Pierce’s Story

Pierce Ryan is a Cincinnati-based filmmaker and dementia advocate from Ohio whose work is rooted in his family's experience with early-onset Alzheimer's. His father, Jeff Ryan, was diagnosed with the disease in 2018, and in 2023 Pierce began filming his father's final months, turning to storytelling as a way to process the loss and to give others a window into what the disease takes from a family. The result is a documentary that follows the final six months of his father's life and the six months that followed, offering a first-person look at Alzheimer's from inside the family experiencing it.

Pierce is a member of Lorenzo's House, a community for families navigating younger-onset dementia, and has shared his story at conferences through the organization. He has also participated in AIM, the Alzheimer's Association's advocacy arm, for the past three years, bringing his family's story into conversations with policymakers and the broader dementia community. Through both his advocacy and his filmmaking, Pierce works to make sure other families facing early-onset Alzheimer's feel less alone in it.