Sam Fazio, Ph.D., is Senior Director of Quality Care and Psychosocial Research, Care and Support at the Alzheimer’s Association. Dr. Fazio has worked for the national headquarters of the Alzheimer’s Association since 1994 in a variety of areas, including Education and Training and Program Services. He currently works in the Constituent Services area where he oversees quality evaluation standards and social/behavioral research initiatives. Dr. Fazio has also been involved in several research projects with older adults related to the persistence of self, person-centered care, and health and wellness. He is a part-time faculty member in the gerontology program at Northeastern Illinois University, has presented both nationally and internationally and published several journal articles and book chapters. Dr. Fazio is the author of The Enduring Self in People with Alzheimer’s: Getting to the Heart of Individualized Care and the co-author of the book Rethinking Alzheimer’s Care.

As Director of Education with Pioneer Network, Joan leads the development and implementation of educational programming for the organization whose mission is to change the culture of aging, care, and support to one that is life-affirming, satisfying, humane and meaningful. A Certified Eden Educator and Mentor, she is the owner and operator of J.P. Devine Consulting whose mission is to “support care partners on their journey 2 home.” A Registered Nurse and former Activity Professional, Joan has over 30 years of experience in healthcare serving in leadership positions in long-term and acute care settings since 1990. As an advocate for the LTC culture change movement, Joan serves as a frequent speaker at state and national forums and currently serves as a Director on the board of MC5 (Missouri Coalition Celebrating Care Continuum Change). Joan is the author of “Word of the Week: Creating a Culture Change Dictionary.” She earned a B.A. in Music Education/Music Therapy, a B.S. in Nursing and a Masters in Management.

Charles de Vilmorin is the CEO and Co-founder of Linked Senior, Inc, a resident engagement platform for senior living based in Washington, DC. He believes “Old People Are Cool” and has trust in “#ActivitiesStrong.” He serves on the board of The Validation Training Institute: The Validation Method is proven method of communication developed by Naomi Feil that helps improve the connection between caregivers and older adults experiencing dementia. He also serves on the board of AMDA: The Society for Post Acute and Long Term Care Medicine and holds a Master's Degree in Communication, Culture and Technology from Georgetown University, and a Master's Degree in International Management from Dauphine University, Paris.

Dr. Katy Abbott is an Associate Professor of Gerontology and a Scripps Gerontology Center Research Fellow at Miami University in Oxford, OH. She teaches graduate courses in Qualitative Research Methods and Organizations and the Aging Enterprise. Her research and teaching focuses on preference-based person-centered care and the social networks and health of older adults receiving long-term services and supports. She is the co-founder of Preference-Based Living, whose mission is to conduct studies that build understanding of individual preferences and test innovative methods to honor preferences for people receiving long-term services and supports. Her research includes preference-based, person-centered care among older adults receiving long-term services and supports, social networks and health of older adults receiving long-term services and supports. Katy is also a Certified Zentangle Teacher and lives in Oxford with her husband, also an MGS grad, and their daughter, Mia.

Dr. Abdelmageed is a Sudanese Medical Practitioner based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as CEO of the global management training institute ARTDO International. Previously based in Cairo, Egypt he served from 2006-2019 as Director of the Arab Scout Region for the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) and Secretary General of the Arab Scout Organization affiliated with the League of Arab States. He remains a Special Advisor to the Secretary General of WOSM and a member of the Strategic Advisory Council at the School of Business of the American University in Cairo.

Dr. Abdelmageed academic expertise includes working as a PHD researcher in “Best Practices in Disaster Risk Reduction” for National Ribat University. He holds a BS and MB from Juba University where he was recognized as the Outstanding Graduating Student and won the Sabah Prize for Pediatrics from the country of Kuwait. He has a Master’s Degree in “Disaster Management and Refugees Studies” from the International Africa University and holds the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Diploma in “Vulnerability Reduction & Emergency Preparedness” awarded by Linkoping University (Sweden) and Coventry University (UK). He also holds a post-graduate Diploma in “Emergency and Humanitarian Assistance” from Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and is a Certified Training Professional (CTP).

He has served as a Member of the Sudanese National Assembly (Parliament), Founder and CEO of the International Center for Emergency and Rescue (ICER), and World Health Organization Emergency Preparedness and Humanitarian Action Medical Officer and Consultant. He is a licensed pilot and National Judo Champion, holding black belt status and winning multiple championships.

The National Certification Board for Alzheimer Care (NCBAC™) is rooted in the traditions of the University of Chicago. Dr. Donna Surges Tatum became aware of quality of caregiver issues in Alzheimer care through a student of hers at the University of Chicago – Graham School. The student was president of a company of assisted living homes for persons with Alzheimer disease and other dementias. As part of her company’s training program for caregivers, a certificate was given to them upon completion of the course. Because of Dr. Surges Tatum’s interest in quality delivery of healthcare, she began to investigate Alzheimer care and soon discovered there was no independent national board that administers a healthcare credential given to persons involved in Alzheimer care.

​Meaningful Measurement, founded by Dr. Surges Tatum, undertook and made the commitment to investigate, and if needed, develop and support a national examination, which would then lead to certification in the area of Alzheimer care. Dr. Surges Tatum and colleagues spent a significant amount of time and research to identify skills, job tasks and competencies necessary to caring for persons with dementia. They determined that there is a distinct body of knowledge necessary to competently perform the job of caring for people with dementia. They also determined that there is a distinct body of knowledge for individuals who provide education and training to the caregivers.

​In October 2004, Meaningful Measurement organized the first meeting of interdisciplinary experts at the Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies at the University of Chicago. These individuals discussed the feasibility of developing examinations and offering certification credentials for the Alzheimer caregiver and the Alzheimer educator. The decision was made to move forward to develop national certification examinations in these areas. The NCBAC™ employed the healthcare certification/credentialing model to implement the CAC (Certified Alzheimer Caregiver) and CAEd (Certified Alzheimer Educator) certifications.