Sadie Harmon Named Dementia-Inclusive Communities Director for Elder Care Alliance

November 21, 2018

ALAMEDA, CA–Elder Care Alliance has named Sadie Harmon its dementia-inclusive communities director. Harmon joins the team with experience as a program director for a community-based arts organization and a teaching artist and life enrichment coordinator in assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing communities.

The Dementia-Inclusive Communities Initiative at Elder Care Alliance is supported by a generous grant from The San Francisco Foundation and aims to combat ageism and stigma against people living with dementia through access to arts and culture.

Over the next year, Harmon will organize six dementia-inclusive art experiences in several San Francisco neighborhoods. “These programs will be engaging and participatory,” Harmon said. “I’ll be working with stakeholders throughout the community to plan some very exciting events.”

Harmon is exploring partnerships with senior centers, art, aging and housing-related organizations, as well as community-based organizations that work with isolated or marginalized older adults. People who are living with dementia while aging in place, and their care partners, will be central to all stages of the project.

“We are fortunate to have this important initiative and also to have someone like Sadie leading it,” said Adriene Iverson, president and CEO of Elder Care Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to redefining aging by offering opportunities for older adults to continue to learn, contribute to their community and thrive well beyond their retirement years.

Operating from both the mind and the heart, the Elder Care Alliance mission is to serve and enrich the holistic wellness of older adults and those who care for them through education, innovation and a network of professionals. Elder Care Alliance communities offer a variety of services, including assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing and independent living.