Lauren Massimo is an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania and Co-Director of the Penn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center. Dr. Massimo is a graduate of the PhD program at the University of Pennsylvania. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Nursing from The Pennsylvania State University and master’s degree as an Adult and Gerontology Nurse Practitioner from the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Massimo’s research focuses on identifying factors associated with resilience in neurodegenerative disease. She is currently funded by the National Institute on Aging for her work on cognitive reserve in early-onset dementia and she leads an investigation of apathy in frontotemporal degeneration (FTD). Over her twenty year-long career as a nurse practitioner in cognitive neurology, she has enjoyed the opportunity to work with many patients with neurodegenerative disease and their families. Dr. Massimo feels strongly about supporting persons living with dementia and their families through education and outreach. She has made significant contributions in the field of FTD caregiving, investigating sources of caregiver stress and testing supportive interventions to foster self-care and enhance coping.
Emma Heming Willis is a mother, stepmother, wife, advocate, and cofounder of Make Time Wellness, a brand devoted to women’s brain health. After her husband, Bruce Willis, was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), she became an advocate for caregivers and families navigating neurodegenerative disease. Working alongside the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, Emma has helped advance efforts to bring greater recognition, resources, and research to FTD, including supporting the passage of America’s first state-level FTD registry in New York. She is also the founder of the Emma & Bruce Willis Fund for Dementia Research and Caregiver Support, which supports FTD research and families navigating the disease. Emma is the New York Timesbestselling author of The Unexpected Journey and a recipient of the Caregiving Award from Maria Shriver’s Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement, as well as the Tom Hanks Caregiver Champion Award from the Elizabeth Dole Foundation.
Katie Brandt is a dementia-care expert, public speaker, and global advocate whose work centers on the lived experience of families affected by frontotemporal dementia (FTD). She is Director of Caregiver Support Services and Public Relations for the Massachusetts General Hospital Frontotemporal Disorders Unit, where she leads education, support, and person-centered care initiatives. Katie directs the ALLFTD Participant and Family Engagement Board, hosts the From Care to Cure podcast, and co-facilitates the Boston-area FTD caregiver support group. A national dementia-care policy leader, she previously co-chaired the National Alzheimer’s Project Act Advisory Council, advancing awareness of FTD and young-onset dementia.
As a former FTD caregiver for her late husband and a current Alzheimer’s caregiver for her father, Katie brings professional expertise and personal experience to her work. She founded Katie Brandt Advocacy to bridge science, storytelling, and action for funders, policy makers and researchers. She is also Co-Founder of Foreguard, a free, nonprofit resource that helps families facing serious illness build financial plans and navigate care benefits. Learn more about how Katie’s work inspires hope that the cure of tomorrow is not so far from the care of today at KatieBrandt.org.