Newsom Announces Alzheimer’s Task Force Members

This morning, Governor Gavin Newsom announced membership to the new statewide Alzheimer’s Prevention and Preparedness Task Force, a group tasked with developing a plan to address and manage Alzheimer’s disease and other aging-related conditions throughout California. Recall, Newsom announced the creation of the task force during his State of the State address in February and appointed former state first lady Maria Shriver to lead the group’s efforts.

Members of the task force consist of scientists, health care professionals, government officials, industry leaders, and members of the public. Among those announced on Friday are former Secretary of State George Schultz, former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, and Blue Zones author Dan Buettner. Others include Dr. Keith Black, a neurosurgeon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Dr. Wynnelena Canio, a Kaiser Permanente gerontologist, Susan DeMarois, state government affairs representative for the Alzheimer’s Association, Dr. Oanh Le Meyer, a neurological researcher at UC Davis School of Medicine, Dr. Howard Rosen, a behavioral neurologist at UC San Francisco, and Dr. Kristine Yaffe, a professor of psychiatry, neurology, and epidemiology at UC San Francisco.  

Shriver will convene the task force for its first meeting in November as part of the national Alzheimer’s Awareness month. The task force must release a report by next fall, near the time Newsom’s statewide master plan on aging is expected to be released. Additional information, including the full membership of the task force, is available here.