About Us

CONNECT was developed and evaluated by the Hopeful Aging Research team, which has more than 80 years of combined dementia expertise.

John Zeisel

Dr. Zeisel is the President of Hopeful Aging and an internationally known expert on dementia care and treatment innovations. The author of I’m Still Here: A New Philosophy of Alzheimer Care, Dr. Zeisel has published numerous articles on treatment alternatives that do not rely on conventional pharmaceutical therapy. His research and practice spanning more than three decades has resulted in award-winning design and planning guidebooks, successful developments, award-winning prototype facilities, as well as books and articles currently used by developers and service providers internationally.

Michael Skrajner

Mr. Skrajner is the Director of Research and Innovation at Hopeful Aging. Mike oversees federally-funded clinical trials of non-pharmacological interventions for dementia. He has served as the Principal Investigator on seven NIH-funded research studies. He also conducts internal research projects for Hopeful Aging and other companies to examine the impact of psychosocial interventions. Mike also trains professionals and care providers globally on the I’m Still Here® approach and has written 11 peer-reviewed articles.

Gregg Gorzelle

Mr. Gorzelle has extensive experience in non-pharmacological and clinical gerontological research, as well as the I’m Still Here® approach. Gregg has served as Principal Investigator on six studies funded by National Institute on Aging. Gregg has co-authored a number of peer-reviewed journal articles, a manual on dementia programming, and a book chapter on assessment of persons with dementia. He has managed both federally- and privately-funded grants over the past 23 years.

Drew Walker

Drew Walker has been a gerontological researcher for over 12 years and is a Certified Dementia Practitioner. Drew embraces the essence of Hopeful Aging and consistently shows compassion to those we are all so dedicated to serving. As a Research Assistant, she conducts data collection, data entry, and data analysis, and wears many other hats as well. Drew particularly enjoys interacting with study participants, noticing the staying-power of small details from their individual character and the insightful lessons they teach her.