Annual Conference 2026 | Dementia Support NW

Last year over 170 guests attended our conference on October 10, 2025, along with 23 community resource partners, four guest speakers, staff and volunteers. The community came together to fill the ballroom and conference center, centered around navigating the dementia journey together. Thanks to all who joined in and/or supported our conference in 2025.

This year we anticipate more attendees and resource partners, and have moved out to the Silver Reef Event Center to ensure we have enough room to accomodate everyone. We look forward to seeing you there in October! Registration opens August 1st.

SCHEDULE

Plan your day

The day runs 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, with breaks, a catered lunch, vendor time, and our community awards. Click on a name to learn more about our keynote speakers

9:00 - 10:00 AM

TALK

ABC's of Dementia & What's New

MEDICAL ASPECTS OF DEMENTIA

Soo Borson — Memory Disorders Clinic (UW), developer of the Mini-Cog©

10:00 - 10:20 AM

Q&A

Questions with Soo Borson

10:20 - 10:40 AM

BREAK

Break & Vendor Time

10:40 - 11:40 AM

TALK

Planning for the Passage

PALLIATIVE & ADVANCE CARE PLANNING

Barak Gaster — Professor of Medicine, University of Washington

11:40 AM - 12:00 PM

Q&A

Questions with Barak Gaster

12:00 - 1:00 PM

LUNCH

Lunch, vendors & community awards

1:00 - 2:00 PM

TALK

Caregiver's Compass

CAREGIVING

Allyson Schrier — Co-Founder & President, Zinnia TV

2:00 - 2:20 PM

Q&A

Questions with Allyson Schrier

2:20 - 2:40 PM

BREAK

Afternoon Break

2:40 - 4:00 PM

TALK

Selecting a Harbor

OPTIONS FOR COMMUNITY CARE

Debbie Gann (Home Attendant Care), Kelsey Lovik (NWRC), and Kris Mason (LPN, Facility Administrator)

2026 Award Descriptions - Nominations Open Now!

For years, our organization celebrated community members who were actively making a difference by providing caregiving, serving as dementia advocates, and/or spreading compassion and empathy. This year, we decided to bring this back by creating new award categories to acknowledge the good work others are doing to support those on their dementia journey.

With new awards, we are asking for your help! Community members have a chance to nominate those they believe fit the award descriptions/qualifications.

The deadline for nominations is September 1st, 2026. You may download and fill out a paper application and send it in via email, drop off, or mail, OR you can fill out our online application.

For more information or to access the online form, please visit our nominations page.