Forum Highlight

Advocates unite in Washington, D.C., energized by state victories and ready to fight

More than 1,000 passionate advocates from all 50 states gathered in Washington, D.C., June 1 to kick off the 2026 Alzheimer's Impact Movement (AIM) Advocacy Forum. Whether it was their first Forum or their 14th, advocates arrived carrying their own stories — and a shared sense of purpose that filled the room from the moment the opening band struck its first chords. 

Florence "Pippy" Rogers, a member of the AIM Board of Directors and the AIM Leadership Society, began the three-day event with remarks. A proud Georgia native, Rogers has been an advocate for 15 years, driven by the loss of her mother, Virginia Rogers, to Alzheimer's disease in 2009.

Florence "Pippy" Rogers

"I am Florence Rogers, but my friends call me Pippy," she told the crowd, drawing cheers from fellow Georgians.

Rogers was candid about her unlikely path to advocacy — growing up in a political family but swearing off politics until a chance encounter at a Walk to End Alzheimer's® pulled her in. She encouraged new advocates with a story from early in her career: a member of Congress who was a "no" in the room eventually came around after she kept showing up again and again.

"Once you feel that, you can't stop," she said. "That's how this movement grows — one conversation, one introduction, one advocate at a time."

Rogers set the tone for what followed: a celebration of just how much state-level advocacy has delivered — and what it can still achieve. Jennifer Rosen, Alzheimer's Association's vice president of State Government Relations, walked advocates through a year of remarkable progress across the nation, a reminder that the fight against Alzheimer's and all other dementia is being won in state capitols as well as on Capitol Hill.

Everything's bigger in Texas

That point was brought to life when Karyne Jones, Alzheimer's Association board chair elect, took the stage to present the 2026 State Policy Achievement Award. Jones shared her own connection to the disease — losing two aunts to Alzheimer's — before announcing the winner: Texas.

Karyne Jones

The Texas delegation erupted. The award honored the 2025 passage of Proposition 14 — a $3 billion investment establishing the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (DPRIT). It is the largest state-funded dementia research program in the nation, and a model other states are already watching closely.

"Texas advocates showed up at the legislature, in their communities, at the polls," Jones said. "They took the pledge. They told their stories. They made the case again and again for why this mattered. This is what advocacy looks like. This is what it delivers."

Alzheimer's Association President and CEO Joanne Pike, DrPH — a Texan herself — put the investment in perspective. The Association invests just over $100 million in research annually; DPRIT will invest nearly three times that amount every year for 10 years.

"DPRIT is actually bigger than Texas," Pike said. "The breakthroughs uncovered through this funding will impact all of us — Texans, of course, but also people around the country and around the world."

A champion honored

Dr. Pike then introduced the Forum's first 2026 Humanitarian Award honoree: Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, a key champion behind DPRIT. Lt. Gov. Patrick accepted the award and addressed the advocates directly on the importance of their role in establishing DPRIT.

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick

"We pass 1,500 bills every year," said Patrick. "We've passed thousands and thousands of bills, many important bills. But I've never had a more positive response to any bill than I've had for this bill."

Texas is a powerful reminder of what becomes possible when champions from both sides of the aisle — in state capitols and on Capitol Hill — commit to the cause. For advocates, cultivating those relationships and finding common ground across political lines is not just a strategy; it is the foundation of every major victory the Alzheimer's movement has ever achieved. With partners like Patrick, the Alzheimer's Association and AIM are leading the way, bringing our vision of a world without Alzheimer's and other dementia closer to reality — one state, one champion, one breakthrough at a time.

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