Nearly 100 people gathered at Friendship Center’s inaugural conference to replace fear and misconceptions with knowledge, connection and hope.
Dementia is a subject many people would rather avoid. The word itself can be frightening, conjuring questions about memory, independence, family history and an uncertain future.
But on Sept. 26, nearly 100 professionals, caregivers, family members and community members did something different. They came together to talk about it.
Friendship Center’s inaugural dementia care conference, “Modern Day Dementia: Impacts, Options and the Way Forward,” brought a remarkable cross-section of the community to The Leta Hotel for a day focused on learning, sharing experiences and finding better ways to navigate the challenges of dementia.
National experts joined Santa Barbara-area leaders, healthcare and legal professionals, end-of-life practitioners, caregivers and community members.
The result was more than a traditional professional conference; it became a conversation among people who see dementia from very different perspectives, but who share a desire to understand it better.
“This inaugural conference was about more than sharing information. It was about bringing together lived experience, professional expertise, caregivers and community to create stronger connections around dementia care,” said Kathryn Westland, Friendship Center executive director. “Because this was our first conference, we’re already thinking about how we can make the next one even stronger.”
Moving Beyond the Stigma
Luciana Mitzkun, senior consultant for Home Choices for Mom and Dad, believes simply calling the event a “dementia” conference was an important first step.
“I think it was very gutsy to call it a ‘dementia’ conference,’” Mitzkun said. “No one wants to talk about dementia. If they called the conference ‘memory care,’ more people would have attended.”
Yet, she believes that by putting dementia front and center, Friendship Center may help break down the resistance that keeps people from having important conversations.
“So, next year this dementia conference will have many more attendees,” she said. “They will have breached the typical resistance.”
Mitzkun also helped attendees understand the seven stages of dementia in Alzheimer’s disease, from a stage in which no assistance is necessary to one requiring extensive help with virtually every activity of daily living.
The conference offered two tracks — Professional and Family Caregiver — with sessions addressing issues ranging from identifying dementia and non-dementia behaviors to creating supportive environments for aging in place.
Other sessions explored lessons from both sides of the dementia journey, family history and genetic risk and the growing concern surrounding polypharmacy.
Separating Fact From Fiction
For Hope Saxon-Meyers, an adult gerontology nurse practitioner with Sutter Health Neurology, recognizing dementia begins with understanding what is normal for each individual.
She encouraged attendees to pay attention to changes from a person’s baseline, particularly because early dementia symptoms can be subtle, slow and progressive.
Dr. Jennifer Yokoyama, professor of neurology and radiology and biomedical engineering at UCSF, tackled another source of anxiety: genetics.
“We know a lot more about dementia than we did in the past, but there is still a lot we don’t know,” Yokoyama said.
She dispelled common misconceptions surrounding the APOE4 gene variant, explaining that it does not cause Alzheimer’s but can increase a person’s risk.
Most importantly, Yokoyama emphasized that genetic risk is not destiny. Approximately 75 percent of people living with Alzheimer’s have no known family history of the disease.
“Genes set the stage, but environment, experiences and choices can write the story,” she said.
She pointed to research showing that even people at the highest genetic risk can benefit from lifestyle changes — a message that replaces fear with a sense of possibility and hope.
Dr. Yokoyama was selected as one of five researchers nationally to receive major new frontotemporal dementia research funding through the Kissick Family Foundation and Milken Institute’s SPARC initiative.
Conversations That Matter
Dr. Beverly Thorn, professor emerita of psychology at the University of Alabama and 2026 award-winning author, focused on something equally important: communication.
“Communication is very important,” Thorn said. “We must talk freely about dementia and end of life in order to normalize these uncomfortable topics.”
That philosophy reflected the conference itself. Rather than separating professionals from families or people with lived experience from experts, Friendship Center brought them together.
Thorn praised the conference for creating an environment where people from many walks of life could learn from one another.
Dr. Hedva Barenholtz Levy, a pharmacy specialist from St. Louis, Missouri, addressed another often-overlooked issue: polypharmacy, or the use of five or more medications.
“Thirty-nine percent of dementia patients are taking too many or inappropriate drugs,” Levy said, emphasizing the importance of regularly weighing the risks and benefits of medications as people age.
A Community Conversation Begins
Conference attendees reported substantial gains in knowledge and confidence. Asked about the most valuable takeaway from the conference, one attendee said, “We’re not alone on this journey, and resources are out there.”
By the end of the day, attendees had gained more than facts and resources. They had been encouraged to ask difficult questions, challenge misconceptions and begin conversations that are too often postponed.
That may ultimately be the most important outcome of Friendship Center’s first dementia conference.
Dementia is not simply a medical issue. It touches families, caregivers, healthcare providers, professionals, and entire communities.
By bringing those voices together, Friendship Center created a space where people could replace isolation with connection — and uncertainty with knowledge.
And if the enthusiasm of this first gathering is any indication, the conversations in Santa Barbara are just beginning. Donors are encouraged to support Friendship Center and other organizations serving our community members living with dementia.
Attendees agreed this cutting-edge conference was very successful in bringing a wide range of professionals and community members together. They are looking forward to next year’s Friendship Center conference.