CO-FOUNDER | DIRECTOR

Victoria has had a life-long affinity and respect for the aging population. Her experience with Alzheimer's Disease and dementia began in a personal context with two grandmothers enduring the diagnosis- one of whom lived with Victoria and her family for several years as a result. It was the first-hand witnessing of the experience that inspired Victoria to pursue a professional career working with others currently living with dementia.

Today, Victoria is the Corporate Director of Programming for Phoenix Senior Living where she brings evidence-base, purposeful engagement to residents in 62 assisted living and memory care communities and providing dementia-related training to staff. It was within the walls of one such community, The Pearl at Jamestown where Victoria began this project simply as a purposeful activity for her residents. Seeing the lasting effects it had on the residents that day and their families thereafter, she knew this experience should be had by as many as possible.

CO-FOUNDER | PHOTOGRAPHER

Cole is an Ascension Parish, Louisiana-based photographer. A couple of years after her diagnosis of Parkinson’s Dementia in 2018, Cole began photographing his grandmother, Elva Mae. Maw Maw Mae, or Mae Mae, as the family affectionately calls their matriarch, has been a caregiver her entire life. Priding herself on providing and caring for her children and grandchildren. It was through his photographs that Cole was able to capture that maternal nature that still remains despite the adverse effects of the disease progression. When Victoria approached Cole about the concept for this initiative, he gravitated to the project for the impactful nature his work could have for other families going through similar situations. This gravitation was also met with equivalent apprehension. Outside of his relationship with MaeMae, Cole had much to learn on communication and interaction with those suffering from cognitive decline, as these clients are vastly different from those he’s worked with in the past. He would be challenged in his craft to capture “the shot” without the capacity to cue the subject into a particular pose or much control in general. After the first session of Legacy portraits, however, Cole’s apprehension quickly dissipated, and a true admiration for the candid nature of the sessions evolved. That has been the secret sauce for the beauty within the photographs.