Advocating for the Invisible Family Caregiver with Lucinda Koza, CEO of I-Ally
After Lucinda received her father's dementia diagnosis so many questions came- Who can I call? What's next? Who will support me?
There are millions of unpaid family caregivers and millennials make up roughly 1/3 of multi-generational family caregivers.
As a young family caregiver, there is a deep to feel heard and supported. Lucinda Koza is the founder and CEO of I-Ally. Out of her frustration came creation, Lucinda found that there is a lack of support and resources and that fueled her to create I-Ally, which is a community-driven app that "saves millennial family caregivers time, reduces stress, and enables informed decision-making by providing services that fulfill their unique needs".
I have always enjoyed each and every interview that I have done- but this one was so impactful for me as Lucinda and I had a real, raw, and vulnerable conversation around millennial caregiving. She is brave and honest and I believe, is making a huge difference in making change for unpaid family caregivers.
Lucinda shares about:
How did you move from trauma into creation?
What are those different levels of grief and loss- we talk about all of those varied and conflicting emotions that exist in caregiving.
What support systems are in place and what do family caregivers need?
Are we are moving into a place of public recognition of caregiving? Or do we have a long ways to go?
Do we have more millennials caregivers today? Or are we just more aware of it as we are connected to issues via technology? Why is that?
That there is power in vulnerability- the power in not forgetting, documenting our journeys and sharing with others.
What do young caregivers need? How can others show up and support them?
Some favorite resources for millennial caregivers.
What challenges do millennial caregivers face that other caregivers do not?
At a legislative level- where are we at? Families need relief and how can we get involved in change?
Lucinda Koza is the founder and CEO of I-Ally, a community-driven app that saves millennial family caregivers time, reduces stress, and enables informed decision-making by providing services that fulfill their unique needs. With a background both as an actor who premiered a film at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016, as well as a digital strategist who managed online content for DiversityInc, she was spurred to action when she found herself becoming her father's sole caregiver in 2018. Lacking support from every direction, she could feel herself falling through the cracks of the system. She decided to dedicate her life's mission to advocate for the invisible family caregiver labor force, using her talent in storytelling and digital strategy to craft a technological solution for human suffering. Since founding I-Ally, Mrs. Koza has been named a Hero of the COVID Crisis by Authority Magazine and Thrive Global; named a Visionary Voice by All Raise, won honorable mention in the Lyfebulb-Orexo Innovation Challenge, published in Founded by Women: The Book, selected to exhibit at the upcoming TechCrunch TC Sessions: Justice 2021 and speak at the upcoming Founded by Women Conference. Mrs. Koza is still a devoted family caregiver to her father.
For more information about I-Ally, please visit https://i-ally.com/
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