Speakers

Gary Locke, interim president of Bellevue College (BC), will share more about how BC continues to serve students, and the community, amid the pandemic, and why a continued investment in higher education by the state is critical in addressing the economic impact of COVID-19 and longstanding societal inequities.

Bellevue College, the state’s largest open admission institution of higher learning, offers students degree pathways in specialized career fields directly in response to workforce demands. Governor Locke will share how these programs—like Running Start—make higher education affordable to a broad range of learners while still providing an educational experience that leads to high paying careers.

He will also discuss the challenges BC faces as the campus deals with the emotional aftermath of the art installation defacement, and as we recognize the impact of systemic racial injustice on Black students, staff, and faculty. BC is also facing significant budget shortfalls due to the pandemic, and Governor Locke will explain why now, more than ever, the state needs to maintain its investment in our students, and our future.

Join us for a presentation that will illuminate the prevalence and growth of the fastest-growing epidemic facing the United States and the West...Alzheimer's. This disease is also the costliest by an order of magnitude and to date, we have no pharmaceutical treatment to slow or stop the disease. For the last fifteen years, Drs. Ayesha and Dean Sherzai have spoken about our ability as families and communities to affect the prevalence of this disease through a comprehensive approach. What they have been talking about for the last few years is now accepted by all. Their approach is being used in the largest community-based research program in the country and has repeatedly demonstrated the remarkable influence of lifestyle on preventing dementia and other cognitive diseases. 

Husband-and-wife neurologists and scientists, Dean and Ayesha Sherzai, are dedicated to educating people on the simple steps to long-term brain health, and vitality through their clinical work as Directors of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Program at Loma Linda University Health, and co-creators of the Healthy Minds Initiative, a nonprofit organization which aims to help empower communities to achieve their optimal brain health.