The National Alliance for Caregiving is pleased to introduce its next President and CEO, Jason Resendez. Jason will assume leadership of the organization on July 5th after taking paternity leave.

From advancing Latino civil rights to tackling our nation’s Alzheimer’s crisis, I’ve spent my career working at the intersection of policy, advocacy, and research to build power for marginalized communities. During this time one thing has become crystal clear: caregiving connects us all.

I grew up watching my mom balance a full-time job while raising three kids and taking care of my grandmother who faced multiple health challenges – a dynamic all too familiar in Latino households. It was tough work that she performed out of love and out of necessity.

As a champion for brain health equity, I’ve worked closely with caregivers who told me about their struggles to provide dementia care without adequate training, without resources, and without financial security.

These experiences shape my perspectives on care, the care injustices that too many among us face – especially women of color – and the power of policy and practice to create opportunity and equity.

For 26 years, NAC has been a relentless force in addressing these injustices through agenda-setting research that shines a necessary spotlight on the impacts of caregiving on families and communities, through the development of innovative practice improvements that help health systems better serve the complex needs of caregivers, and through advocacy that ensures caregivers are seen and heard in policymaking.

In collaboration with a dynamic network of partners representing non-profit, corporate, and academic organizations and with the leadership of individual research experts and caregivers, NAC is primed for growth at a pivotal moment in our nation’s care history. We have the data, we have the expertise, and we have the sense of urgency that we need tobuild health, wealth, and equity for family caregivers across the lifespan.

I couldn’t be more excited to assume this role and to dedicate the next chapter of my career to ensuring that society honors the bonds of caregiving through bolder federal and private sector action. As my civil rights hero Dolores Huerta once told me, “We have the power, the people power, to make anything happen.”

Jason