Meet Dr. Kalisha!
The Woman and The Mission.
WIFE. MOM. PIONEER.
Where It All Began
My journey into dementia care began long before the titles — before the “Dr.” and the credentials that followed my name. It began with my Granny.
She raised me after my mother’s passing — the steady, loving heart of our family. Now, as she continues to age into her nineties, I’ve become her long-distance caregiver. Through her, I’ve lived what so many families experience: the devotion and exhaustion, the deep love intertwined with uncertainty, and the quiet ache of wanting to do right by someone who once cared for you.
Those experiences shaped not only my personal values but the lens through which I view every part of my professional work.
From Caregiver to Researcher
Professionally, I’m a nurse scientist and board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PhD, RN, PMHNP-BC) with experience in primary care, long-term care, assisted living, and inpatient hospital settings.
Early in my career, I served as a nurse at a children’s hospital, where I cared for young patients and their families during some of their most vulnerable moments. Since then, I’ve had the privilege of caring for individuals across the lifespan — from childhood through older adulthood — experiences that have deepened my understanding of the human experience at every age and stage of life.
Over the years, I’ve supported individuals and families navigating dementia’s challenges — and I’ve seen the invisible emotional weight that both caregivers and healthcare professionals carry. Those moments deepened my commitment to making care more compassionate, informed, and sustainable for everyone involved.
The D.E.C.I.D.E. Research Lab
As an internationally recognized dementia researcher and founder of the D.E.C.I.D.E. Research Lab, my work is dedicated to advancing health equity in dementia care within African American communities.
Through D.E.C.I.D.E., I study how to develop culturally responsive interventions that improve the health outcomes and quality of life of African American persons living with dementia and their family caregivers. This focus grew from both my personal experience as a caregiver and my professional recognition of the deep cultural and systemic factors that shape caregiving experiences.
My research honors the strength, faith, and resilience of adult daughters and family caregivers who so often shoulder this responsibility with quiet grace. Their stories inspire my commitment to bridging evidence-based research with compassionate, community-centered care.
Where Science Meets Soul
Across every role I’ve held — clinician, researcher, and caregiver — one belief guides me: support can be both evidence-based and deeply human.
Dementia care is never just clinical; it’s profoundly emotional, relational, and often complicated. Some people care for family members they cherish deeply, while others provide care for someone with whom their relationship has been difficult or distant. All of those experiences matter — and all deserve compassion, understanding, and respect.
My work brings together the best of research and real-world experience to help people care with clarity, compassion, and confidence — in a way that honors both the person receiving care and the person providing it.
Caring Without Losing Yourself
Today, through my coaching, consulting, and speaking engagements, I help family caregivers and healthcare professionals navigate the uncertainty and emotional weight of dementia care with greater calm and confidence — without losing themselves in the process.
In my talks and workshops, I share evidence-informed insights, compassionate storytelling,
and practical tools for creating care environments that honor both the person receiving care and the person providing it. Whether in an intimate group setting or on a conference stage, my goal is always the same: to inspire meaningful reflection and lasting change.
My approach combines the rigor of research with the depth of human connection, inviting both learning and healing. I help clients reconnect with their own inner steadiness — that quiet, resilient part of themselves that knows how to pause, adapt, and begin again — even amid uncertainty and emotional fatigue.
I meet every client and audience with empathy, curiosity, and respect for their unique story. There is no single “right way” to navigate dementia care — only the path that honors your values, circumstances, and capacity. My role is to help you find that path with clarity and compassion.
Because caring for others and caring for yourself aren’t opposites. They are both sacred parts of the same act of love.
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