David Collins

David Collins is the Chairman Emeritus of Active Living International, a company that focuses on the development and operations of senior and active adult communities worldwide. David was a founder of ARV Assisted Living– at one time the nation’s largest assisted living company– now known as Atria. He has more than 40 years experience in the senior housing industry and has served on several public, private, and charitable boards in the United States and abroad.

Writing is David’s avocation. His award-winning book “Shanghaied” is a fictionalized memoir of his time aboard an African freighter at the age of fifteen, and “An Improbable Spy”, is a novel inspired by his merchant banking business in the Middle East during the Iranian Revolution.

David and his late wife, Victoria, were married for forty years and traveled extensively, visiting more than 100 countries. Family time is very special with visits from their five children, eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

David and the extended family intend to carry on Victoria’s legacy. As Victoria wrote, “We believe a legacy is something built by what we do each day. At a certain stage of our lives, we begin to look more closely at where we are and what values we want to pass on to the next generation. Philanthropy brings us special joy in supporting causes we truly admire. Philanthropic ideals are even more rewarding when carried on by the next generation, and the one after that. Our children have themselves become philanthropically supportive of the work of nonprofits like WISE, Human Options, Girls Inc., CASA, Age Well, Doctors Without Borders, The Teen Leadership Foundation, and many others.”