Maria Shriver's The Women's Alzheimer's Movement Partners With Lifetime® For Enlightening "A Women's Health Summit: It Starts With the Brain"

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Award-winning journalist Maria Shriver and A+E Networks President & CEO Nancy Dubuc today announced that they will be joining forces on November 1, 2017, for an enlightening summit that will break new ground on the future of women's brain health.

"A Women's Health Summit: It Starts With the Brain" will convene leading scientists, thought-leaders and best-selling authors at Hearst Tower in New York City to discuss tackling one of the greatest health challenges of our time: protecting women's minds from Alzheimer's disease. Today, two-thirds of all Americans with Alzheimer's are women, and no one has yet uncovered the answer why. Women also make up two-thirds of all of the caregivers in the U.S., which adds a significant physical, emotional and financial burden to their lives and affects the health and wellbeing of those around them.

Lifetime is the official media partner of The Women's Alzheimer's Movement, the organization founded by Maria Shriver to answer the question of why Alzheimer's discriminates against women.

"Women in their early 60s are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's as they are breast cancer, but most women are unaware of this increased risk," said Shriver. "By convening a summit on women's brains and exploring what they can do to protect them at an early age - as early as 30 and 40 - we hope we can help delay the onset of Alzheimer's in women. I'm so grateful to Lifetime for their partnership with The Women's Alzheimer's Movement. Together, we hope this summit educates women to better understand their brains and empowers them to take control of the future of their health. In my mind, this is the ultimate women's empowerment issue."

"Now more than ever we need activists raising their voices on women's issues," said Nancy Dubuc, President & CEO of A+E Networks.  "Maria has become one of the leading voices and advocates on Alzheimer's and women's health and Lifetime is proud to partner with her to shine a light on these issues that impact millions of women and families all across America."  

The summit's November 1 date aligns with the kick-off of National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness and Family Caregivers Month, which was designated by President Ronald Reagan in 1983. Fewer than 2 million Americans had Alzheimer's at the time. Now, that number has risen to 5.4 million and a new person being diagnosed every 66 seconds. Two-thirds of those brains belong to women.

Speakers at "A Women's Health Summit: It Starts With the Brain" include:  Dr. Dale Bredesen, Founding President and CEO of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, and author of the New York Times best-selling book The End of Alzheimer's; Dr. Lisa Mosconi, Associate Director of the Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic at Weill Cornell/NY Presbyterian; Dr. Martha Clare Morris, Director of the Rush Institute for Healthy Aging and the MIND Center for Brain Health; Marc Milstein, Ph.D. and founder of Dr. Milstein Education; Niki Leondakis, CEO of Equinox Fitness Clubs; and Bob Roth, Executive Director of the David Lynch Foundation.

Other leading voices who will share their stories and insights at the summit include: Sally Quinn, long-time Washington Post journalist and author of the best-selling Finding Magic; David Maddocks, CMO of Cole Haan; Dr. Richard Isaacson, founder of the Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic; Sheila Klehm, Sr. VP of Wealth Management, UBS; Lily Sarafan, CEO of Home Care Assistance; Sally Krawcheck, CEO of Ellevate, among others who have been impacted by Alzheimer's and have taken active steps to meet its many challenges.

The summit will also reveal the results of a new national poll that takes the pulse on the state of women's brain health today and their greatest health concerns for themselves and for their families in the future. The poll is co-sponsored by The Women's Alzheimer's Movement and the DC-based Bipartisan Policy Center, a D.C.-based think tank that actively promotes bipartisanship to address the key challenges facing our nation.

Sponsors for the summit include Athletics and Fitness Association of America and National Academy of Sports Medicine.

"With 30 years of leadership in providing evidence-based protocols for personal trainers and group fitness instructors, all of us at NASM and AFAA are proud to partner with the Women's Alzheimer's Movement in advancing important research around the power of cognitive training to mitigate and prevent the onset of this terrible disease," said Laurie McCartney, president, Global Fitness & Wellness Solutions Ascend Learning.

"A Women's Health Summit: It Starts With the Brain" will be live-streamed on Maria Shriver's Facebook page at 12 p.m. ET on November 1.

ABOUT LIFETIME NETWORKS
Lifetime® is a premier entertainment destination for women dedicated to offering the highest quality original programming spanning scripted series, non-fiction series and movies. The critically acclaimed UnREAL, Project Runway, Dance Moms, Bring It!, The Rap Game, Married at First Sight and Little Women franchises anchor the network's programming, in addition to its over 25 original movies annually that continue to define the TV movie genre. In 2015, Lifetime launched Broad Focus, a major global initiative dedicated to supporting and hiring female directors, writers and producers to make its content which totals over 450 original hours. Lifetime Television®, LMN®, Lifetime Real Women® and Lifetime Digital™ are part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, LLC, a subsidiary of A+E Networks. A+E Networks is a joint venture of the Disney-ABC Television Group and Hearst Corporation.

ABOUT THE WOMEN'S ALZHEIMER'S MOVEMENT
The Women's Alzheimer's Movement (WAM), a nonprofit organization founded by Maria Shriver, is committed to finding out why Alzheimer's discriminates against women. We believe that answering the question of why women are disproportionately affected by Alzheimer's will unlock the other mysteries surrounding this mind-blowing disease and that will lead to a cure for all. To that end, we urge scientists to conduct women-based research and raise funds to support it. We educate about facts and the connection between brain health and lifestyle. We empower women to take action to keep their brains healthy. We also provide a platform for those caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's to share their stories and partner with organizations to provide caregiver respite grants. For more information, go to TheWomensAlzheimersMovement.org.

ABOUT MARIA SHRIVER
Maria Shriver is a mother of four, an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning journalist and producer, a six-time New York Times best-selling author, an NBC News Special Anchor and the founder of The Women's Alzheimer's Movement. Shriver is one of the premier Alzheimer's advocates in the United States, with over 14 years of boots-on-the-ground activism, journalism and personal testimony about the disease and the future of America's brains. In 2010, her groundbreaking report The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Takes on Alzheimer's was the first to report that Alzheimer's disproportionately affects women. Shriver executive produced the Academy Award-winning film, "Still Alice," which tells the story of a woman affected by early onset Alzheimer's disease. She also co-executive produced the Emmy Award-winning HBO series "The Alzheimer's Project" and authored the best-selling children's book What's Happening to Grandpa? In 2017, she also created the first-ever coloring book for people with Alzheimer's and those who love them, Color Your Mind. Shriver has testified in front of Congress twice on behalf of Alzheimer's. Her voice was instrumental to the 2010 passage of the National Alzheimer's Project Act. In 2017, Shriver received the Alzheimer's Association's first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award.

SOURCE A+E Networks