Health Transformer Spotlight: Meet Allyson Schrier from Zinnia, Improving Dementia Care via “Therapeutic TV”

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Jul 17

Written By Nicole Kinsey

Get to know Allyson Schrier, co-founder of Zinnia, an Alzheimer's Moonshot Community member creating therapeutic video content for people with advanced dementia. Allyson's work comes from a deeply personal journey, having spent years caring for her husband as he battled frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Based in the Seattle area, she's now leveraging her career in tech, and her understanding of caregiving, to bring comfort and hope to people with dementia, and the people who care for them.

Produced by Nicole Kinsey

Zinnia’s “Therapeutic TV” Creates a Better Dementia Care Experience

Inspired by her experience caring for her husband, who was diagnosed with dementia at age 47, tech veteran Allyson Schrier set out to make life better for people battling the debilitating condition and for those caring for them every day. What Schrier learned when her husband entered a full-time care facility is that television is often used as a de facto “babysitter” for people with dementia. But it turns out that normal TV programming is confusing and agitating, which is counterproductive for patients and caregivers alike.

Her solution, which she’s bringing to market with media executive Bill Uniowski, is a platform of original video content that has been purpose-built to reduce disruptive behaviors, prompt healthy daily activities, and engage patients socially. Everything from the facial expressions on screen to the speed of the video has been dialed in for maximum effectiveness with the patient population at hand. In early studies, this kind of video content has been shown to reduce emotional distress so much that it can be used as a first line of defense for caregivers, before resorting to drugs.

In our spotlight interview, we get to know a bit more about Allyson and her journey to entrepreneurship.

Note: During this interview, Allyson’s arm was in a sling because of a pickleball injury, which says something about how she views life and business: “I'm like a golden retriever and I'm going to go after everything! If it's a ball, man, I'm going to chase it!"

Where are you from?

I was born in New Rochelle, New York, and raised in Connecticut.

What was your first job?

I was an entrepreneurial kid. When I was around six I grew little tomato plants and went around the neighborhood with a wagon selling them. Later on I began making bracelets out of the spare wire my dad would bring home from his work as an electrician. I made jewelry out of it and sold it at school until the teachers shut me down.

What was one major turning point early in your career?

I was working at a large accounting firm in New York City. One day I joined a division that was evaluating these things called personal computers. I basically sat in a tiny room by myself with a computer and big floppy disks. My job was to evaluate every new software product that came out and figure out whether or not it was something that could serve our firm. I remember the day that I discovered Lotus. That was sort of like the beginning of everything. I became an expert in local area networking (LAN), then I started consulting, helping businesses transition from paper to computerized accounting systems.

Why did you transition from New York City to Washington on the West Coast?

First, around 1989, I sold everything I owned and spent a year traveling around Africa and Asia. The following year I spent a few months in New Zealand, helping bring LAN to Aukland. I was ready to move there for the mountains and the water and hip city, when a woman said, “have you been to Seattle? Before you move to New Zealand, check out Seattle.” So I did, and I’ve lived here ever since.

What’s been your most interesting job in Seattle?

I worked for Paul Allen's empire, managing his personal technology projects. That was a wacky, crazy fun job.

What skills or super powers set you up for that role?

I think I'm unassuming and easy to work with. I think that I was also extremely competent and they knew that I could get the job done.

What’s something surprising people might not know about you?

My worst job was working at a coat hanger factory. That didn’t last long. I played soccer at UConn the first year they had a varsity squad, which was awesome. And I used to write books, including the young adult rom-com How Not to Find a Boyfriend.

When have you seen the power of the Alzheimer’s Moonshot Community in action?

I’ve never been a big groupie. I've never needed a lot of people around me in order to figure things out. But when I was a dementia family caregiver, I realized that it's actually helpful if you immerse yourself with people who already know how to do it. So I really believe that being with a group of founders who are experiencing the same thing and being there to cheerlead for each other and being able to watch each other fall down and get back up again is invaluable. I love it.

How can people from the community get help from you?

Anything I can help with! The thing that fills me up is knowing that what’s inside my head – which doesn’t cost me anything – can be given away for free. It can help other people complete their journey.

Connect with Zinnia via email

Hear more of Allyson's story as an FTD caregiver in a recent episode "Evan" on the Remember Me podcast.

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