About A Sweeter Course, Inc.
A Sweeter Course, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization working to create inclusive community spaces where people living with dementia, care partners, and community members can gather, participate, and belong. Through education, connection, and the development of a dementia-inclusive café, we aim to reduce stigma and expand opportunities for meaningful engagement in everyday community life.
Our Story
A Sweeter Course began as a small blog centered on caregiving, memory, and desserts. Caregivers met with our founder, speech-language pathologist Rebecca Wellner, over Zoom to bake beloved family dishes while sharing stories about their experiences supporting a person living with dementia.
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Across these conversations, similar themes emerged. Families were navigating significant changes with limited guidance. People living with dementia and their care partners were often misunderstood or gradually excluded from social life. Care partners described carrying increasing responsibility while becoming more isolated from friends and community. Anticipatory and ambiguous grief, guilt, and fear were common. Just as present, however, were humor, affection, and moments of genuine joy.
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Listening to these stories made something clear: many of the challenges families faced were not only medical, but also social. As understanding decreased, opportunities for participation and connection often became more limited.
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As a speech-language pathologist working with adults living with neurodegenerative disease, Rebecca observed this same pattern in her clinical work. Individuals were frequently viewed primarily through the lens of diagnosis rather than as people with ongoing identities, preferences, and potential for participation. Care partners described withdrawing from restaurants, gatherings, and community spaces because environments no longer felt accessible or welcoming.
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In response, A Sweeter Course began to evolve.
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During the pandemic, the project expanded into small-batch baking initiatives that raised funds to directly compensate caregivers who shared their stories. Through these experiences, it became increasingly clear that many people did not need another clinical program. They needed spaces where they could participate without needing to explain or justify themselves. They also needed broader community understanding, both to support everyday inclusion and to encourage the cultural and policy changes necessary for lasting change.
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Over time, the direction of the work became clearer. Rather than focusing only on resources or education, A Sweeter Course began working toward the creation of inclusive community spaces where people living with dementia, care partners, and neighbors could spend time together as part of everyday life.
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Today, A Sweeter Course, Inc. continues this work as a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing stigma and expanding opportunities for meaningful participation. Through education, storytelling, and community-building initiatives, we are laying the foundation for a dementia-inclusive café and other shared spaces designed to support connection, autonomy, and belonging.
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A dementia diagnosis changes many things, but it should not remove someone from community life.
Our Philosophy
We believe a dementia diagnosis does not erase a person’s identity, abilities, or desire for connection. Many of the challenges people living with dementia and their care partners face arise not only from cognitive change, but from environments and communities that are not designed with inclusion in mind.
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We have found that understanding can reduce stigma, and we believe that participation should remain possible for care partners no matter what changes they experience.
What We Are Doing Now
A Sweeter Course currently focuses on education, storytelling, and community connection. We are creating opportunities for people to learn about dementia through real relationships and shared experiences. We seek to achieve this through virtual gatherings and public education, and collaboration with people living with dementia and their care partners.
Where We Are Headed
We are working toward the development of a dementia-inclusive café, a shared community spaces designed to support ongoing participation. Our goal is to bring together people living with dementia, care partners, and neighbors in an environment intentionally designed to be welcoming, flexible, and socially accessible.
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Our goal is not to create separate spaces, but to model what an inclusive community (one that includes those living with dementia) can look like. By combining social events, education, and meaningful roles for care partners, we aim to expand how communities understand dementia and how people remain connected within them.
Milestones
2017
A Sweeter Course begins as a blog focused on caregiving, memory, and the lived experiences of dementia, using food and storytelling as a way to explore connection and identity.
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2022
Educational content launches on Instagram (@asweetercourse), focusing on dementia, mealtimes, communication, and everyday strategies to foster understanding and reduce stigma.
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2022–2024
A small-batch baking initiative supports caregiver storytelling. Caregivers met individually with founder Rebecca Wellner over Zoom to share their experiences, and proceeds from baking sales were used to compensate participants while amplifying their stories.
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2024
A Sweeter Course is formally established as a nonprofit organization.
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2025
Federal 501(c)(3) nonprofit status is granted.
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2025–Present
Expansion of online education and planning for virtual programming and future community-based initiatives, including the development of a dementia-inclusive café model.
Transparency and Documentation
Meet The Team (so far!)
Rebecca Wellner
Founder and Board President
Rebecca Wellner, M.S., CCC-SLP (she/her) is a licensed speech-language pathologist and Certified Dementia Practitioner® based in New York City. She has experience assisting in neurocognitive research focusing on memory and psycholinguistics and has worked clinically in skilled nursing, assisted living, and home health settings, specializing in communication and swallowing changes related to neurodegenerative diseases. She is dedicated to increasing awareness of all dementia types to promote stronger social support for care partners. She holds her certificate of clinical competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and certifications from both the National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners (Certified Dementia Practitioner®) and from Brush Development (Can Do! Dementia Certificate).
Bailey Morgan
Treasurer and Board Member
Bailey began her career as a medical speech-language pathologist in inpatient facilities as well as homecare across NYC, where she worked with adults and older individuals. After seeing the inequalities of high-quality technology in healthcare compared to other industries, she transitioned to a career in practice management and revenue cycle technology. Currently, she serves as Chief of Staff at Groth Pain & Spine, overseeing operations, change management, and technology integration for a growing network of 10+ locations and 40+ providers, and provides consulting to early stage tech startups.
Carmen Iris Quinones
Community Outreach Specialist and Board Member
Carmen Iris Quinones is an experienced Coordinator with a demonstrated history of working in the non-profit organization management industry. She is skilled in Nonprofit Organizations, Program Development, Leadership, Youth Homelessness, Community Outreach, and Program Management.
Carmen is currently Director of Community Outreach at Willing Hearts, Helpful Hands, a part of the Parker Jewish Institute. In her work, she supports family caregivers and individuals living with dementia through a person-centered and trauma informed approach.
Sarah Goldberg-O'Neil
Accessibility Specialist and Board Member
Sarah Goldberg-O’Neil, M.S. OTR/L, CBIS ( she/her) is a licensed occupational therapist and certified brain injury specialist in Washington D.C. She received her Master of Science from Springfield College and also holds a certificate in Montessori informed approaches to aging and dementia from Brush Development (Can Do! Dementia Certificate). She has a decade of experience working with adults across clinical settings including skilled nursing facilities, sub-acute rehabilitation, geriatric behavioral health, and inpatient acute rehabilitation. Sarah specializes in cardiac and neuro-rehabilitation, vision rehabilitation, and is a senior resource for functional cognition assessment and intervention within her department. Her personal and professional experiences providing care for people living with dementia have and continue to fuel her passion for person centered and community-based programs to support people living with dementia care and their care partners.
Jessica Smith
Secretary and Board Member
Jessica Smith is a care partner and advocate for her mother, Patti, who has been living with Alzheimer’s and Lewy Body Dementia since 2014. Jessica is passionate about dementia education and caregiver support, primarily as it relates to mindfulness. The guiding principles she employs in caring for her Mom stem from her work as a meditation teacher and as a student of Eastern philosophies. For over 20 years, she has studied mindfulness and meditation with many esteemed teachers, including Ram Dass, Sharon Salzburg, Michael Singer, and Joseph Goldstein. She also went through training to serve as a death doula, studying with Alua Arthur at Going with Grace, as one of her passions is helping people face the end of life with dignity and awareness.
Currently, she shares their journey through her project, An Alzheimer’s Awakening, on Instagram and Substack. She also teaches mindfulness and meditation classes.
Mara Steinberg Lowe
Advisory Board Member
Mara Steinberg Lowe, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is a practicing speech language pathologist with expertise in assessment and treatment of neurogenic communication disorders and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Linguistics and Communication Disorders at CUNY Queens College. She received her Ph.D. in Communicative Sciences and Disorders for New York University and her M.A. in Speech Language Pathology from the University of Maryland College Park. Mara’s clinical work and research is focused on improving assessment, treatment, and quality of life for people living with communication changes resulting from neurodegenerative disorders.