Mark McAlister

In the Fall of 2016, I was involved in a community project relating to the challenges of population aging. There was alot of enthusiasm about "healthy aging" and "fighting stigma," but somehow we kept going around in circles--we just couldn't get a grip on the real underlying issues. When I received an invitation from Liza Futerman to join her new "Depathologizing Dementia" research group, I thought--well, OK why not...I was not very enthusiastic. At the first meeting, however, I knew I had made the right decision. Liza was not only well-prepared herself, but expressed a keen interest in what the other participants were bringing to the table. It was a diverse group, and everybody rolled up their sleeves and got to work. At our monthly meetings over the next six months, Liza not only guided our meetings but also coordinated our individual research efforts between meetings. As well as laying the foundation for a very successful public seminar at the University, participants were able to bring inspiration and promising practices back to their own communities.

What stands out most of all is Liza's vision is her ability to engage people and to bring out their best - to achieve surprising results.