Unique Challenges When Caring for a Loved One with Cognitive Issues
Family caregivers provide 19.2 billion hours of unpaid care each year to people with Alzheimer’s disease and other cognitive decline, reflecting the scale and intensity of cognitive caregiving. For those who are also working, these responsibilities can bring added unpredictability, communication challenges, and safety concerns.
This Benchmarks of Care training explores the unique realities of caring for a loved one with cognitive issues and offers practical strategies to help caregivers respond with more confidence. Participants will gain guidance on communication, safety, and ways to support meaningful engagement as needs change.
What You Will Learn
Meet the Hosts
Jessica Fredericksen, MSW, CADDCT, CMDCP | Senior Director of Goodwin Brain Health, Goodwin Living
Jessica Fredericksen is the Senior Director of Goodwin Brain Health, a service line of Goodwin Living. Since joining the organization in 2021, she has led brain health training and programmatic initiatives across the organization and has played a key role in the growth of StrongerMemory—a brain health program now integrated into more than 200 partner organizations, reaching nearly 75,000 individuals across the United States.
Paola Zambrana | Director of Engagement & Project Management, Caregiver Action Network
Paola brings both professional expertise and personal insight to the caregiving space. In her role with CAN, she leads the Caregiver-Ready Workplaces initiative, helping employers better support workers who are balancing jobs and caregiving responsibilities. Her work focuses on practical strategies, education, and data-driven solutions that reduce burnout, improve retention, and create more flexible workplace cultures. By combining cross-sector partnership building with lived experience as a caregiver, Paola helps elevate caregiver needs and drive meaningful change in the workforce.
Nichole Goble | Director of Community Initiatives, Caregiver Action Network
Nichole has been a dedicated Caregiver Action Network (CAN) member since 2017, bringing a wealth of personal and professional experience to her role. She is currently a long-distance caregiver for her mother, who is battling COPD and lung cancer, and she previously cared for her grandfather during his fight with bone cancer.
Caregiver Action Network’s Caregiver-Ready Workplaces initiative helps employers recognize caregiving as a workforce issue that affects retention, productivity, and employee well-being. Through training, tools, and expert-informed support, the program helps organizations take meaningful steps toward becoming more caregiver-ready.
About Caregiver Action Network (CAN):
Caregiver Action Network (CAN) is the nation’s leading nonprofit dedicated to improving the quality of life for the more than 63 million family caregivers across the nation. From parents of children with complex health needs to spouses, friends, and adult children caring for loved ones with chronic conditions, disabilities, or Alzheimer’s, CAN supports the full spectrum of caregiving families. Through free education, peer support, and resources, CAN empowers caregivers nationwide to provide care with strength, resilience, and hope.
