New schedule format this year!

8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

Welcome

Joseph Gaugler, PhD

9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

Dementia: Early Detection, Prevention and Treatment

Speaker: Dongming Cai, MD, PhD, is the endowed Director of the Grossman Center for Memory Research and Care and Professor of Neurology at the University of Minnesota. A physician scientist at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center, her research focuses on translating insights into Alzheimer’s disease, traumatic brain injuries, and other neurodegenerative disorders into novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.

Objectives: 

1. Discuss the development of biomarkers and the importance of applying biomarkers into early detection and diagnosis of dementia patients
2. Provide updates on non-pharmacological interventions for the prevention of dementia development
3. Discuss recent advancements in therapeutic strategies for AD and ADRD

10:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.

Break

10:15 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.

Experiences of Young Caregivers: A Panel Discussion

Panelists: Kate Klosterman and Kelsey Krause of Young Champions, an Alzheimer’s Association volunteer program, and Kennedy Heidel and Grace Savard of the Aging Studies Interdisciplinary Group.

Objectives: 

1. To educate on the prevalence of young caregivers
2. To explore experiences of young people who provide care to individuals with memory loss
3. To provide tips on how to navigate caregiving for young people

11:15 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Break

11:30 a.m – 12:00 p.m.

Audience Break-Out Session

An opportunity for conference attendees to talk with each other. Virtual attendees will be offered the opportunity to meet in breakout rooms through Zoom. Discussion topic prompts will be provided to help spark conversations.

12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.

Lunch

1:15 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.

Learning, Coping, and Surviving as an Alzheimer’s Caregiver 

Speaker: Martin J. Schreiber, former governor of Wisconsin, is a passionate advocate for Alzheimer’s disease and caregiving. Drawing from his 18-year journey caring for his late wife, Elaine, he authored the award-winning book My Two Elaines to support and guide fellow caregivers.

Objectives:

1. Teach caregivers to educate themselves about their loved one’s disease; be curious, ask questions and learn how the disease will affect them over the long-term
2. Encourage caregivers to self-advocate for themselves to maintain their health to provide the best care possible for those living with disabilities and terminal diseases
3. Show caregivers how to seek help by creating a network of family members, neighbors and friends who can help provide support to avoid burnout from providing care

2:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Break

2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Navigating Driving Retirement and Dementia: Evaluating a Support Program for Persons Living with Dementia and Their Care Partners 

Speaker: Colleen Peterson, PhD, a research faculty member at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, has two decades of experience in social behavioral research. Her work focuses on advancing safe and equitable mobility across the lifespan, including dementia-friendly transportation initiatives and caregiver support programs.

Objectives:

1. Understand how dementia complicates driving and driving retirement for persons living with dementia and their care partners
2. Learn about the CarFreeMe™-Dementia program and how it was designed to support different driving retirement stages (planning for, implementing, or adjusting to driving cessation)
3. Explain how CarFreeMe™-Dementia participants in an evaluation study experienced the program, including how well-being and driving retirement preparedness were affected

3:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.

Closing Remarks

Joseph Gaugler, PhD

3:45 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.

Audience Break-Out Session

An opportunity for conference attendees to talk with each other. Virtual attendees will be offered the opportunity to meet in breakout rooms through Zoom. Discussion topic prompts will be provided to help spark conversations.

University Avenue Parking Ramp

An adjacent 500-car ramp is connected by tunnel to the McNamara Alumni Center. Parking is $3.00 per hour with a daily maximum of $13.00. If the ramp is in event mode there will instead be a daily rate of $10.00, and no hourly rate. Once inside the parking ramp, take the East elevator to tunnel B or street level. The Alumni Center is the copper building adjacent to the ramp.

• McNamara Alumni Center parking map

CONSTRUCTION: Beginning April 1, University Avenue will be reduced to 1 lane in 1-block sections from 35W moving toward Oak Street. Please allow extra time when planning your drive to the McNamara Alumni Center. More info.

Directions to University Avenue Ramp, adjacent to Alumni Center

Ramp address: 1926 University Ave. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455

From the north, heading south on 35W

1. Take Exit #18, 4th St-University Ave exit
2. Cross 4th Street SE; turn left on University Ave
3. Stay in the right lane, drive 9 blocks to the University Ave Parking Ramp — located on the right side of the street

From the south, heading north on 35W

1. Take Exit #18, 4th St-University Ave exit
2. Turn right on University Ave
3. Stay in the right lane, drive 9 blocks to the University Ave Parking Ramp — located on the right side of the street

From the east or west on I-94

1. Take Exit #235B, University of Minnesota/Huron Boulevard
2. Follow Huron Boulevard one block and turn left onto Fulton St (1st stop light)
3. Drive 3 blocks and turn right onto Oak St
4. Follow Oak St past the Alumni Center (on the left) and cross over University Ave.
5. Oak St will curve to the left and turn into 4th Street
6. Turn left at the first available street (18th Ave, 17th Ave or 16th Ave)
7. Drive 1 block and turn left onto University Ave
8. Immediately get into the right lane and turn right into the University Ave Parking Ramp

Other ramps if needed:

• Oak Street Ramp: 401 Oak St SE Minneapolis, MN 55455
• Washington Ave Ramp: 501 Washington Ave SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455

Metro Transit- Green Line: 

The Green line stops a short block from the McNamara Alumni Center at the East Bank Station. It is on Washington Avenue across from the Graduate Minneapolis hotel. For specific route and schedule information visit www.metrotransit.org

The health and safety of our attendees are our top priorities. We encourage all participants to follow current public health guidelines and take precautions that align with their personal comfort levels. If you are feeling unwell or experiencing symptoms of illness, we ask that you refrain from attending in person. Hand sanitizers and masks will be available on-site. We continue to monitor public health recommendations.

Continuing Education Credits

Participants who register and pay for CEU credits will receive a certificate of completion at the end of the conference. In-person attendees must stay for the entirety of the conference to receive the certificate. Zoom attendees will be required to take and pass a brief CEU evaluation following the conference to receive the certificate.

Contact hours this event will provide:

• Minnesota Board of Nursing – 5.75 hrs
• Minnesota Board of Social Work – 5.75 hrs
• BELTSS (LNHA,LALD, and HSE) – 5.75 hrs

For any regulating body not listed above, participants may self-submit their certificate for individual approval. The cost is $50 to receive CEUs per discipline.

Refund Policy

For those unable to attend the conference, to receive a refund for purchased CEU credits you must used the payment portal to cancel your registration and CEU payment. Canceled registrations and refunds must be submitted and processed 2 weeks before the event date. If you have questions regarding CEUs please email CPWML@umn.edu.

Joseph E. Gaugler, PhD, Robert L. Kane Endowed Chair in Long-Term Care and Aging & Distinguished McKnight University Professor, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota. Dr. Gaugler’s research focuses on Alzheimer’s disease, family caregiving, and long-term care.

The following members of the Families and LTC Projects team also helped to organize the Caring for People with Memory Loss Conference: Robyn Birkeland, Ph.D. and Ashley Millenbah, MPH.

Teresa Schicker, MPA, with the Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) has also provided organization and planning support to make the Conference possible.

As Dr. Gaugler’s research program continues to grow, he would like to ask you to take a few minutes and consider being a part of the University of Minnesota Caregiver Registry. Becoming part of the registry does not enroll you in any study, but it provides Dr. Gaugler with permission to contact you in the future about any upcoming opportunities to participate in his research as well other basic information. Filling out the University of Minnesota Caregiver Registry form should not take more than 5 minutes. If you have already done this for us and nothing has changed since you filled it out, there is no need to fill out another form. However, if something has changed since you last filled out a Registry form, please feel free to fill out a new form:

• If you are a family member or friend who knows someone with memory loss or is helping them, please fill out the University of Minnesota Caregiver Registry-Family form.

• If you are a professional who cares for persons with memory loss or their families, please fill out the University of Minnesota Caregiver Registry-Professional form.

This conference is part of the Minnesota Northstar Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP), which is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government. Additional funding for the Minnesota Northstar GWEP is provided by a gracious gift from the Otto Bremer Trust. The Minnesota Northstar GWEP is also supported by the University of Minnesota Office of Academic Clinical Affairs.

Exhibitors will be available on-site at the conference, providing the opportunity to engage with community members and offer information and resources. Interested in exhibiting? Contact cpwml@umn.edu.

This year’s current list of exhibitors include:

• Alzheimer’s Association
• Alzheimer’s Educator & Family Coach
• Arise Cares
• Buttons for Alzheimer’s
• Center for Healthy Aging and Innovation (CHAI)
• Choice Connections
• Dementia-Friendly Airports Working Group
• Eiasi
• Families and Long-Term Care Research Team
• FamilyMeans
• Framed Reverie
• Giving Voice Chorus
• Lewy Body Dementia Association
• Lewy Body Life Podcast
• Lilly USA, LLC
• Linus the Therapy Dog
• Lorenzo’s House
• Minnesota Northstar Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP)
• Normandale Center for Healing & Wholeness 
• Roseville Alzheimer’s Dementia Community Action Team
• Tembo Health
• The Huntington National Bank
• Think Dementia
• Trellis
• willGather Podcast

The Caring for People with Memory Loss conference is now accepting donations! All donations are tax-deductible, and all proceeds will be used for the support of conference activities.

Donations can be made online: Dementia Caregiver Education Fund

Donations can also be made by check. Please address to The University of Minnesota Foundation, “For” the “CPWML conference” and mail to Attn: Dr. J. Gaugler, D351 Mayo (MMC729), 420 Delaware St SE, Minneapolis MN 55455.

Thank you for your support!

Sue and Joe Weisenburger have navigated many stages of caregiving as Sue’s grandmother, mother, and her mother’s siblings all faced Alzheimer’s. They began by supporting Sue’s mom, Maria, through her grief and her siblings’ diagnoses. When Maria showed symptoms, Sue and Joe became long-distance caregivers, coordinating visits and support in Chicago. Eventually, Maria moved to Minnesota to live with them. Balancing full-time caregiving with work, they found new doctors and community support. When Maria moved to Memory Care, Sue and Joe continued to manage her care with the staff until she passed away in 2020 from Alzheimer’s and Covid.

Grateful for the support they received, Joe and Sue started this fund to assist in hosting the annual Caring for Persons with Memory Loss conference, providing a vital resource for caregivers.

Philanthropy is a vital source of funding that allows us to provide this conference, and advance innovation, advocacy, and support for caregivers. Thank you for considering supporting this fund to keep conferences like this available and resources to support caregivers and their families. 

Past Conference Presentations

• View the 2024 conference (YouTube)
• View the 2023 conference (YouTube)
• View the 2022 conference (YouTube)
• View the 2021 conference (YouTube)
• View the 2019 conference (Youtube)
• View the 2018 conference (YouTube)
• View the 2017 conference (YouTube)
• View the 2016 conference (YouTube)

If you would like to revisit the information presented in this or past Caring for People with Memory Loss conferences, please visit our virtual conference library. There you will find PowerPoint slides and handouts of each presentation, information on how to access recorded presentations, speaker contact information and other resources from past conferences. We have held Caring for People with Memory Loss conferences since Spring 2008, and there is a lot of great, free information in the virtual library for you, your family members, or clients!

View event flyer