Meet our Founder Dr. John Zeisel Dr. John Zeisel is an internationally known expert on dementia care and treatment innovations. He has published research related to the needs of seniors and those with cognitive issues, including post-secondary evaluations and policy research studies. John’s work in planning and managing the environment for persons living with dementia led to lower rates of anxiety, aggression, and apathy, less dependence on medication, and fostered engagement and involvement by families and caregivers. His active leadership and industry involvement has resulted in award-winning design and planning guidebooks, successful housing developments, award-winning prototype facilities, and books and articles used internationally by developers, designers and service providers. He founded and served as CEO of Hearthstone Alzheimer Care where he used his experience and insights over the years to create the I’m Still Here approach, the principles of which underpin the Foundation’s programs. John’s groundbreaking book I’m Still Here: A new philosophy of Alzheimer’s care, Penguin/Avery Books (2009), available in several languages, identifies the I’m Still Here principles. The book describes neuroscientific evidence for this approach along with the major underlying social shift necessary for its acceptance. This shift requires replacing the public narrative of despair with that of hope – the acknowledgment that each of us can make a positive difference in the wellbeing of persons with dementia by the way we communicate, engage and relate to those living with this condition. John received his PhD in Sociology from Columbia University, a Loeb Fellowship from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, and an Honorary Doctorate from Salford University (UK). He has served on the faculty at Yale University, McGill University, Harvard Architecture School, University of Minnesota, and Salford University, as well as the Sorbonne University in Paris. His environment-behavior (E-B) research methodology textbook Inquiry by Design: Environment / Behavior / Neuroscience in Architecture, Interiors, Landscape, & Planning (W. W. Norton, 2006) is widely used in university courses. John also led a community TV show entitled Hopeful Aging where he interviews researchers, politicians, medical professionals, journalists and artists committed to improving the lives of people with cognitive issues. John’s work has received numerous awards and citations from prestigious organizations, including Progressive Architecture, National Endowment for the Arts, Massachusetts Council for the Arts and Humanities, American Institute of Architects, National Association of Home Builders, and the Environmental Design Research Association’s Career Award. John has served on the Board of Directors of the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture, Abe’s Garden in Nashville, TN, and is presently on the Board of the Kim & Glen Campbell Foundation, whose mission is Music as Medicine. Articles by and about Dr. Zeisel have appeared in the Times of London, the New York Times, the Boston Globe, The Gerontologist, Harvard Magazine, O: Oprah Magazine, Landscape Architecture, Retirement Housing Reporter, the Wall Street Journal, Banker and Tradesman, AARP Bulletin, Progressive Architecture, Contract magazine, the NAHB News, Professional Builder, and Generations.