Episode 18 With Karen Graham.

Today's guest is a mover and shaker in the community of Alzheimer's Research and Programming, particularly within communities of color. She has even examined programs in China to determine if and how this country's program models may serve people of color in the United States. Born and raised in Chicago, Karen grew up with a voracious thirst for knowledge, and she particularly loved the sciences. She grew up with the desire to become a physician, but transitioned into Psychology. She has achieved some very interesting and groundbreaking things throughout her career. As Manager of Community Relations at The Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Karen developed and implemented recruitment strategies and educational programs aimed at communities of color. This was significant since many of the studies at that point were aimed at Caucasian and other majority cultures and non-black ethnic groups. She has been instrumental in developing key relationships with the business community, elected officials, a variety interdisciplinary health practitioners, along with other stakeholders to provide the best services possible to people of color around Memory Care. Karen was also instrumental in the administration of a Religious Order Study that looked at the cognitive and memory abilities of Nuns, Priests and most recently church Deacons. Her additional gifts include the translation of Alzheimer research findings from the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center to communities of color for practical application and programming. She is most proud of the fact that she played a key role in establishing institutional trust with potential study participants. This was a very ambitious endeavor given the distrust that many African American seniors have as a result of historical memories of The Tuskegee Study. Karen has made a huge leap in deciding to return to school to pursue a Doctorate in Nursing Research. She states that when she applied and interviewed for this demanding program, she did not expect to be admitted. She was pleasantly surprised by her acceptance and immediately tapped into the expertise of many of the physicians and faculty members to serve as advisors and mentors. She openly shares the challenges that she has encountered, as well as her triumphs as a student in this program. Karen received her B.A. in Psychology from The University of Illinois – Champaign, her Masters in Psychology from Roosevelt University and is a Doctoral candidate at Rush's College of Nursing. Additionally, Karen is one of two African Americans who have been admitted into Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. This Honor Society is known for nursing excellence and for empowering nurse leaders to transform global healthcare. Karen can be reached at Karen_L_Graham@rush.edu Karen hopes to make inroads into the field of Foundation work, which would give her an opportunity to play a role is awarding foundation funds to organizations that are committed to working with people of color.