LuPita Gutierrez-Parker has been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Now retired due to her diagnosis, Lupita served as a regional admissions advisor for Eastern Washington University for 9.5 years, following a 32-year career in social services. LuPita started to notice changes in her memory when she became more forgetful of names, dates, and basic information. Her job required frequent computer work, and she found herself experiencing increasing difficulty navigating new software, recalling standard imputing procedures, and comprehending written materials. “I am having memory problems and I don’t know why,” LuPita told her doctor. “Nothing is making sense to me.” LuPita’s physician performed cognitive testing before referring her to a neurologist. Following a neuropsychological evaluation and brain scans she was diagnosed with MCI. She confesses the immediate aftermath “was a blur.” Lupita believes the work of the Lived Experience Panel is important and providing feedback especially from representatives of diverse communities is much needed. She states, “No one person or family should go through this dreaded disease without information and support.”

Jill Harrison, PhD, is an executive director at the NIA IMPACT Collaboratory and an associate professor in the Department of Health Services, Policy and Practice at Brown University School of Public Health. Prior to joining the IMPACT Collaboratory, Dr. Harrison served as the director of research of an international non-profit organization focused on implementing person-centered care initiatives in healthcare settings around the world. Her research interests include: pragmatic trials in real-world settings, engaging residents of long-term care communities as evaluators of care quality, developing culturally congruent person-centered care approaches in healthcare systems, and organizational cultural change. She completed her post-doctorate at Brown University in health services research.

Carolyn Ann Malone, MPH, is a project coordinator III at the Brown University School of Public Health. At the NIA IMPACT Collaboratory, she serves as the core navigator for the Engaging Partners Team, working to integrate the voices of people living with dementia and their care partners into research design and decision-making. She also contributes to national data infrastructure projects such as the Long-Term Care Data Cooperative and supports scientific meeting coordination, cross-sector collaboration, and data visualization for federal partners. Previously, as an epidemiologist with the CDC Foundation and the Rhode Island Department of Health, Carolyn led statewide opioid overdose surveillance, supported emergency department data integration, and partnered with hospital IT teams to improve real-time reporting and public health response systems. She brings a strong public health foundation rooted in data, equity, and community partnership. Carolyn holds a BS in Public and Community Health from Ithaca College and an MPH in Epidemiology from Georgia State University, with experience spanning public health surveillance, behavioral health research, and community-engaged methods.

Karen Moss, PhD, RN, CNL, FNAP, FGSA, is a registered nurse and nurse scientist and associate professor in the College of Nursing at The Ohio State University. Her program of research focuses on peer support, pain, palliative and end-of-life care, and healthcare decision making for care partners of people living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). She examines multi-partner perspectives on factors that influence pain and end-of-life decision-making processes for Black older adults living with ADRD and their family care partners and also seeks to better understand care partner stress. Dr. Moss is the principal investigator in the health equity-focused Family Caregiver Community Research (FamCare) Laboratory. She is actively engaged in refining and testing her co-designed Pair 2 Care intervention, a peer support program developed using community engagement principles. Dr. Moss is passionate about improving the quality of life for marginalized and underserved older adults living with ADRD and their care partners through palliative and end-of-life care outcomes towards achieving health equity.