1. Lori La Bey, the “Oprah” of Alzheimer’s
Meet the Experts onAging Well:Lori La Bey
Our Meet the Experts on Aging Well series celebrates the life’s work of our
nation’s leading experts on aging.
You can hear it in her voice, the way a personalmemory of her mom catches her
heart and momentarily retrieves a memory that is dear to her. Then, justas
quickly, all of her attention returns to highlighting the work of her currentguest
on her top rated radio program“Alzheimer’s Speaks Radio”.
Lori La Bey created and continues to hostAlzheimer’s Speaks Radio, which she
launched in 2011, along with the popular free educational webinar series
“Dementia Chats”™ whereher experts have dementia (since 2012). Sheis a
global Purple Angel ambassador for dementia awareness, a frequentkeynote
speaker, a member of the National Dementia Action Alliance and work group co-
chair. Her tireless dementia advocacy ignited the firstdementia-friendly city in
the nation: Watertown, WI. Loriis the person recognized by Sharecareand Dr. Oz.
as the #1 Influencer online for Alzheimer’s for a reason. But, maybe not for the
reasons you think.
Lori’s interest in shifting dementia culture fromcrisis to comfortstarted in the
1980’s when her own mother Dorothy started showing signs of dementia. Lori’s
sincere desireto help families like her own carved an outlet for all of the
wonderfulpeople and organizations shewas learning about through her own
research. For over 30 years, Lorilearned firsthand by caring for her mother how
to help Dorothy live well with dementia in spite of the disease.
Lori La Bey with mother Dorothy

2. La Bey with her mother Dorothy
That journey with her momis something that profoundly impacted her outlook on
life and love. Lori reflects that “I truly believe my mother’s dementia is one of the
biggest gifts I will ever receive in my life. Although I would never wish this disease
on anyone, learning to accept it and live with it gracefully is life changing. It
allowed me to love unconditionally on many levels I did not even know existed
before.”
With the curiosity of a family caregiver and the perspectiveof a global dementia
advocate, Lori expertly brings worldwidedementia careinnovators into our
homes every week through her program“Alzheimer’s Speaks Radio” for “kitchen
table” styleconversations that makes new information and ideas easy to digest
for anyone dealing with the impact of dementia and are available on demand
whenever we have a few minutes in our hectic schedules to take a listen.
What struck me about working with and learning fromLori, is the ego-less way
she seeks to unite and give voice to every person impacted by dementia.
Whether you are a professionalprovider, informalfamily caregiver, person living
with dementia or someone who hadn’t heard of Alzheimer’s until you watched
the Oscar-nominated film, “Still Alice”, Lorihas a way of inviting you into the
conversation with the warmth of a friend and then challenging you to be a part of
the solution with the familiarity of an elder sibling. Her “Oprah-esque” styleat
once re-affirms the value of your voiceand your personalexperience and then
encourages a greater senseof personalresponsibility in using that power
collectively to positively impact the greater good.

3. The reason I know this is becauseLori was one of my very first encouragers. As
the firstnon-relative I ever sent my book “When Caring Takes Courage” to after it
came out, I felt like I was holding my breath each hour as the book made its way
frommy heart and home in Florida all the way to Lori La Bey, my larger than life
role model whosevoiceI had only heard on the radio. Filled with self-doubt, I
knew when I put that firstbook, in that firstenvelope off to its firstofficial
reviewer (Lori), that there would be no going back. My life’s work was
condensed to justa little over 200 pages that another would now evaluate.
Would shelike it? Would she think I had said or done enough to help others? I
feel like I checked my email every 2-3 hours in case she had written me.
And then, justa few shortdays later… shetook the time to read my book and
reach out to me.
Fromthe moment she gaveme my very firstofficial book review, she has lovingly
honored the work I’vealready donewhile challenging me to continue to find new
connections and possibilities to aid in the global effort to raise awareness and
improvequality of life around dementia.
Lori La BeyAnd it’s not justme, there are legions of us. Lori’s enthusiasmis
contagious and her unfailing belief that one individual can make a difference, but
the collective efforts of many can change the world, meaning that when you do
hear her speak, you’llimmediately startthinking about how you can get involved.
Itis a testament to Dorothy’s enduring influencethat even after her passing in
2014, Lori’s work for other’s impacted by dementia (including Alzheimer’s)
continues. I believe when we look back on Lori’s own legacy of service, she will

4. be thought of not only in terms of the number of listeners that gleaned needed
information from listening to her 217+episodes of “Alzheimer’s Speaks Radio” or
watching her free Dementia Chats™webinars, but maybemore importantly, her
legacy will also be measured in the countless number of new advocates she
inspired to find more ways to get involved in the fight againstdementia (including
Alzheimer’s).
To learn more about Lori or how to get involved in shifting dementia care culture
with her, visit her website at www.AlzheimersSpeaks.com
About the Author
After thirty years in healthcare, working throughouttheUnited States in the
senior housing industry, Mara's life and career trajectory was forever changed
when a close family member was stricken with Alzheimer's. Eventually, Mara
stepped away froma successfulcareer to write full-time, in the hopes of helping
others impacted by this disease. Her best-selling book, “When Caring Takes
Courage: An InteractiveGuide for Alzheimer’s and Dementia Caregivers” has been
well-received and strongly recommended. Mara continues to be a soughtafter
speaker and valued care partner for families and organizations affected by
Alzheimer’s/dementia as she shares her positive and empowering message.
Helping families, like her own, that have loved or lost someonespecial to this
terrible disease is her greatestpassion. Learn more by visiting her website
www.whencaringtakescourage.com or Facebook pageor Google+ profile.