Camille Ruvo Honored at Women's Health Forum

By: Women Entrepreneurs Review Team | Thursday, 21 May 2026

Camille Ruvo, chairwoman and co-founder of Keep Memory Alive, was recognized with the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement (WAM) Award for Leadership in Philanthropy and Alzheimer’s Prevention Research during the Cleveland Clinic Global Women’s Health + WAM Forum last week. Ruvo was awarded the award for her outstanding contributions to the world's development as a leader in Alzheimer's research for women.

“We wanted to honor Camille for taking her own journey of caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease and turning it into a powerful, motivating force to drive change in the lives and futures for thousands of other families in similar circumstances,” said Maria Shriver, founder of WAM and co-founder of Cleveland Clinic’s Comprehensive Women’s Health and Research Center. “Her vision of an innovative, holistic model of care is today being emulated by other institutions around the country.”

Camille saw first-hand the tragic impact AD can have on families and got involved with the study, prevention and support of the disease. She is actively engaged in the research, clinical and caregiver services that the Lou Ruvo Center provides and has been an active member of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. She additionally helped kick off the Women's Alzheimer's Movement (WAM) Prevention and Research Center in Las Vegas to deal with the disproportionate risk for women and their expansion to serve women in Ohio.

While significant progress has been made in many areas of women's health, there is a lack of attention to women's brain health, according to Camille. We are committed to addressing that need through prevention, research, education and support, providing women and families with the knowledge, resources and care they need to help them handle brain health with confidence and hope.

Key Highlights:

• Camille Ruvo received the WAM Award at the Global Women’s Health + WAM Forum for Alzheimer’s leadership
• She was honoured for advancing women-focused Alzheimer’s research in Las Vegas
• The forum highlighted new WAM studies and expanded prevention programs on women’s brain health

The recognition was celebrated during the first-ever true collaboration between the nationally traveling WAM Forum and the Cleveland Clinic Global Women's Health + WAM Forum on May 7, and featured a full day of inspiring education, delivered by top physicians, researchers, advocates and philanthropists working to improve all areas of women's health, from pregnancy to menopause, and heart, bone and brain health.

Lara Kalafatis, chair of Cleveland Clinic's Philanthropy Institute, was impressed by Camille's tireless work to champion Alzheimer's prevention and research efforts, not only in Las Vegas, but on a national level as well. Her vision and leadership has ensured that so many families worldwide receive care, research and support, and has helped to shine a much needed light on the impact of the disease on women.

Shriver succeeded Beri Ridgeway, M.D., as co-host of the day; these included a strong research focus and women physicians and scientists who are involved in the clinic. In addition to honoring the winners of the WAM Awards, Shriver announced three studies that will receive 2026 WAM Research Grants, including groundbreaking research that is currently being conducted in Las Vegas to gain a deeper understanding of the risk of Alzheimer's in women.

The emerging scientist grant recipient is Xiaowei Zhuang, Ph.D., who is based at the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas, and is studying how menopause-related hormonal changes and genetic risk factors in women interact to impact risk for Alzheimer's disease. She has a particular interest in identifying earlier and more targeted interventions to mitigate risk of cognitive decline in women with increased risk.

The forum also highlighted the continued growth of WAM's Prevention and Research Center in Las Vegas, a joint effort by Cleveland Clinic and WAM. It is the first Alzheimer's prevention program in the country specifically for women, and offers women risk assessments, lifestyle changes, and personalized health plans should they be at higher risk for Alzheimer's.

“This is such an important discussion,” said Sandra Darling, D.O., MPH, program director of the WAM Prevention and Research Center. “Women’s health needs to be at the forefront. We need to recognize these important issues that are not only impacting our quality of life right now but will affect our health down the road if we don’t take action.”

The center offers both office and virtual visits in Las Vegas and Cleveland that focus on how Alzheimer's disproportionately impacts women.