Alzheimer’s & Dementia in Communities of Color

Jason Resendez and Stephanie J. Monroe

Jason Resendez is the Director of the UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Center for Brain Health Equity and head of the LatinosAgainstAlzheimer’s Coalition. From clinical trial inclusion to paid family leave for dementia caregivers, he champions brain health equity at every level of the healthcare system. He is the co-author of “Latinos & Alzheimer's Disease: New Numbers Behind the Crisis,” a seminal report released with the USC Roybal Institute on Aging, and contributor to the NIA’s National Strategy for Recruitment and Participation in Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias Clinical Research. Prior to UsAgainstAlzheimer’s, Jason held senior positions at the two of the nation’s leading Latino-serving organizations: UnidosUS and LULAC National Educational Service Centers, Inc. Jason is a Google Next Generation Policy Leader, an Aspen Ideas Health Fellow, and he serves on the boards of the Youth Movement Against Alzheimer’s and Consumers for Quality Care. Stephanie J. Monroe, Director of Equity and Access and Executive Director of AfricanAmericansAgainstAlzheimer’s, a network of UsAgainstAlzheimer’s, founded in 2013. It’s the first national network created specifically to raise awareness of the impact of Alzheimer’s health disparities on communities of color and women, the need for greater minority participation in clinical trials, and the importance of all communities to begin to focusing on brain health and Alzheimer’s risk reduction strategies across the lifespan. Stephanie is an attorney with three decades of federal public policy experience including the role of Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights. Additionally, she’s held key staff positions in the United States Congress, including Chief Counsel of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, as well as Staff Director of the Senate Subcommittee on Children and Families.