Dr. Debra Parker Oliver
Dr. Debra Parker Oliver is a Professor at Washington University in St. Louis, with a PhD in Sociology. Her research focuses on caregiving, influenced by her personal experience caring for her husband. She is the author of numerous professional articles and the memoir Legacies From the Living Room: A Love Grief Equation. Prior to becoming a researcher she was a hospice administrator, founding two agencies. Debbie creatively organizes and balances her work and leisure activities worldwide, sailing 90 times with every major cruise line. She collects and analyzes data, mentors students, and writes papers while traveling to destinations including China, Japan, Korea, South America, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, the Caribbean, and Alaska. Creativity blossoms as she interviews research participants at the Acropolis, meets with funders as Cuba floats by, or leads staff meetings in the middle of the Atlantic, and writes scientific papers with an adult beverage in hand overlooking the ocean.
