Speaker

Keynote and Event Speaker

Cultivating a Spirit of Innovation, Courage, and Beauty in Care

Be Bold. Be Creative. Be Relational

Kate Fassbender is an educator and artist, accompanying professional and family care partners. She shares how we can improve life with dementia and in elder care through stories, wit, faith and a big dash of courage. She accompanies both professional and family care partners through the beginnings of dementia through to life after the death of a loved one.

Meet Kate

Creative work in Eldercare is what I believe I was uniquely created to do with my time and talent. I am part artist, part educator, and I find joy in accompanying others along this dementia journey. 

One of my greatest joys in life is sharing to others about my journey with dementia and a family care partner and professional caregiver. It has been a privilege to stand on stage to educate, connect, and inspire and accompany others on their journey with dementia. For over 10 years I have spoken across North America in a variety of settings sharing in the story of dementia. 

Have worked as volunteer, family member, and professional in eldercare, have studied the creative arts therapies, I understand how dynamic and complex dementia can be, and how it is up to us, those working in this profession to find clear, engaging, and relational ways of inspiring real encounters with dementia. 

About Photo

To encourage real encounters with dementia through beauty. To boldly face the suffering of this disease. To dare to live life fully alive with dementia.

Would you like Kate to speak at your event or to your organization?

Kate Fassbender is honored to receive your speaking request. Provide as much information as possible and someone will reach out to you shortly. Thank you for your interest and we look forward to working with you.

Speaking Topics

Kate looks forward to working with you to create an experience for your organization and audience based on the themes you see here.

  • Purpose, Passion, or Vocation – Professional Development for care teams and elder care staff.
  • Rediscovering life after care. – Grief, hope, and meaning.
  • Meaningful Suffering – Faith and Dementia
  • Boldness in Creativity – Arts and Aging/Health
  • The secondary care partner – A grandchild’s place on the care team.

Dementia and the Family

Dementia and Faith

Arts and Aging Arts and Health Creative Engagement

Discernment and Innovation in Elder Care

Where to Find Me

Some of my past and upcoming events.

Iowa Catholic Radio, Jon Leonetti in the Morning – 7/12/21 Episode 186

Friday Friends – Rhode Island Elder Info

Healing Ties 2.0 30 in 30 – 11/11/20

Boomer Living Podcast with Hanh Brown – Episode 43 10/5/20

Peace with Dementia Rosary – June 2020

Bluetiful: Celebrating Kindness Leaders

OSV Innovation 2021 Semi Finalist for Hem of Christ Ministry

Separate and Unequal: A Time to Reimagine Dementia – The Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, vol. 80 no. 4 pp.1395-1399, 2021

Member Spotlight by Samaritan Ministries

Encore Virtual Programming – TimeSlips

AFA’s Teal Room: Storytelling and Art

Seeing Something New – Fox Valley Memory Project

Reminiscing vs Storytelling – Knowledgable Aging Webinar

The Spirit of Giving for those with Dementia – Commonwealth House of Rhode Island

The Joy of Dementia – East Side Institute

The Cost of Aging – In Partnership with the University of Wisconsin Continuing Education Department 2015-2016

Upcoming – Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Association Annual Conference, Wisconsin Dells, WI, May 2026

Avila Institute of Gerontology Long-Term Care Conference, Online, October 2025

Center for Innovation Conference, St. Louis, MO, August 2025

Avila Institute of Gerontology Annual Leadership Conference, Germantown, NY, April 2025

GIVEN Institute Forum, Washington DC, June 2025

Spirituality and Aging at the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada, June 2022

Doctors Who Create: Creativity in Medicine Conference, Philadelphia, PA, March 2020. (CANCELLED DUE TO HEALTH CONCERNS – Moved to 2021) – Doctors and Artists, Working Together to Understand Dementia.

North American Drama Therapy Association Annual Conference, Philadelphia, PA, November 2019 – Drama Therapy and Our Elders: New Visions for Becoming Partners in Care

NYU Educational Theatre and Drama Therapy: Theatre and Health Forum, New York, NY, April 2019 – TimeSlips as Theatre: Providing Intergenerational Healing Through Storytelling

Aging in America Conference, New Orleans, LA, April 2019 – Re-Evaluating Life Enrichment

Alzheimer’s Foundation of America’s Educating America Tour, Milwaukee, WI, November 2018 – Becoming Relational

Rhode Island Memory Café at Museum of Work and Culture, Woonsocket, RI

Rhode Island Memory Café at East Providence Senior Center, East Providence

Fox Valley Memory Project at Atlas Café, Appleton, WI

The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY

The Rubin Museum, New York, NY

MoMA, New York, NY

The Trout Museum, Appleton, WI

Let’s share the stage together and bring about an engaging event that helps transform the way we think about dementia.

Let’s work together!