Marilyn Ditty started working with the elderly when people still didn’t trust anyone over 30.
Ditty, chief executive of Laguna Woods-based South County Senior Services Inc., has been invited to the White House Conference on Aging three times to give input on policy.
Her company directs about 75 different senior programs for people 60 and older. Meals on Wheels, which delivers food to seniors, is one of its largest programs.
Ditty was one of five women honored at the Business Journal’s 14th annual Women in Business awards luncheon in Irvine on May 22.
South County Senior Services board member Rick Davis calls Ditty a visionary who knows the politics of landing federal grants.
“Her organization is worthy and well run,” said Davis, who owns Attentive Home Care in Orange.
Ditty is a pioneer in the field of gerontology. She began her post-graduate studies in aging in the 1970s when few people were in the field. Ditty said she has never stopped learning.
“Getting the education is critical,” she said.
Women have to further their education, both formally and on the job, and venture into other aspects of business, she said.
“Many women don’t go on to get the education they need,” Ditty said.
Going back to school wasn’t easy for Ditty. She went back when she was in her 40s and had two sons underfoot.
“I think women tend to figure it out, how to do it all,” she said.
Ditty also makes time for teaching. She teaches courses on aging at the University of La Verne, where she received her doctorate, and is an associate professor of gerontology at Saddleback College Mission Viejo.
As past president of WomanSage, a women’s mentoring group, she’s helped middle-aged women find new direction, even pushing some to follow in her footsteps.
Working for the elderly can be daunting at times because federal funds for senior services have been drying up, she said.
Ditty has had to learn how to raise money and run special events. She relies on annual contributions from the charitable arms of Pacific Investment Management Co., Wells Fargo & Co. and Vintage Senior Living.
South County Senior Services raised $40,000 at its golf tournament this year for its Meals on Wheels program, said Davis, who chairs that event. It also raised $100,000 for its senior daycare services.
Despite the challenges, Ditty said she finds the work rewarding.
“We’re learning a lot more about this whole population,” Ditty said.
