In Memory of Geri Taylor

Honoring Geri Taylor at the 2025 CaringKind New York City Alzheimer’s Walk & Brain Health Day. A joint tribute from CaringKind and Jim Taylor.

We are honored to celebrate the life and legacy of  Geri Taylor (1943–2024), this year’s “In Memory Of” Honoree. A lifelong healthcare leader, and powerful voice for those living with dementia, Geri embodied resilience, clarity, and compassion, transforming personal challenge into public conviction.

Geri was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2012, at age 69. She chose not to retreat but to stand forward with honesty, dignity, and purpose using her experience to dismantle stigma and uplift collective understanding. 

A registered nurse with an MPH from Columbia, Geri served in leadership roles at Beth Abraham Hospital and the Jewish Guild for the Blind.  After her diagnosis, she and her husband Jim became national advocates showcased in a major New York Times feature and featured internationally, bringing authenticity to conversations around Alzheimer’s. Geri also enrolled in the clinical trial for Aducanumab, the first FDA-approved disease modifying treatment and was a strong advocate for research and clinical trial participation. 

In September 2022, Geri and Jim cofounded Voices of Alzheimer’s, a national nonprofit dedicated to empowering those living with or at risk of dementia to influence public policy, access clinical research, and defend their human rights. Under her leadership, Voices grew to include more than 800 individuals and families. Today, Voices of Alzheimer’s continues to thrive, carrying forward her vision of meaningful inclusion, advocacy, and dignity.  

Together, Geri and Jim traveled across the U.S. and Europe, speaking to thousands about dignity, diagnosis, and the power of lived experience.   

As they shared: 

“We choose to live with joy and not in fear.”

Within CaringKind, Geri brought profound insight. With Jim, she cofounded Memory Advocate Peers (MAP); a peertopeer support program for the newly diagnosed. She participated in earlystage forums and public panels, offering her voice to ensure that those living with dementia are seen and supported on equal footing with caregivers. 

Jim reflects: 

“Geri didn’t ask for sympathy. She asked for inclusion and a greater sense of urgency. She believed that with the right support, people living with Alzheimer’s still had a voice and that voice could change the system. She lived that belief until the very end.”

Geri passed away peacefully on August 4, 2024, at age 81, after also overcoming breast cancer. She is remembered not just as an advocate, but as a woman who led with empathy, intellect, and unshakeable hope. 

Today, we walk in her memory. 

We walk for Geri with the future she shaped, a future of dignity, recognition, and empowerment for every person living with dementia.