My passion in learning and caring about issues related to aging began with wonderful relationships with my grandmothers and two great aunts. They taught me lessons about aging with dignity. Stay tuned for more in my first blog post!

So now let me tell you about great aunts. They were both beacons of inspiration.

Aunt Ruby had suffered an illness at the age of 9 years old and became both legally deaf and blind. By example, she taught me how to find strength and resilience and to be resourceful in spite of circumstances.

Aunt Margaret was a perfect example of connection. She wrote letters regularly and “carbon copied” everyone, keeping people connected both to her and to each other. She taught me the importance of caring for every part of myself, the spiritual, physical, intellectual, and emotional sides and did this before it was popular. They both were lifelong learners and taught me that every day is a good day to learn something new.

As a teenager, I was interested in healthcare and I became a candy striper volunteer at a local hospital. When I was 18 years old and Aunt Margaret received care at a skilled nursing community following a serious hospitalization, I was led to apply for my first paid job in healthcare. As a nursing assistant in skilled nursing, I was exposed to different types of aging needs, including working with people with cognitive changes. It meant so much to me that all these years later, I remember the names of the people I helped shower and dress. It has informed my work in the service of older adults.

While I didn’t stay in healthcare and was deeply involved in the business world for some time, after my dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s I began the journey of both supporting a family member as well as working with the Alzheimer’s Association. Understanding that the need was great in care of older adults, I sought direct work in healthcare and began training in earnest on issues related to dementia. My first full time work was in hospice care as a community education representative, in which I educated both professionals and family members in hospice and dementia issues. From there I worked in assisted living and then served as a leader of senior services at Sibley Memorial/Johns Hopkins.

Talking to people who were living this journey, I heard their need for the answer to “Now what?” when someone gets a diagnosis of cognitive changes. That is a question that I continue to seek a good answer to in all the work I do to serve older adults. Truly – now what??