Sandra R. Kiser

Alzheimer’s Advocate, Author, Speaker & Founder of Alzheimer’s For All

Sandra R. Kiser is a marketing professional, author, speaker, and Alzheimer’s advocate with over 15 years of volunteer experience, including 9 years with the Alzheimer’s Association and 4 years dedicated to the North and Central Florida Chapter. Sandra is committed to helping break the stigma around Alzheimer’s through open conversations and plans to establish a nonprofit in honor of her mother and brother’s legacy.

Sandra has shared her Alzheimer’s story on numerous podcasts and in news articles. Her first book, Mysterious Wonderment: When Alzheimer's Disease Becomes Your Word of the Day, was featured by the Alzheimer’s Association Long Island, New York Chapter Caregivers Book Club in May 2025. Her follow-up publication, The Amazing Adventures of the Jolly Heart Squad, was written to teach children about Alzheimer’s.

In 2024, she received the Speak Life Award from Speak Life Enterprises for her commitment to inspiring others.

Sean Terwilliger

Alzheimer’s Advocate & Educator

Sean Terwilliger is an educator and Alzheimer’s advocate who shares his personal experience with younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and promote hopeful engagement around diagnosis and care. He has participated in national advocacy efforts-including speaking on panels and forums about Alzheimer’s policy and support-and uses his voice to encourage broader understanding of Alzheimer’s therapies, lived experience, and community support strategies.

Patti LaFleur, M.Ed., CDP

Lorenzo’s House Programs Lead

Patti is the former carepartner to her mom, Linda, who had younger-onset dementia - and a former elementary educator of over 10 years. Patti designs and leads our programs with intentionality, knowledge and love. Her capacity to connect with family members through lived experience and profound generosity of spirit sets the tone for how Lorenzo’s House shows up for families. Patti has a Masters Degree in Instructional Leadership and is a Certified Dementia Practitioner, who has spent countless hours volunteering with people living with neurocognitive disorders, and as a community educator for the Alzheimer’s Association.

Hom Shrestha

Board Member, Dementia Alliance International & PhD Student, Laurentian University

Hom Shrestha is a compassionate and empathetic researcher and volunteer dedicated to supporting older adults living with dementia. He is deeply committed to intellectual rigour, fosters profound connections and meaningful insights, and advocates for culturally safe dementia care as an emerging global health policy agenda for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations worldwide. Currently, he is a doctoral student and a board member of Dementia Alliance International. He received the 2024 Publication of the Year Award from the Alzheimer’s Association International Society to Advance Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment (ISTAART) and the Health Policy Professional Interest Area (PIA) for his research paper titled "Traditional healing and medicine in dementia for Indigenous populations in North America, Australia, and New Zealand: Exploring culturally safe dementia from a global perspective" (https://doi.org/10.1002/dad2.12620), which was published in the Alzheimer’s & Dementia Journal on October 16, 2024. He holds a master's degree in interdisciplinary health, an honours bachelor of arts in a gerontology specialization, and a minor in medical anthropology. From 2021 to 2023, he served as a steering committee member for the Alzheimer's Association ISTAART Health Policy PIA and as a postdoctoral/student member of the Alliances of Women Alzheimer’s Researchers (AWARE).

Alexandra Castillo-Weisgerber, LCSW

Director of Care & Support, Alzheimer’s Association - Northern California and Northern Nevada Chapter

Alexandra Castillo-Weisgerber, LCSW, is the Director of Care & Support for the Alzheimer’s Association Northern California and Northern Nevada Chapter, where she leads strategic implementation of care and support services and expands community engagement across all areas of the Association’s work. As a clinical social worker, she provides guidance and support to individuals and families affected by Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias-especially those in early stages and from diverse communities. She holds a Master of Social Work from Sacramento State University and has over 25 years of experience working with vulnerable populations, bringing empathy and culturally responsive care to her everyday professional practice.

Dr. Rammohan Rao, Ph.D

Principal Research Scientist, Apollo Health; Neuroscientist & Ayurveda Practitioner

Dr. Rammohan Rao is a neuroscientist with a Ph.D. in neuroscience and biochemistry and serves as Principal Research Scientist at Apollo Health, where he focuses on Alzheimer’s disease prevention, memory-loss reversal, and integrative therapeutic approaches combining modern neuroscience with traditional practices. He previously held a Research Associate Professor of Neuroscience role at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, where his research examined chronic stress, neuronal cell death, and mechanisms of age-associated neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Rao has published more than 50 peer-reviewed papers and contributed chapters to scientific textbooks over a research career spanning more than 25 years. In addition to his neuroscience work, he is a board-certified Ayurveda Practitioner and Registered Yoga Teacher, and teaches Ayurvedic philosophy, pathology, and clinical neurology.

Dr. Masashi Kameyama, MD, PhD

Director & Physician, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Hospital; Senior Lecturer, Keio University School of Medicine

Dr. Masashi Kameyama is a medical doctor and researcher specializing in nuclear medicine at the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Geriatrics and Gerontology (TMIG), Japan. His research focuses on tracer kinetics, brain nuclear medicine, theoretical medicine, and AI technologies. He is developing AI-based tools for dementia screening using facial images, and is a co-founder of Neuro-Smile Lab, which aims to translate research findings into practical tools for dementia care.

Dr. Luciana Mascarenhas Fonseca, Ph.D

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Rutgers Brain Health Institute & Core Member, Herbert and Jacqueline Krieger Klein Alzheimer’s Research Center

Luciana Mascarenhas Fonseca is a Clinical Psychologist, Neuropsychologist, and Assistant Professor at the Rutgers Brain Health Institute and the Krieger Klein Alzheimer’s Research Center, Rutgers Health. Her work focuses on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (AD/ ADRD). She specializes in neuropsychological rehabilitation and psychogerontology. Dr. Fonseca earned her master's degree in Death Studies and Palliative Care from the University of Padova, Italy, and her PhD in Neuroscience from the University of São Paulo, Brazil, with a fellowship at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. She completed a postdoc at Washington State University, focusing on aging and diabetes. Her research interests include innovative early cognitive markers of dementia, and brain aging in minority populations. 

Dr. Vijaya B. Kolachalama, Ph.D

Associate Professor of Medicine & Computer Science, Boston University

Vijaya Kolachalama is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Medicine & Computer Science at Boston University (BU). He is also one of the founding members of the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences at BU. Before joining BU, he was a Principal Member of Technical Staff at Draper Laboratory and a Postdoctoral Fellow at MIT, where he also served as an ORISE Fellow at the US Food & Drug Administration. His laboratory develops methods at the intersection of AI and human health with a focus on neurodegenerative conditions. His research is supported by grants from the American Heart Association, National Institutes of Health (NIA, NCI, NIDDK, NHLBI and NINDS), Gates Ventures, and Johnson & Johnson Enterprise Innovation. Dr. Kolachalama is a Senior Member of IEEE, Toffler Scholar in Neuroscience and a Fellow of the American Heart Association, actively working with industry and investment communities to translate software technologies to the clinic.