if we could create those partnerships and bring more services to the residents, that's gonna go a long way for them and, and really help.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: So, reaching out to you, and we're gonna be on the lookout for Mary's Woods everywhere. I hope so. Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's gonna be great. You're coming from Seattle.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: Lessons that you've learned coming from like. Just a larger organization to one that's a little bit smaller.
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: You know, living and working downtown Seattle [00:13:00] where my last community was, it's really all about scale. You know, tall buildings, we were surrounded by 40 story towers on every side. Constant noise.
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: Everything moves really fast. It's impressive, but it can feel really impersonal. Mm-hmm. You know, lake Oswego's very much the opposite of that. You see the same faces, you can walk down the street. Everybody's has a, a mom or a cousin or an aunt or somebody that lives at Mary's Woods, and so you've made an impact.
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: I think the big lesson is really just that it's that smaller community means bigger impact. We're able to do more for our community and mean more to our community than you can. When you're just one of many in Seattle,
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: you know, you had mentioned like there's a high need for what you're doing. You mentioned that all the different facilities, you all get along because you, everybody needs something different.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: And I think that that mentality and having that mentality is super important. I know you and I don't know each other very well, but I've lived in 10 different places over the last 32 years with my husband's work, and I have not found a community that is more open to [00:14:00] connecting and thinking more from a abundance perspective versus tightening in.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: So I, I love this idea of you guys getting out there even more, but I also think that your mindset is really around this sort of, we're better together and let's hone in on how we can make that happen.
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: That's absolutely right. You know, senior living, all of our occupancy is good. None of us, you know, we, we might lose a resident here or there to somebody else and we might get a resident or two from somebody else, but for the most part, all of our communities look and feel a little bit different.
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: And residents choose whichever one really feels, you know, they walk in and they really feel right away, which fits them the most. And so we're not competitors. We can partner a lot more than we can compete, and I think that's really special for our industry.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: Absolutely. What else? What else am I not asking, Travis, that I should be?
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: I mean, just to demystify senior living a little bit. Most people see it as the end of something. You know, just a bunch of older generation Americans, maybe they have that picture in their head of quiet hallways and bingo nights, but [00:15:00] it's really not what modern senior living is. You know, it's really a new beginning for a lot of these residents.
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: It's full of energy and curiosity and purpose. It feels more like a small liberal arts college, sometime maybe mixed with a neighborhood coffee shop. There's just constant activity. We have arts and crafts and shows and lectures, live music, fitness, volunteer groups. I mean, if you're here on campus, you're gonna see residents everywhere engaging with each other, rehearsing for performances.
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: We have a dance group, you know, which is pretty amazing. Love it. Awesome. Our residents are big into civic engagement, obviously, as so many are, and so it's, it's really quite special senior living. It's not what most people expect if they've never been inside a big life plan community or, or seen it, but it's, it's a pretty great place to work and to give back to,
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: yeah.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: Travis, it was really great to be able to talk to you today. I'm really glad that you're here and thanks for being a
MICHELLE ODELL:: part
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: of
MICHELLE ODELL:: the Chamber 'cause it's a fantastic resource.
TRAVIS DUNCAN:: All right, thank you so much. Yeah.
MICHELLE ODELL:: Now it is time for what we need to know in [00:16:00] lo It's that time of year, Liz. I mean, we're getting into the holidays.
MICHELLE ODELL:: There's lots of sponsorship things going on.
LIZ HARTMAN:: Let's, let's talk, well, let's start with the big one for November. And the big one in November is the tree lighting. Tree Lighting Festival is the day after Thanksgiving. That will be Friday, November 28th. It is a festival from three to 7:00 PM but the. Big time to be there is at five 30.
LIZ HARTMAN:: Last year there were more than 5,000 people there. We had great wine tasting going on there. We'll have wine tasting again this year. We have show choirs from company and wind jammers. The Millennium Concert Band will be there. And who doesn't love to see the Dickens singers walking around in their period pieces from Victorian era, and it has really become quite the festival from three to seven.
LIZ HARTMAN:: We have two silver sponsors so far on Point Community Credit Union, and Lakeside Heating Cooling is coming back this year. Lakeside Heating Cooling was there last year. They have a vintage truck [00:17:00] that they put on display and they have it all decorated for the holidays. So it is a very, very fun event. And of course there's third Thursday in November and that is on Thursday, November 15.
LIZ HARTMAN:: 16th from four to 6:00 PM the lobster truck will be there again. And we have about 15 participating retail stores, but we're getting more artists coming to this. So it is a great opportunity to look for some little items you might want for your holiday gifts or for your business gifts, and a nice way to support our arts community.
LIZ HARTMAN:: And then we are telling our chamber members that it's time to mark your calendar for. Wednesday, December 10th from five to 8:00 PM that is the holiday party. And if you're a small business and you wouldn't normally have a little employee party, this is a place you can come, bring them for your own employee party, get a table, there'll be great food.
LIZ HARTMAN:: It looks like the food will be from five table. And we have say what? Pouring wine. The [00:18:00] wine is $5 a glass out of nowhere else in Lake Oswego. You can get wine for $5 a glass nowhere. The title sponsor, which is Beacon and Iron Light, together as a title sponsor. We have silver sponsors, ay Meisner, LLC, Fisher Family Law, and then we have two bronze sponsors and that is Modern Chiropractic and Visiting Angels.
LIZ HARTMAN:: Our chamber community is really looking forward to this event. The Lakeridge. Jazz band will be back and they're one of the favorites. They play very nice background music so that you can still talk and hear everyone you're talking to. Heather, what do people
MICHELLE ODELL:: need to do on Tuesday?
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: By Tuesday, end of day, you need to have your ballot in the mail.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: I know all of you have already put it in and you voted yes for the school bond, but if you haven't, by chance, you still have an opportunity. It just needs to be postmarked. And if not, you can go down to City Hall and you can put it in the ballot box. But we need your votes, everybody. We can be complacent.
HEATHER GRAVES RAMSEY:: We gotta get those votes out.
MICHELLE ODELL:: Very cool. Okay, well thank you [00:19:00] again. I wanna thank our listeners and remind everybody that every day is a Chamber of Commerce Day. Here in Lake Oswego,
LIZ HARTMAN:: the Lake Oswego Chamber of Commerce. Thanks you for listening to Business Lo. We would love to have you as a member so you can help Lake Oswego continue to be one of the best places to live, work, and play.
LIZ HARTMAN:: If you wanna share an idea for a future episode. Or become a member. Visit us@lakeoswegochamber.com and please like and follow us on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. And for help with your business podcast, go to modcast productions.com.