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NCC 2026 Breakout & On-Demand Sessions

Event Details

Proposal Deadline
May 31, 2026 

Event Date + Time
November 1-2

Location
The Hyatt Regency
Princeton, New Jersey

About NCC

Call for Proposals Now Open: National Caregivers Conference

Ready to make a meaningful impact in the lives of caregivers nationwide? The 2026 National Caregivers Conference (NCC) is now accepting breakout session proposals, and we invite you to add your voice to this powerful national conversation. 

Taking place November 2026, NCC brings together family caregivers, professionals, advocates, researchers, and innovators who are committed to advancing practical solutions, emotional support, and systemic change for caregivers across the country. 

Caregiving can feel isolating. The National Caregivers Conference (NCC) is built to change that. 

Explore the in-person and on-demand conversations, practical guidance, and lived experience shaping this year's National Caregivers Conference.

Sunday, November 1, 2026

Pre-Conference Breakouts

In-person sessions

Breakout Block 1

4:45 p.m. to 5:45 p.m.
In Person Care Pathways

The Caregiving Ecosystem: When Caregiving Changes Everyone at Home

Leilani and Rod Faigao

Leilani and Rod Faigao

Family caregivers and parents

Session description and speaker bios
Session Description

When a child receives a life-changing diagnosis, the focus often shifts entirely to medical needs, while the family system absorbs the impact in every direction. As parents of a daughter who spent her first seven months in the hospital after being born with Down syndrome and undergoing open-heart surgery, we have experienced the emotional, relational, and practical challenges caregiving places on a marriage, siblings, and family life.

This session explores what families need beyond the diagnosis, including ways to strengthen a marriage, support siblings, intentionally include fathers, and build a caregiving ecosystem where no one carries the journey alone. Together, we share a mother's and a father's perspective, drawing from our family's caregiving journey and the many healthcare professionals, nonprofits, faith communities, and support networks that have walked alongside us. Our goal is to offer an honest, hope-filled conversation with practical strategies families can begin using right away.

Leilani Faigao

Leilani Faigao is a wife, mother of four, and full-time family caregiver. Her daughter Ava was diagnosed with Down syndrome before birth and spent seven months at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia after open-heart surgery. In the years since, Leilani has learned that many of the hardest parts of caregiving happen outside the hospital, including keeping a marriage steady, helping siblings adjust, and pushing back against the isolation that caregiving can create.

She holds degrees in psychology and nursing and serves on the CHOP Family Advisory Council, the Down Syndrome Association of Southern New Jersey, and the Holy Innocents Society. With her husband, Rod, she shares the caregiving ecosystem they have built at home, grounded in the belief that marriage, siblings, faith, and community form one interconnected system that grows stronger when cared for together.

Rod Faigao

Rod Faigao has worked in the pharmaceutical industry for more than 25 years. He is also a husband and the father of four daughters, including Ava, who was diagnosed with Down syndrome before birth. He does not talk about caregiving in the language of his career because there is no strategy or system that gets a family through a 2 a.m. hospital call. Rod serves as a catechist, and that role has shaped how he shows up at home as much as anywhere else. He speaks about the part of the caregiving ecosystem that rarely gets discussed: the working father who keeps going to work, keeps showing up for his family, and keeps figuring it out alongside his wife.

In Person Policy and Planning

Please Don't Tell Us What We Can't Do: Building the Scaffolding for Transition, Advocacy and Possibility

Julia Terrell

Julia Terrell

Director of Community Relations, Sturge-Weber Foundation

Marissa Terrell

Marissa Terrell

Student and advocate

Session description and speaker bios
Session Description

Caregiving is often framed as following established systems and predefined pathways. Our family's experience has been very different. As Marissa approaches adulthood at 17, we are navigating the transition to adulthood while continuing to build the supports she needs to thrive.

People often ask, "How did you know what to do?" We did not. We learned to approach each challenge by identifying the problem, asking questions, and finding solutions. That mindset has guided decisions about education, healthcare, and independence, including transitioning to adult neurology earlier than expected to avoid unnecessary disruption.

We call this approach building scaffolding, creating intentional layers of support that allow Marissa to grow safely while increasing her independence. Our family's guiding principle is, "Please don't tell us what we can't do. Tell us what we can do." That philosophy has helped us challenge assumptions respectfully, embrace creative problem-solving, and focus on possibilities.

This session explores how families can navigate transition with confidence, advocate within complex systems, and build individualized supports that empower their loved ones to reach their fullest potential.

Julia Terrell

Julia Terrell is the Director of Community Relations for the Sturge-Weber Foundation and has spent more than 12 years advocating for individuals and families affected by rare diseases. In addition to leading national education, outreach, and patient engagement initiatives, Julia serves as an Epilepsy Foundation Research Ambassador, a member of the Rare Epilepsy Network Coordinating Committee, and a Patient Advisor with the Pediatric Dermatology Research Alliance.

As the mother of a daughter living with Sturge-Weber syndrome, epilepsy, and glaucoma, she combines professional expertise with lived experience to help families navigate complex medical, educational, and transition systems. Julia is passionate about helping caregivers think creatively, build individualized supports, and advocate with confidence.

Marissa Terrell

Marissa Terrell is a 17-year-old advocate living with Sturge-Weber syndrome, epilepsy, and glaucoma. Despite the challenges of a rare disease, she continues to pursue her goals with resilience and determination. Marissa is a National Honor Society student at Fusion Global Academy and plans to attend Beacon College, where she will continue building the skills needed for independent living and self-advocacy.

She enjoys horseback riding, volunteering with the Sturge-Weber Foundation, participating in epilepsy advocacy, and encouraging others living with rare diseases to recognize their strengths. Through sharing her experiences, Marissa hopes to inspire families to focus on possibilities, embrace transition, and believe that each journey can have a bright future.

Monday, November 2, 2026

Conference Breakouts

In-person sessions

Breakout Block 1

10:45 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
In Person Brain Health

Keeping the Connection: When Dementia Changes the Relationship

Maureen Braen

Maureen Braen

Founder, RISE Dementia Care

Session description and speaker bio
Session Description

Dementia changes more than memory. It changes conversations, daily routines, and often the relationship itself. Many care partners find themselves wondering how to stay connected to someone they love when familiar ways of communicating no longer seem to work. Misunderstandings become more common. Frustration grows. The relationship begins to feel different, and both people can feel lonely, even when they are together.

Through personal stories and real-life experiences, this interactive session explores what it means to remain connected when dementia changes the relationship. We will look beyond words to better understand how connection can be expressed through presence, trust, shared experiences, and meaningful moments. Participants will be introduced to practical approaches that can help build understanding, reduce frustration, and create opportunities for connection in everyday interactions.

This session acknowledges the grief, uncertainty, and relationship changes that often accompany dementia while offering a hopeful perspective: connection can remain present even when it looks different. Participants will leave with a renewed understanding that connection, trust, and purpose can remain, even when dementia changes the relationship.

Maureen Braen

Maureen Braen is the Founder of RISE Dementia Care, where she provides education, training, and consulting to support people living with dementia, care partners, and care communities. Drawing on more than 15 years of experience in senior living, healthcare, and dementia education, she is passionate about helping others build relationships, strengthen well-being, and navigate the dementia journey with greater confidence and understanding.

Maureen is a Licensed Certified Dementia Educator through Positive Approach to Care® and a Certified Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia Care Trainer. She serves on the Dementia Friendly Action Committee of Bergen County and is Vice President and Trustee of The Kaleidoscope Dementia Resource Center, where she helps lead community programs that provide education, resources, and connection for people living with dementia and those who care for them.

Her work is grounded in the belief that even when dementia changes the way people communicate, connection remains possible, and relationship-centered care helps people living with dementia, care partners, and professionals build trust, preserve dignity, and create moments of joy together.

In Person Care Pathways

Understanding Rehabilitation and the Role of Rehabilitation in Supporting Caregivers

Anthony H. Lequerica

Anthony H. Lequerica, Ph.D.

Senior Research Scientist, Kessler Foundation

Trevor Dyson-Hudson

Trevor Dyson-Hudson, MD, FASIA

Director, Center for Spinal Cord Injury Research

Emily DeBel

Emily DeBel

Occupational therapist and SCI Navigator

Session description and speaker bios
Session Description

Family caregivers are often a key source of support for people living with illness, injury, or disability, yet many are unfamiliar with how research works. This session will provide a practical, easy-to-understand introduction to research for caregivers and care partners. Participants will learn what research is, why it matters, and how it can help improve health care, services, and quality of life for individuals and families.

The session will explain what to expect when joining a research study. Topics will include how people are invited to participate, what informed consent means, what kinds of activities may be involved, and how much time or effort may be required. Caregivers will also learn about common practical issues, such as scheduling, transportation, communication with research staff, and the right to stop participating at any time.

In addition, the session will review basic research ethics in clear, non-technical language. Caregivers will learn about important protections, including privacy, confidentiality, safety monitoring, and the role of review boards in overseeing research. The presentation will emphasize that participation is voluntary and that caregivers have the right to ask questions and make informed decisions.

By the end of the session, caregivers will have a better understanding of research and feel more confident evaluating opportunities to participate. This session aims to support informed choice and encourage caregiver involvement in research. It is intended for caregivers who want straightforward information that helps them decide whether a study is a good fit for their family and daily life needs.

Trevor Dyson-Hudson, MD, FASIA

Trevor Dyson-Hudson, MD, FASIA, is Director of the Center for Spinal Cord Injury Research at Kessler Foundation in West Orange, New Jersey, and a Research Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark. Dr. Dyson-Hudson's research interests include prevention and treatment of common secondary medical complications affecting people with spinal cord injury, as well as community reintegration and employment after injury. Dr. Dyson-Hudson has benefited from his own lived experiences with spinal cord injury since 1992.

Anthony H. Lequerica, Ph.D.

Anthony H. Lequerica, Ph.D., is a Senior Research Scientist at Kessler Foundation's Center for Traumatic Brain Injury Research with a clinical appointment as Staff Neuropsychologist in the Cognitive Rehabilitation Program at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation. He is a Research Associate Professor at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, where he lectures residents and fellows on quantitative methods and mentors them as they complete their independent research project requirements for graduation.

As Director of the Brain and Behavioral Outcomes Lab, his major area of research focuses on cultural issues and social determinants of health that affect outcomes after traumatic brain injury. He is a member of the Hispanic Neuropsychological Society and specializes in delivering neuropsychological services to Spanish speakers. He also provides services to individuals with cognitive decline and their caregivers. He has more than 80 peer-reviewed publications and has presented across the United States and abroad to researchers, health care professionals, and individuals with brain injury and other disabilities.

Emily DeBel

Emily DeBel is an occupational therapist and certified assistive technology professional currently serving as an SCI Navigator at the Center for Spinal Cord Injury Research at Kessler Foundation. She collaborates on programs and research initiatives focused on healthcare navigation after spinal cord injury and optimizing the wheelchair service delivery journey. Emily is also an adjunct professor in the Doctor of Occupational Therapy Program at Rutgers University and in the Occupational Therapy Program at Seton Hall University.

Previously, Emily worked at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in West Orange, New Jersey, where she served as Program Coordinator for the Occupational Therapy Fellowship Program in Physical Rehabilitation and as co-lead of the Inpatient Wheelchair Seating Team. She holds an advanced Assistive Technology Professional certification through RESNA and has extensive experience as a wheelchair seating and mobility specialist, as well as an advocate for integrating assistive technology in brain injury rehabilitation.

Emily earned a Bachelor of Arts in Social and Behavioral Sciences with a minor in Psychology from Seton Hall University in 2016, followed by a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy from Seton Hall University's School of Health and Medical Sciences in 2018.

In Person Policy and Planning

LifePlanning: Securing the Future for People with Disabilities

Jason Miller

Jason Miller, MA, LPC

Executive Director, PLAN|NJ

Beth Manes

Beth Manes, Esq.

Attorney concentrating in disability and education law

Session description and speaker bios
Session Description

This workshop will educate families about the importance of planning for the quality of life of a loved one with a significant disability. It will guide families in developing a written communication tool for future caregivers that addresses the people, resources, and lifelong home and community supports their child, sibling, or other family member will need to stay safe and healthy and to thrive.

Topics include the legal and financial protections that are available, such as person-centered advocacy to promote choice and self-determination, the guardianship process, alternatives to guardianship, special needs trusts, and ABLE accounts. Participants will gain a greater sense of security and peace of mind, knowing there are many ways to support their loved one now and in the future.

Jason Miller, MA, LPC

Executive Director Jason Miller, MA, LPC, has served with PLAN|NJ for 20 years to empower individuals and families with developmental, physical, and mental disabilities. His tenure has been driven by a commitment to ensuring each person they serve can lead a life of dignity, community, self-determination, and fulfillment. Jason oversees the provision of a comprehensive, compassionate range of fiduciary and social service coordination.

Beth Manes, Esq.

Beth's practice concentrates in Special Education Law, Special Needs Planning, Guardianships, and Estate Planning. She is a member of the Elder and Disability Law Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association, the Education Law Committee of the New Jersey State Bar Association, the Union County Bar Association Board of Trustees, and co-chair of its Trusts, Estates, and Elder Law Committee. She is also a member of the New Jersey Special Education Practitioners.

In Person Wellbeing

Spiritual Side Effects of Being a Caregiver: Naming What Caregiving Does to Your Soul and What Helps

Rev. Christine Davies

Rev. Christine Davies

Hospital chaplain

Session description
Session Description

Caregiving is sacred work. It is also exhausting, grief-saturated, and spiritually disorienting in ways that have no name. As a hospital chaplain, Rev. Christine Davies has spent more than 20 years sitting with family caregivers and has seen the spiritual toll firsthand.

This workshop gives caregivers language for what they may not have known they were experiencing: soul weariness, anticipatory grief, and the invisible cost of being "the strong one." Naming these states helps normalize them and makes it possible to tend to them. The session will also explore how caregiving can strengthen spirituality, broadly defined as the way people connect to themselves, others, and the divine.

This is not a religiously specific workshop. Rev. Davies will explain the difference between religion and spirituality, making the session useful for individuals whether or not they follow a faith tradition or believe in a deity. Participants will leave with spiritual practices drawn from contemplative traditions that go beyond self-care checklists. This is not a workshop about doing more. It is an invitation to be seen, named, and tended.

Rev. Christine Davies

Rev. Christine Davies is a hospital chaplain who has spent more than 20 years accompanying family caregivers and witnessing the spiritual effects of caregiving firsthand.

Breakout Block 2

1:00 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.
In Person Brain Health

The Rearview Mirror

Cathy Kanefsky

Cathy Kanefsky

President and CEO, Food Bank of Delaware

Speaker bio
Cathy Kanefsky

Cathy Kanefsky is a mission-driven leader. She has spent her entire career with organizations that provide hope, and thrives in an environment that is collaborative and focused on service. Cathy joined the Food Bank of Delaware in May 2021 as President and CEO. In this role, she works closely with the board of directors and leadership team to develop and implement the food bank's strategic vision. She is humbled to lead a team that envisions a community free of hunger.

Prior to joining the food bank, Cathy served as Chief Development Officer Nemours/Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children (2015–2020); Vice President of Chapter Development for Autism Speaks (2009–2015); National Director of Family Team Development for the March of Dimes (2006–2009); and Delaware State Director for the March of Dimes (1995–2006). Her passion is fueled by personal experience.

In March 2022, Cathy was appointed by President Biden to the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities. In 2025, she was appointed by Governor Meyer to the Delaware Developmental Disabilities Council. Cathy also serves as a member of the Board of Governors for the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce and a Board Member for the Swank Family Foundation.

Cathy was born and raised in Ocean City, New Jersey. She holds a BA in communication from the University of Delaware. She lives in Middletown, DE with her husband, Carl and twin sons, Sam and Adam. Her third son Stephen, a special education teacher, lives in Point Pleasant, NJ with his wife Alexandra and daughter Lucy.

In Person Care Pathways

Understanding Research Participation: A Practical Guide for Caregivers Navigating Research Opportunities

Presented by Denise Fyffe, PhD, FACRM; Peii (Peggy) Chen, PhD; Helen Genova, PhD; Denise Krch, PhD; and Jeanne Zanca, MPT, PhD, FACRM

Session description and speaker bios
Session Description

Family caregivers are often a key source of support for people living with illness, injury, or disability, but many are unfamiliar with how research works. This session provides a practical, easy-to-understand introduction to research for caregivers and care partners. Participants will learn what research is, why it matters, and how it can help improve health care, services, and quality of life for individuals and families.

The session will explain what to expect when joining a research study. Topics include how people are invited to participate, informed consent, possible study activities, time and effort requirements, scheduling, transportation, communication with research staff, and the right to stop participating at any time.

Basic research ethics will also be reviewed in clear, non-technical language. Caregivers will learn about privacy, confidentiality, safety monitoring, review boards, voluntary participation, and the right to ask questions and make informed decisions. Participants will leave better prepared to evaluate whether a study is a good fit for their family and daily life.

Denise Fyffe, PhD, FACRM

Dr. Denise Fyffe is Assistant Director of the Center for Spinal Cord Injury Research and Director of Health Equity in Disability and Outcomes Research at Kessler Foundation. Her research focuses on social drivers of health and community-based programs that support people living with paralysis and their caregivers. She uses qualitative and quantitative methods to identify factors that promote psychosocial well-being, functional health, and quality of life. Dr. Fyffe is also Program Lead for the Kessler Foundation SCI Navigator Program, which provides resources and educational support to people with spinal cord injury and family caregivers.

Peii (Peggy) Chen, PhD

Peii (Peggy) Chen, PhD, is an Assistant Director at Kessler Foundation's Center for Stroke Rehabilitation Research, the Foundation's Intellectual Property Liaison, and a Research Associate Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. Her research focuses on spatial neglect and related impairments following brain injury, particularly stroke, and on improving screening, interdisciplinary evaluation, and evidence-based treatment.

Helen Genova, PhD

Helen M. Genova, PhD, is Associate Director of the Center for Autism Research at Kessler Foundation and Director of the Social Cognition and Neuroscience Laboratory. She is also an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. Her research examines social functioning across multiple populations and evaluates interventions for autism, multiple sclerosis, and traumatic brain injury, with an emphasis on positive psychology methods. She is also the mother of an autistic young adult.

Denise Krch, PhD

Dr. Denise Krch is a Senior Research Scientist in Kessler Foundation's Center for Traumatic Brain Injury Research and Director of the Advancing Diverse Rehabilitation Treatments Laboratory. She is also an Assistant Professor at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and a licensed psychologist. Her research focuses on brain recovery and mental health, including programs that support the emotional well-being and confidence of caregivers of people with traumatic brain injuries.

Jeanne Zanca, MPT, PhD, FACRM

Dr. Jeanne Zanca is Chair of the Institutional Review Board and Advisor to the President and CEO at Kessler Foundation. She is also an Assistant Director in the Center for Spinal Cord Injury Research and Director of its Self-Management Skill Development Laboratory. Her research focuses on preventing and managing secondary complications of spinal cord injury through programs and services that give people with spinal cord injury, loved ones, and hired caregivers practical knowledge, skills, and technologies.

In Person Policy and Planning

From the Living Room to the Assembly Room: A Case Study for Caregiver-as-Advocate at the National and State Level

Joanna Glum

Joanna Glum

Family caregiver, writer, director, and educator

Session description and speaker bio
Session Description

Joanna Glum is nowhere she thought she would be, and she is very glad to be here.

Having spent her 20s caregiving for the grandparents who raised her, she watched as peers graduated from dorm rooms to boardrooms while she returned to a childhood bedroom. As with many who call themselves a family caregiver, she learned through experience, receiving guidance from combat veterans turned visiting nurses on how to perform wound care for her hospital bed-bound grandfather. She navigated complex medical care, insurance providers, and the strain of helping her grandparents age at home when they made too much to qualify for Medicaid home and community-based services and too little to secure private support. Throughout, she acted as care coordinator for her mother as she simultaneously faced homelessness, lapses in insurance, and a Stage 4 cancer diagnosis.

In October 2024, after having moved home nearly a decade earlier, Joanna decided to move beyond the view from the living room. Over the course of 18 months, she became an active member of the California Coalition on Family Caregiving, represented the organization at the National Alliance for Caregiving's November 2025 summit in Washington, D.C., and served on California's Disability and Aging Community Living Advisory Committee. Joanna recognizes that access to Wi-Fi, English language fluency, and a scholarship-supported higher education helped her connect with these networks after independent research and outreach.

How can advocacy spaces become more consistently accessible to family caregivers at any point in their care journey?

This session will briefly cover Joanna's route to advocacy through unpaid family caregiving and culminate in opportunities for participants to research ways to become involved in their own communities.

The first of two working sessions will help participants turn care stories into effective advocacy appeals. From calling representatives to speaking at the State Capitol, participants will develop concise narratives they can apply to future legislative visits, direct-response campaigns, and other advocacy settings. Direct service providers will learn how to position personal experience within their professional work while centering the caregiver. They will leave with an outreach toolkit adapted from Joanna's talk, "Storytelling as Advocacy," presented during the California Coalition on Family Caregiving's 2026 Advocacy Day.

The second working session will give participants an opportunity to identify gaps in access to advocacy spaces. They will consider what resources caregivers need, where caregivers are already involved, and how providers can create continued engagement at different levels for family caregivers who want to join broader networks of advocates and supporters. The conversation will also consider the potential for learning spaces that prepare caregivers for state or national advocacy beyond sharing their story on a single occasion.

With an overview of the organizations Joanna found in her local and California communities, this session will generate a list of questions, hopes, and resources that participants may apply after the conference. Joanna hopes participants leave with a newly activated network, a personalized advocacy toolkit, and a renewed sense that lived experience is expertise.

Joanna Glum

For more than a decade, Joanna Glum has been the primary caregiver for the grandparents who raised her and care coordinator for the parents who did not. As an unpaid, young adult family caregiver, she has lived experience navigating Medi-Cal, In-Home Supportive Services, 1915(c) waivers, and cancer treatment within geographically managed care programs for a person who is dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid.

She serves on California's Disability and Aging Community Living Advisory Committee and the California Coalition on Family Caregiving and lives a parallel life as a writer, director, and educator. Her grandmother called her "little buddy," and she is grateful to have been so. Learn more at joannaglum.com.

In Person Wellbeing

Who Were You Before? Reclaiming Identity After the Caregiving Years

Tahnya Brown

Tahnya Brown

Author, speaker, and caregiver advocate

Session description and speaker bio
Session Description

Caregiving does not just take your time. It can also take your name. It happens slowly, without announcement. Plans get deferred, social connections thin, and the version of yourself you were building before caregiving began grows smaller until you barely recognize the person looking back.

This experience goes deeper than exhaustion. It is identity erosion, a subject the caregiving support system rarely addresses. Drawing on years of personal caregiving experience, a published memoir about four years of in-home Alzheimer's caregiving, and the iPEC Energy Leadership Index framework, presenter Tahnya Brown, International Coaching Federation PCC, ELI-MP, walks attendees through a three-phase framework for understanding what happens to identity during the caregiving years and what it takes to reclaim a sense of self.

Tahnya Brown

Tahnya Brown is an author, speaker, and caregiver advocate. For years, she cared for her father through Alzheimer's disease while raising a family and running a consulting firm. That experience became Blurred, her published memoir about the cost of caregiving. She brings 30 years of experience to a subject many systems treat as a private struggle, channeling it into helping women care for the people they love while maintaining their sense of self.

Available with conference access

On-Demand Breakout Sessions

Watch on your schedule
On Demand

The Improv Clinic (Improv for Caregivers)

Arlieta Hall

Arlieta Hall

Comedian, filmmaker, and Certified Dementia Communication Specialist

Session description and speaker bio
Session Description

In this dynamic comedic workshop, Arlieta Hall will reveal how to use humor as a tool in conversation. She will highlight humor's role in building resilience and positivity, along with its ability to create social bonds through shared laughter.

The interactive session will include group improvisation games and scenes. Arlieta will introduce the foundations of improvisation and storytelling to highlight ways to communicate and adjust one's perception during challenging situations. She will also feature clips from her upcoming documentary, Finding Your Laughter, showcasing how she used improvisation to validate the experiences of a person living with Alzheimer's disease or dementia.

Topics Covered
  • What improvisation is and how to use it, including an interactive segment
  • Storytelling tools for processing challenges and finding humor in daily life
  • What laughter can produce when interacting with others
  • Self-care practices for everyday life
  • Clips from Arlieta's industry work and feature documentary that show the improvisation tools in action
Arlieta Hall

Arlieta Hall is a host, actress, improviser, stand-up comedian, writer, Certified Dementia Communication Specialist, and first-time filmmaker from Chicago. She co-starred as Sadie on Showtime's The Chi and is a co-producer of the comedy variety show My Best Friend Is Black.

Arlieta was a caregiver for her father, who died from Alzheimer's disease. She used the improvisational principle of "Yes, and" to communicate with him and brought their story to her first feature documentary, Finding Your Laughter. Before caring for her father, Arlieta was a Human Services Caseworker for the State of Illinois Department of Human Services. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and has more than a decade of experience in education and social services.

She wrote and performed in The Second City's sold-out 2023 and 2024 Black Excellence Revue and was selected as a 2023–2024 Sisters in Cinema Documentary Fellow. She continues to perform comedy while completing Finding Your Laughter and other projects.

On Demand

What's Really Happening in a Caregiver's Body: Nervous System Tools for Long-Term Caregivers

Lauren Marie Williams

Lauren Marie Williams

Nervous system translator and creator of The Absence Map

Session description and speaker bio
Session Description

Long-term caregivers face higher risks of chronic illness, depression, and cardiovascular disease than people who are not caregivers. Much of the available caregiver burnout content does not explain the reasons behind this pattern. This session translates current research on chronic stress, allostatic load, and polyvagal theory into a clear and practical map for caregivers and the professionals who support them.

The session draws on The Absence Map, an original framework identifying five physiological absences that build up over years of caregiving: Rest, Boundaries, Stress Completion, Transition Processing, and Safety. It names the body-based signals that appear long before formal burnout, including patterns often missed in sandwich generation caregivers, Millennial and early-onset caregivers, and caregivers experiencing ambiguous loss.

Staying connected in caregiving begins with staying connected to your own body. Attendees will leave able to recognize the five absences in themselves or in the caregivers they support, explain why caregiver chronic illness is a physiological pattern rather than a personal failure, and apply specific nervous system regulation tools that fit into a caregiver's existing day.

Learning Objectives
  • Identify the five physiological absences that develop in long-term caregivers and recognize the body-based signals that appear before formal burnout
  • Explain how chronic caregiver stress and allostatic load increase the risk of long-term health conditions, including chronic illness, depression, and cardiovascular disease
  • Apply at least three nervous system regulation tools designed for active caregivers with limited time
  • Evaluate common caregiver self-care recommendations and select practices aligned with nervous system regulation and long-term sustainability
Lauren Marie Williams

Lauren Marie Williams is a nervous system translator and the creator of The Absence Map, a framework naming the five physiological absences that accumulate beneath caregiver burnout: Rest, Boundaries, Stress Completion, Transition Processing, and Safety.

Drawing on 15 years as a family caregiver and her own cancer diagnosis, Lauren translates current research on chronic stress, allostatic load, and polyvagal theory into plain language and practical tools. Her work helps long-term caregivers recognize what sustained stress does to the body and gives the professionals who support them a clearer map of what they are seeing.

On Demand

From Hustle to Harmony: Preventing Caregiver Burnout Through Stress Recovery and Nervous System Resilience

Mandi Murrow

Mandi Murrow

Founder, Rooted Holistic Wellness

Session description and speaker bio
Session Description

Burnout does not happen overnight, and recovery does not have to be complicated. In this engaging session, participants will learn how chronic stress affects the nervous system and explore practical, evidence-informed techniques to build resilience, restore energy, and prevent caregiver burnout.

Attendees will leave with simple, sustainable tools they can begin using immediately to support their well-being while continuing to care for others with greater presence and balance.

Mandi Murrow

Mandi Murrow is an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, Certified Hypno-Breathwork Practitioner, yoga instructor, meditation facilitator, and wellness educator with more than 12 years of experience in health and wellness coaching and more than 30 years of helping people improve their confidence and well-being through client-centered care.

She specializes in nervous system regulation, stress resilience, nutrition, movement, and sustainable behavior change, helping individuals create realistic habits that support long-term health. As the founder of Rooted Holistic Wellness, Mandi works alongside physicians and other healthcare practitioners to support patients through personalized nutrition coaching, stress management, lifestyle modification, and accountability.

Through speaking engagements, workshops, and one-on-one coaching, she equips caregivers, healthcare professionals, and busy individuals with practical, evidence-informed strategies to prevent burnout, restore balance, and build healthier, more resilient lives.

On Demand

Be Prepared, Be Protected: Strategies for Handling Unexpected Events While Caregiving

Presented by Mary-catherine Lundquist

Session description and speaker bio
Session Description

Caregivers may be so focused on day-to-day care that they do not recognize the importance of planning for potential emergencies, including those that are likely and those that are only possible. This presentation covers potential emergencies, safety strategies, and ways to develop an emergency care plan that supports the safety of both the care recipient and the caregiver.

Participants will receive a checklist and other helpful tools to help build an emergency care plan and kit.

Mary-catherine Lundquist

Mary-catherine Lundquist has more than 31 years of clinical and administrative experience in geriatrics, with a specialization in dementia care. Her work focuses on supporting family caregivers, training professionals, and providing community health education.

She serves as Program Coordinator of the COPSA Institute for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders at Rutgers Health, University Behavioral Health Care. COPSA encompasses the Memory Disorders Clinic, the Care2Caregivers Helpline, and Consultation and Education Services. Her expertise lies in designing and implementing programs that enhance quality of life for individuals living with memory loss and their caregivers.

On Demand

Walking Alongside Clients and Caregivers: Advocacy and Support in the Social Security Disability Journey

Michael Liner

Michael Liner, Esq.

Founder and Managing Attorney, Liner Legal

Session description and speaker bio
Session Description

Navigating the Social Security Disability process can be overwhelming for individuals living with disabilities and for the caregivers, family members, and professionals who support them. This session will explore the role caregivers play throughout the disability journey and provide practical strategies for helping individuals understand, prepare for, and navigate the SSD process.

Attendees will gain insight into the complexities of Social Security Disability, common challenges faced by individuals and their caregivers, and the importance of having the right support systems in place. The session will highlight how advocacy, education, and compassionate guidance can help reduce the stress and uncertainty associated with applying for disability benefits.

Through Liner Legal's Client Concierge program, attendees will learn how a holistic approach to client support can address needs beyond the legal process. By connecting individuals and caregivers with community resources, financial assistance programs, healthcare-related support, and other services, the Client Concierge model helps clients receive support while navigating the challenges that often accompany disability.

This session will emphasize collaboration among individuals with disabilities, caregivers, advocates, attorneys, and community partners. Participants will leave with a better understanding of how to support individuals through the SSD journey while giving caregivers the knowledge and resources needed to advocate effectively.

Michael Liner, Esq.

Michael Liner is the founder and managing attorney of Liner Legal, a national Social Security Disability law firm dedicated to helping individuals navigate the disability benefits process with confidence and dignity. A nationally recognized disability attorney, educator, and advocate, Michael has built his practice around a client-centered philosophy that prioritizes compassion, education, and personalized support for people living with disabilities and chronic health conditions, as well as the caregivers and families who support them.

Known online as the Backwards Hat Barrister, Michael uses social media and educational content to make Social Security Disability law more understandable and accessible. Through his advocacy and outreach, he helps individuals with disabilities, caregivers, and professionals better understand their options, rights, and resources throughout the disability benefits journey.

Resources

Liner Legal website
Qualification survey
TikTok · YouTube · Instagram · Facebook

On Demand

Connected in Caregiving: How Relationships Become a Caregiver's Greatest Resource

Presented by Rachel Andreoli

Session description and speaker bio
Session Description

Caregiving can be deeply meaningful, and it can also be isolating. As responsibilities increase, many caregivers find themselves disconnected from the relationships that could provide support, encouragement, and practical assistance. This interactive session introduces relational intelligence, the ability to build, maintain, and activate healthy relationships, and explores how these skills can strengthen caregiver well-being and resilience.

Participants will learn how to identify sources of support, communicate their needs more effectively, navigate relationship changes, and cultivate connections that reduce isolation and help sustain them throughout their caregiving journey. By viewing relationships as a vital resource, caregivers can create stronger support systems that improve their well-being and their capacity to care for others.

Learning Objectives
  • Identify key relationships and sources of support within existing personal and community networks
  • Apply relational intelligence strategies to communicate needs, ask for help, and strengthen reciprocal support
  • Recognize common patterns of caregiver isolation and take practical action to increase connection and belonging
Rachel Andreoli

Rachel Andreoli is the owner of Andreoli Strategies, a training firm that teaches people how to be human together. She helps teams spend less time managing friction and more time doing work that matters. Her work is shaped by a degree in Communication and more than 20 years behind the barber chair. She brings a practical, relatable approach to each room she enters. She is a mother, a dog mom, a coffee enthusiast, and head over heels for the small village on a lake she calls home.

On Demand

The Weight of Words: How Communication Shapes the Caregiving Experience

Charlotte Bayala

Charlotte Bayala

Caregiver advocate and host of The Cancer Caregiver Podcast

Session description and speaker bio
Session Description

From the moment you received the diagnosis, communication became one of the most influential and overlooked forces in your caregiving experience. The way you received that life-changing information shaped how you began to carry it. The words used in a doctor's office, during a phone call, or in a crowded waiting room can leave marks that do not fade easily.

This session names three dimensions of caregiver communication that matter most: the invisible labor of being the family's announcement specialist, the honest conversations caregivers need to have with their loved ones, and the often underused role caregivers play as members of the medical team.

You will leave with language for what you have been experiencing, permission to use your voice in clinical settings, and practical tools for communicating through one of the hardest experiences of your life.

What You Will Learn
  • How receiving a diagnosis can shape the communication experience that follows
  • The emotional cost of becoming the family's announcement specialist
  • Ways to find a shared language with your loved one and move from soft silence to honest communication
  • How to participate as an essential member of the medical care team and advocate effectively
  • How to prepare for medical appointments, including what to bring and what to ask
Charlotte Bayala

Charlotte Bayala knows what it means to care for someone you love while trying to maintain your own sense of self. She has been her husband's cancer caregiver for more than a decade and is the award-winning host of The Cancer Caregiver Podcast.

As a speaker, caregiver advocate, and longtime yoga and meditation teacher, Charlotte brings warmth, honesty, and practical support to conversations about the parts of caregiving that often go unspoken. Her sessions help caregivers feel recognized in their own experience while offering realistic ways to protect their well-being, find moments of steadiness, and reconnect with the person they are beyond caregiving.

On Demand

The I'm Fine Club: What Caregivers Really Mean When They Say They're Okay

Charlotte Bayala

Charlotte Bayala

Caregiver advocate and host of The Cancer Caregiver Podcast

Session description and speaker bio
Session Description

Ask yourself how you are really doing. Chances are, you would say you are fine. Are you truly fine, or are you managing, absorbing, and holding the weight of someone else's illness while keeping your own life intact? You may have become very good at making it look like it costs nothing.

"I'm fine" is a reflex. It is what you say when telling the truth feels too complicated, too much, or too likely to worry the person you are trying to protect.

This session names what is underneath that reflex: the invisible emotional labor, the cost of being the steady one, and the reasons caregivers are often the last people to ask for support. You will leave with language for what you are carrying, practical self-preservation tools you can use immediately, and permission to stop saying "I'm fine" when you are not.

What You Will Learn
  • Why "I'm fine" becomes a reflex and what it can do to well-being, energy, and capacity over time
  • How to identify and name the invisible emotional labor of caregiving
  • The hidden cost of being the steady one and how it can lead to burnout and isolation
  • Self-preservation tools grounded in yoga, meditation, and breathwork that can be used in ordinary moments
  • Small, sustainable ways to begin asking for and receiving support
Charlotte Bayala

Charlotte Bayala has been her husband's cancer caregiver for more than a decade and is the award-winning host of The Cancer Caregiver Podcast. As a speaker, caregiver advocate, and longtime yoga and meditation teacher, she offers practical support for the parts of caregiving that often go unspoken. Her work helps caregivers protect their well-being, find steadiness, and reconnect with the person they are beyond caregiving.

On Demand

Rest Isn't a Four-Letter Word

Chris Coladonato

Chris Coladonato

Session description
Session Description

Caregiving is an act of love, and it can also be deeply demanding. Burnout can creep in quietly, disguised as simply trying to keep up.

Part talk and part exhale, Rest Isn't a Four-Letter Word explores why many of us treat rest like something off-limits, even though we know we need it. This session shows what rest can look like when woven into a demanding life and what becomes possible when we give ourselves permission to practice it: more presence with the person we are caring for, more capacity to keep going, and a stronger connection with ourselves.

Throughout the session, participants will experience moments of rest, reflect on what rest looks like in a busy life, and leave with simple practices they can bring into everyday life.

On Demand

The Brain Behind Dementia: 5 Key Insights for More Effective Caregiving

Dr. Anna Thomas

Dr. Anna Thomas

Board-certified physician and founder of LifeCare LeadHership

Session description and speaker bio
Session Description

Caring for someone living with dementia can be one of life's most meaningful and most challenging experiences. Changes in memory, behavior, communication, and personality often leave family caregivers wondering what happened, why it is happening, and how they can help.

This practical session helps participants understand the brain changes behind dementia and how that understanding can transform the way they provide care. Rather than simply reacting to difficult behaviors, attendees will learn to recognize what those behaviors are communicating and respond with greater confidence, compassion, and effectiveness.

Drawing on her experience as a board-certified palliative care physician and caregiver educator, Dr. Anna Thomas translates complex neuroscience into practical strategies caregivers can begin using immediately.

Participants Will Explore
  • Five key areas of the brain affected by dementia and how those changes influence memory, judgment, language, emotions, and daily function
  • Four stages of dementia and what caregivers can expect as the disease progresses
  • Three responsibilities that help caregivers provide effective care while protecting their own well-being
  • Two communication principles that reduce frustration, strengthen connection, and improve everyday interactions
  • One foundational mindset that helps families navigate dementia with clarity, confidence, and compassion

Whether you are caring for a spouse, parent, family member, or friend, or supporting individuals living with dementia professionally, this session provides practical tools and a deeper understanding that can improve the caregiving experience and quality of life for people living with dementia.

Dr. Anna Thomas

Dr. Anna Thomas is a board-certified physician, keynote speaker, and founder of LifeCare LeadHership, where she equips family caregivers, healthcare professionals, and organizations with practical strategies for navigating caregiving, dementia, leadership, and well-being.

With board certifications in Internal Medicine and Hospice and Palliative Medicine, Dr. Thomas has guided hundreds of families through serious illness and complex healthcare decisions. Her ability to translate medical science into clear, compassionate, and actionable guidance has made her a trusted educator for caregivers and professionals.

Through LifeCare LeadHership, Dr. Thomas helps people lead care with greater confidence by combining evidence-based medicine, practical communication strategies, and human-centered leadership principles. A two-time TEDx speaker and award-winning presenter, she is recognized for making complex topics understandable, relatable, and immediately applicable.

On Demand

Still Showing Up, Secretly Giving Out: Recognizing the Hidden Stressors of Caregiving

Dr. Michelle Harris

Dr. Michelle Harris

Founder, Anew Health Solutions

Session description and speaker bio
Session Description

Caregivers are often praised for their strength, compassion, and commitment. Behind the giving, many are quietly carrying emotional strain, decision fatigue, guilt, grief, financial pressure, family tension, and the unspoken expectation to keep going no matter how heavy life becomes.

This session explores the hidden stressors caregivers often carry before burnout becomes visible. Dr. Michelle Harris will guide participants through a compassionate and practical conversation about what happens when caregiving moves from meaningful responsibility to silent depletion. Participants will learn how to recognize early warning signs of caregiver stress, name the invisible load they may be carrying, and identify realistic strategies for support, restoration, and sustainable care.

Through reflection, practical tools, and behavioral health insight, this session will help caregivers and those who support them understand that needing support is part of preserving the caregiver, the family, and the care relationship.

Dr. Michelle Harris

Dr. Michelle Harris is a Doctor of Behavioral Health, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, speaker, author, and founder of Anew Health Solutions. With more than 20 years of experience in counseling, behavioral health, leadership wellness, and organizational strategy, she helps individuals and organizations recognize hidden stress, prevent burnout, and build healthier rhythms of care and support.

Through her work with The CLARITY Code Effect™, Dr. Harris equips people with significant responsibilities to serve, lead, and care while maintaining their own well-being.

On Demand

The Responsible Daughter Trap: How to Care for Others Without Losing Yourself

Fanteema Barnes

Fanteema Barnes

Licensed Clinical Social Worker and caregiver advocate

Session description and speaker bio
Session Description

Many caregivers find themselves carrying responsibilities that no one else seems willing or able to carry. Whether you are caring for a parent, partner, child, sibling, or another loved one, the pressure to be the strong one, the responsible one, or the go-to person can lead to exhaustion, guilt, resentment, and burnout.

In this interactive workshop, caregiver advocate, certified public speaker, and Licensed Clinical Social Worker Fanteema Barnes combines professional expertise with lived experience to explore the emotional, physical, and mental toll of caregiving. Participants will examine common beliefs that keep caregivers stuck and learn practical strategies to reduce overwhelm and create sustainable caregiving practices while protecting their own well-being.

Through storytelling, guided reflection, audience discussion, and practical tools, attendees will learn how to prioritize self-care, set boundaries, and acknowledge their emotional needs. Participants will leave with a personalized action plan and strategies they can begin using immediately.

Fanteema Barnes

Fanteema Barnes is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, caregiver advocate, certified public speaker, trainer, retreat host, wellness strategist, and clarity expert. With extensive experience across healthcare, education, and behavioral health settings, she facilitates trainings, workshops, and conversations that support emotional wellness, resilience, and personal growth.

Known for her relatable, down-to-earth style, Fanteema helps individuals and groups navigate stress, relationships, caregiver fatigue, and life transitions with greater clarity, confidence, and intention. She is especially passionate about supporting caregivers and creating spaces where mental health conversations feel practical, accessible, culturally responsive, and stigma-free.

Through therapy, speaking, training, and wellness experiences, Fanteema helps people move from burnout to balance through her signature self-care framework, The 3 R's: rest, refocus, and rejuvenation.

On Demand

Beyond Burnout: Practical Dementia Care Strategies That Support Both the Caregiver and the Person Receiving Care

Gayon Buchanan

Gayon Buchanan

Founder and CEO, Bella Cares LLC

Session description and speaker bio
Session Description

Caregiver burnout is a signal that deserves attention. Too often, the solutions offered to exhausted caregivers ask them to choose between their own well-being and the quality of care they provide. This session addresses both needs together.

Drawing on years of frontline dementia care experience, from CNA to Program Director of an all-memory-care community, this session offers practical, field-tested strategies that protect the caregiver's capacity while deepening connection with the person living with dementia. Attendees will learn how to recognize early burnout signals before they become crises, apply grace-centered communication techniques that reduce combative moments and caregiver stress, and build sustainable daily rhythms that honor both parties' dignity and needs.

Rooted in the philosophy that connection is the foundation of good care, this session moves beyond generic self-care advice to offer tools caregivers can use immediately, whether they are family caregivers, direct care staff, or care partners navigating this journey for the first time.

Attendees Will Leave With
  • A framework for identifying and naming burnout before it becomes a crisis
  • Communication techniques that reduce conflict while preserving connection
  • Practical strategies to protect caregiver capacity while maintaining care quality
  • A grace-centered approach to sustainable caregiving
Gayon Buchanan

Gayon Buchanan is the Founder and CEO of Bella Cares LLC, a Connecticut-based dementia care training, education, and consulting company. She began her career as a CNA and rose through the ranks to become a Licensed Practical Nurse and Program Director of an all-memory-care assisted living community in Massachusetts. A Certified Dementia Practitioner and Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia Care Trainer, Gayon is the author of Grace for the Caregiver's Heart and Beyond the Diagnosis.

Guided by her philosophy that "connection over correction, always" transforms care, Gayon equips families, caregivers, and care communities with practical tools rooted in clinical expertise and lived compassion. She serves as Speaker Liaison for the eWomen Network Greater Hartford chapter, sits on the Leadership Advisory Board of the Senior Executive Women Network, and volunteers with the Alzheimer's Association.

On Demand

The Invisible Weight: Burnout, Emotional Load and Whole-Person Healing for Women Caregivers

Jeanette Smith

Jeanette Smith, MA, LPC

Behavioral health clinician and executive leader

Session description
Session Description

Caregiving asks more of women than most people see. Beyond medical appointments, medication schedules, and physical tasks lies a second, invisible job: managing everyone's emotions, anticipating needs before they are spoken, holding the family together, and doing it all while quietly running empty. This invisible labor is rarely acknowledged in caregiving conversations, even though it can contribute to burnout, compassion fatigue, and long-term health concerns.

Jeanette Smith, MA, LPC, brings more than 20 years of clinical and executive leadership experience in behavioral health to help attendees understand and address the emotional weight that often goes unmeasured in caregiving research, support programs, and care plans. Whether attendees are family caregivers or professionals who support, train, and advocate for them, this session offers a clinically grounded framework for recognizing burnout early and building sustainable, whole-person resilience.

Session Objectives
  • Distinguish between visible caregiving tasks and the invisible emotional labor that drives burnout and compassion fatigue
  • Recognize early clinical and behavioral signs of caregiver burnout before they escalate
  • Understand the psychological and physiological toll of chronic emotional overload
  • Identify patterns of over-functioning, self-neglect, and guilt that keep caregivers in a state of depletion
  • Apply evidence-based strategies for emotional regulation, boundary-setting, and self-restoration

Caregivers will gain language and tools for their own well-being, while professionals will gain a framework they can bring to their programs, support groups, and clinical practice. Jeanette's approach combines clinical expertise, trauma-informed practice, and storytelling to help attendees recognize the invisible weight of caregiving and respond with sustainable solutions.

On Demand

Care Tech Without the Guilt: A Decision-Making Framework for Family Caregivers

Jeanette Yates

Jeanette Yates

Caregiver advocate, author, speaker, and podcast host

Session description and speaker bio
Session Description

Care technology can be helpful, yet for many caregivers it feels confusing, overwhelming, or like one more thing to manage. This talk helps caregivers understand what care technology includes, choose tools that fit their real-life needs, and take simple next steps with more confidence.

Audience Takeaways
  • Understand what care technology includes and where it can be most helpful in everyday caregiving
  • Learn how to choose tools that fit real-life needs without adding stress or complexity
  • Leave with simple next steps for exploring care technology with greater confidence
Jeanette Yates

Jeanette Yates is a caregiver advocate, author, speaker, and podcast host who helps organizations align caregiver-focused technology with real caregiver needs. Her work bridges lived experience and practical strategy, helping teams move beyond assumptions to design clearer, more supportive tools and experiences.

On Demand

The T.E.L.L.S. Method™: From Frustration to Confidence in Dementia Care

Katie Huffman

Katie Huffman, BCPA, CDP, CADDCT

Founder, KSH Aging Solutions

Session description and speaker bio
Session Description

When someone living with dementia begins refusing care, repeating questions, becoming agitated, or withdrawing, many caregivers ask the same question: "Why is this happening, and what should I do?"

The T.E.L.L.S. Method™ provides a practical framework for recognizing behavioral patterns, understanding what behaviors are communicating, and responding in ways that reduce distress for everyone involved.

Participants will learn how to identify common triggers, recognize early warning signs of escalation, adapt communication strategies, and respond with greater confidence and compassion. Attendees will leave with a new perspective that helps them interpret behavior as communication and intervene before situations become overwhelming.

Whether you are caring for a family member at home or supporting individuals in a professional setting, this session offers practical tools that can be implemented immediately to improve daily interactions and strengthen caregiver confidence.

Katie Huffman, BCPA, CDP, CADDCT

Katie Huffman is a Board Certified Patient Advocate, Certified Dementia Practitioner, Certified Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia Care Trainer, and founder of KSH Aging Solutions. She has spent her career helping families, healthcare professionals, and senior living teams navigate the complex realities of aging, dementia, and caregiving.

Drawing on experience in patient advocacy, dementia education, senior living operations, and workforce development, Katie specializes in translating challenging behaviors into communication caregivers can understand and respond to with confidence.

She is the creator of The T.E.L.L.S. Method™, a practical framework that helps caregivers recognize early behavioral changes, interpret unmet needs, respond with confidence, and reduce escalation before it becomes a crisis. Her teaching style blends evidence-based practices with real-world stories, practical tools, and humor, leaving attendees with strategies they can apply in professional and family caregiving settings.

On Demand

The Silent Code of the Caregiver: Navigating Caregiving Without Losing Yourself

Rosalyn Fast

Rosalyn Fast

Founder, Navigating Our Caregiving Seas

Session description and speaker bio
Session Description

Caregiving asks people to adapt to constant change while managing emotional, physical, and logistical demands that few others fully see. Many caregivers quietly carry this responsibility while continuing to support their families, navigate complex systems, and hold everyday life together. Over time, the invisible load of caregiving can affect their well-being, relationships, and sense of self.

In this session, Rosalyn Fast shares lessons drawn from nearly three decades as a spousal caregiver following a brain injury. Through lived experience, practical strategies, and heartfelt stories, she helps caregivers recognize the invisible load they carry, understand its impact, and find ways to move forward while maintaining their sense of self.

Participants will leave feeling understood, encouraged, and equipped with practical tools to protect their well-being, manage their energy, and continue caring for those they love with greater confidence and clarity.

Learning Outcomes
  • Recognize the invisible load of caregiving and understand how it affects well-being
  • Learn practical strategies for navigating healthcare systems, family dynamics, and uncertainty
  • Explore ways to protect energy, care for personal well-being, and build a sustainable caregiving journey
Rosalyn Fast

Rosalyn Fast is an international keynote speaker, trainer, and founder of Navigating Our Caregiving Seas. For nearly three decades, she has walked the journey of spousal caregiving following a brain injury, an experience that has shaped both her life and her work.

Drawing on lived experience and practical strategies, Rosalyn helps caregivers recognize the invisible load of caregiving, navigate change with greater confidence, and protect their well-being while caring for someone they love. She is the creator of the Stand Up 4 ME framework, which provides caregivers with practical tools to adapt to life's challenges, manage their energy, and move forward with a strong sense of self.

On Demand

What Caregivers Wish Their Families Knew

Saeed Saatchi

Saeed Saatchi

Founder and CEO, SimpliTend

Session description and speaker bio
Session Description

Caregivers carry an enormous emotional load that often goes unseen, including by the people who love them most. This session shares the honest truths caregivers wish their families understood, highlighting the mental strain, guilt, and communication breakdowns that shape daily life.

Participants will gain practical, compassionate strategies to strengthen communication, reduce conflict, and support caregiver well-being.

Saeed Saatchi

Saeed Saatchi is the Founder and CEO of SimpliTend, a caregiver-centered platform inspired by his family's care journey. With more than 30 years in product innovation at Verizon, Samsung, and Motorola, he now focuses on designing simple, emotionally intelligent tools that reduce stress and strengthen support for families.

On Demand

Beyond the Diagnosis: A Family's Journey Through Advocacy, Systems, Transition, and Hope

Tina Jackson

Tina Jackson

Rare disease advocate, global speaker, and founder of Kids Rare Care™

Session description and speaker bio
Session Description

Caregiving is strongest when families and professionals are connected in purpose, partnership, and hope. As individuals with disabilities and complex medical needs move from childhood into adulthood, families often face complex decisions involving healthcare, education, transition, community living, and long-term planning.

Drawing from 31 years of lived experience, Tina Jackson shares practical insights through the Kids Rare Care™ framework of Voice, Partnership, and Leadership. Through storytelling and real-life experience, participants will explore how confident family advocacy, collaborative partnerships with professionals, and leadership can prepare individuals for greater independence, self-determination, community participation, and thriving futures beyond the diagnosis.

Attendees will leave with practical strategies to strengthen family-professional relationships, improve communication, navigate care pathways with confidence, and create lasting connections that support individuals and families across the lifespan.

Tina Jackson

Tina Jackson is a devoted mother, global speaker, co-author of Suddenly Brave Together, and Founder of Kids Rare Care™. Inspired by her daughter, Miss T, who was born with a rare genetic condition, Tina transformed her family's journey into a mission of mentoring mothers with similar circumstances.

Tina partners with influential women who have adult children with disabilities or complex medical conditions to build thriving lives for those individuals. She believes caregivers are advocates, leaders, experts, and changemakers.

On Demand

From Tragedy to Working Strategies: When Caregiving Hurts and How to Heal, Rise, and Lead Forward

Dr. Twylia G. Reid

Dr. Twylia G. Reid

Caregiver advocate, trauma-informed educator, and resilience strategist

Session description and speaker bio
Session Description

This trauma-informed, resilience-centered session supports caregivers navigating the emotional, mental, and relational impact of long-term caregiving after traumatic events. Drawing from Dr. Twylia G. Reid's lived experience caring for her son after traumatic brain injury and her work with caregivers and survivors nationwide, the session explores hidden burdens caregivers carry, including burnout, compassion fatigue, ambiguous loss, and shifting family roles.

Participants will gain practical, evidence-aligned strategies to restore balance, strengthen well-being, and promote sustainable caregiving. They will explore culturally responsive tools to manage overwhelm, set healthy boundaries, build resilience, and move forward with clarity and confidence.

Dr. Twylia G. Reid

Dr. Twylia G. Reid is a nationally recognized caregiver advocate, trauma-informed educator, and resilience strategist with more than a decade of lived experience caring for her son after his traumatic brain injury. A U.S. Army veteran, Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, and multi-award-winning and bestselling author, Dr. Reid has authored several caregiver resources used around the world and has been featured in broadcast media for her work supporting caregivers and survivors of traumatic events.

She is the Founder and CEO of Broken Wings, Inc., When Heaven Speaks, LLC, and the When Heaven Speaks Learning Academy, where she provides trauma-informed education, emotional resilience training, and culturally responsive support to families navigating the long-term effects of trauma. Through speaking engagements, caregiver training programs, and organizational partnerships, Dr. Reid equips caregivers, professionals, and community leaders with evidence-aligned strategies that support healing, well-being, and sustainable caregiving practices.

Dr. Reid's mission is to ensure caregivers have the support and tools to heal, rise, and lead forward with confidence.

On Demand

Protecting the Protector: Safeguarding Your Career and Family Preparedness for Life's Unexpected Moments

Presented by Maria S. Turner, MS, SHRM-CP

Session description and speaker bio
Session Description

When a loved one experiences a medical crisis, family members are often expected to become care coordinators overnight while continuing to meet the demands of work and everyday life. Without a plan, the administrative responsibilities of caregiving can quickly become overwhelming, leading to missed deadlines, workplace challenges, financial strain, and unnecessary stress.

Drawing on nearly two decades of Human Resources experience and her lived experience as a family caregiver, Maria S. Turner understands the challenges caregivers face when navigating unexpected life events. Her caregiving journey includes helping care for her grandmother following a massive stroke that left her paralyzed and speech-impaired, giving Maria professional expertise and personal insight into the realities families face during times of crisis.

Through this session, participants will learn proactive strategies to organize essential information, understand workplace resources, strengthen communication, and build systems that support their professional responsibilities and their family's well-being. Participants will leave with a roadmap for becoming proactive planners who are prepared to protect their careers and the people who depend on them.

Maria S. Turner, MS, SHRM-CP

Maria S. Turner is an author, life preparedness strategist, and Human Resources consultant and leader dedicated to helping individuals navigate life's most challenging transitions. Drawing from a 17-year corporate career specializing in benefits administration, leave management, and organizational policies, Maria has a deep understanding of the structural support systems available to working families during a crisis. Certified by the Society for Human Resource Management since 2017, she prioritizes continuous professional development to stay current with workplace regulations and industry practices.

As the author of Be Proactive, Not Reactive: Your Guide to Navigating Life's Unexpected Moments with Clarity and Confidence, she equips people to move from chaotic crisis response to strategic readiness. Her work demystifies the administrative burdens of caregiving by teaching families how to organize critical information, build sustainable support systems, and minimize operational friction. Maria holds a Master of Science in Human Resource Management from Troy University and uses her corporate background to help caregivers find confidence, resilience, and peace amid life's uncertainties.

Frequently Asked Questions

Find registration and session information for the 2026 National Caregivers Conference.

When does registration open?

Registration is open now. Register for NCC 2026.

When and where is the conference?

The National Caregivers Conference takes place November 1 and 2, 2026, at Hyatt Regency Princeton, 102 Carnegie Center Drive, Princeton, New Jersey.

How can I tell whether a session is in person or on demand?

Each session is labeled by format. In-person sessions appear under their scheduled date and breakout block. On-demand sessions appear in a separate section and can be viewed on your own schedule.

Are all breakout sessions available on demand?

No. The format label on each session identifies whether it will take place in person or be available on demand.

How will registered attendees access the on-demand sessions?

Access instructions for on-demand sessions will be shared with registered attendees closer to the conference.