Meet the Researchers

Marlene Stum

Marlene Stum

The lead researcher for the Elder Family Financial Exploitation Project is Marlene S. Stum Ph.D., Professor and Extension Specialist in the Department of Family Social Science. Professor Stum’s research and teaching through the Minnesota Extension focuses on understanding economic well-being issues facing later-life families. Her expertise includes more than thirty years of teaching in higher education, primarily in family economics and social gerontology. Marlene’s background includes a Ph.D. in Adult Education and Social Gerontology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a M.S. in Family Economics from Kansas State University. Marlene has developed numerous proven and internationally used educational resources to help people make more informed decisions about inheritance, financing long term care, financial security in later life, and end-of- life issues. Visit Marlene’s webpage to learn more.

Rusudan Kilaberia

Rusudan Kilaberia

Rusudan Kilaberia is the graduate research assistant on the Elder Family Financial Exploitation Project. Rusudan is a doctoral candidate at the University of Minnesota School of Social Work, where she also completed her master’s degree with a concentration in human services management. Rusudan has a graduate minor in gerontology. She is interested in gerontological social work, and has lived alongside older adults at a senior housing campus that combines multiple levels of care. Her previous work includes projects related to long-term care, elder financial exploitation, and older immigrants.