Daniel Bean

As the caregiver for his wife, Joanne, during the nine years she had Alzheimer's, Dan Bean became intimately familiar with the effects of the disease. After Joanne passed away, Dan increased his involvement with the Alzheimer's Association "both to help and to pay back for all the information and help I had received," he said.

Tracy Ruiz

Tracy Ruiz's profession as a hospice and home health provider puts her in frequent contact with individuals and families dealing with Alzheimer’s disease. But as a volunteer for the Alzheimer's Association Utah chapter, she goes above and beyond the work week to advocate for those touched by dementia.

George-Ann Hyams

Most advocates, no matter their cause or passion, know that change can be slow in coming. Few expect substantial results from a single afternoon of effort. Yet George-Ann Hyams of Los Angeles had the satisfaction of seeing $1 million in Alzheimer funding restored to the federal budget as a direct result of her actions.

Melissa Washburn and Cambria Anderson

When their 46-year-old mother, Carol, was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease, sisters Melissa Washburn and Cambria Anderson experienced a period of shock, sadness and mourning. How could someone so young, vibrant and in the prime of her life fall victim to this devastating disease, they wondered. Then, taking a page from their mother's own book, they decided such thinking wasn't going to do anyone any good, and they set out to learn as much as they could about the disease, its treatments and the possibility of a cure.

Caleb Bupp

The first year of medical school is not typically a time when students seek out extra commitments and challenges. Yet when University of Toledo Health Science Campus student Caleb Bupp, 24, received a flier about a dementia care elective, it caught his attention. With a grandfather in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease and a strong family history of dementia, Caleb thought it would be prudent-both personally and, as a doctor in training, professionally-to check it out.

Jewel Dallas-Bruner

Usually, when someone feels strongly enough about a cause to become an advocate for that cause, it's because they have a personal connection to the issue. For Jewel Dallas-Bruner, a vocal advocate for Alzheimer education and caregiver support, the connection to Alzheimer's disease is personal, professional and, at times, all-encompassing.

Debbie Jones

If, for some, all the world's a stage, then for Debbie Jones of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, all the world's an Alzheimer-awareness rally. A tireless advocate for Alzheimer research, education and support, Debbie jokes that no one-not friends, family, grocery store clerks or cocktail party guests-escapes her appeal to join the fight against Alzheimer's disease.

Ralph Winn

At 86, Ralph Winn has certainly earned the right to take it easy. But idleness doesn't come easily to this retired rail transportation supervisor and World War II veteran.

Evelina Paredes

Evelina Paredes has taken many journeys as a result of her mother's Alzheimer's disease. At first, she took her Spanish-speaking mother from doctor to doctor in their hometown of Los Angeles, looking for answers to explain her unusual behavior when her illness first started showing symptoms in the 1990s.

Raul Mux

The Alzheimer's Associations offers many wonderful programs and services for people affected by the disease. But what if, because you don't speak English, you couldn't understand what they are?

Kris Bakowski

It started, as it so often does, with unusual behavior. Kris Bakowski went to her doctor complaining of memory problems, which seemed to be getting worse, and scarier, as time passed.

Kimberly Wallace Del'Valle

Until her father-in-law passed away six years later, Del'Valle cared for him while she continued raising her four sons and pursuing her education with the hope of one day opening her own accounting business. Through the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provided by her employer, she found an adult day care center that Raymond enjoyed.