Support for Caregivers, with Sue Ryan and Nancy Treaster, The Caregiver’s Journey (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 805)
In this episode of North Fulton Business Radio, host John Ray welcomes Nancy Treaster and Sue Ryan from The Caregiver’s Journey. They discuss the significant challenges faced by caregivers of loved ones with dementia, emphasizing the emotional and practical aspects of caregiving. Sue and Nancy provide valuable insights and resources through their podcast and other platforms to support caregivers. They share their personal experiences and emphasize the importance of businesses recognizing and supporting caregiver employees. The conversation also touches on the need for grace, dignity, and effective communication in caregiving, as well as the broader impact on families and workplaces.
John Ray is the host of North Fulton Business Radio. The show is recorded and produced by the North Fulton affiliate of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.
Nancy Treaster and Sue Ryan, The Caregiver’s Journey
Nancy Treaster has been caregiving for her husband for nine years. He has frontotemporal dementia (aphasia), the same type of dementia as Bruce Willis. Her father-in-law, whom she also takes care of, has had Alzheimer’s for five years. When she cracked the code on how to get her husband’s sleeping back on track early in his journey with dementia, Nancy Treaster felt like a “new normal” was finally within reach. The retired software industry veteran who spent her professional life managing strategy for a publicly traded, global company found herself in unfamiliar territory with her husband’s diagnosis, and her usual techniques for quickly changing course and overcoming obstacles weren’t working.
When she reconnected with her friend, veteran caregiver Sue Ryan, the two lamented the lack of candid and practical advice for the day-to-day of caregiving for people living with dementia, and then the two former colleagues did what they knew best—they created the solution. Through The Caregiver’s Journey™, Nancy brings her business expertise, caregiving experience, and acquired knowledge as a Certified Caregiving Advocate and Certified Caregiving Consultant. Nancy lives in Johns Creek, Georgia.
Sue Ryan and her husband were already several years into his journey with Alzheimer’s disease when the pandemic hit in 2020. Given her more than thirty years of experience taking care of loved ones, including her father and grandmother, who had dementia, she naively thought she was well-equipped for this new challenge. Then Covid-created lockdowns occurred and her carefully managed system of support collapsed, just as her husband’s Covid diagnosis arrived.
Already working as a coach and advocate since 2014, Sue dug deep into her wells of support and pulled through, learning and sharing as she went. It was her sharing that caught the attention of her peer in the technology world, Nancy Treaster.
Together, they committed to dedicating themselves and their significant acumen to the task of creating a candid and practical lifeline for caregivers. Thus, The Caregiver’s Journey was born. Sue is a change strategist, speaker, author and executive coach who empowers leaders and caregivers to maximize their potential. With more than 40 years of experience as a business professional while also navigating a variety of caregiving roles, she guides families to become confident, balanced, and supported on their caregiving journey.
She also guides businesses to navigate the global crisis of family caregiving in business so both the organization and their valued working caregivers thrive. Sue has authored/co-authored five bestsellers, created an award-winning online course for caregivers, and is a certified hospice volunteer and caregiver advocate. Sue is a professional speaker, including TEDx, DisruptHR, and Vistage International.
Sue lives in Naples, Fla., where she and her husband made their home until his passing in 2023.
Nancy Treaster LinkedIn | Sue Ryan LinkedIn
The Caregiver’s Journey
The Caregiver’s Journey is a comprehensive online platform dedicated to supporting and empowering caregivers through their challenging experiences. The website offers a wealth of resources tailored to meet the diverse needs of caregivers, including informative articles, practical tips, and expert advice on various aspects of caregiving.
Visitors can access a range of tools and guides designed to help manage the day-to-day responsibilities of caregiving, as well as find emotional support and self-care strategies. The platform also features a community forum where caregivers can connect with others facing similar situations, share experiences, and offer mutual support.
The Caregiver’s Journey podcast is available on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and other major podcast apps.
Additionally, The Caregiver’s Journey provides educational resources, webinars, and workshops to enhance caregiving skills and knowledge, ensuring that caregivers feel equipped and confident in their roles.
Website | Instagram | Facebook
Topics Discussed in this Episode
00:00 Introduction and Welcome to North Fulton Business Radio
01:36 Introducing the Caregiver’s Journey
02:25 The Scope of Caregiving in the U.S.
04:43 Personal Caregiving Stories
05:55 Challenges and Emotional Impact
09:17 Family Dynamics in Caregiving
15:27 Business and Caregiving
18:18 Flexibility for Family Caregivers
18:47 Leadership Advice for Supporting Caregivers
19:51 Team Dynamics and Support
22:00 Corporate and Small Business Strategies to Support Caregivers
23:17 Insights and Practical Tips from The Caregiver’s Journey Podcast
25:13 Detailed Caregiving Challenges
27:05 Engaging and Educational Episodes
29:38 Testimonials and Impact
32:45 Conclusion and Additional Resources
Renasant Bank supports North Fulton Business Radio
Renasant Bank has humble roots, starting in 1904 as a $100,000 bank in a Lee County, Mississippi, bakery. Since then, Renasant has become one of the Southeast’s strongest financial institutions, with over $17 billion in assets and more than 180 banking, lending, wealth management, and financial services offices throughout the region. All of Renasant’s success stems from each of their banker’s commitment to investing in their communities as a way of better understanding the people they serve. At Renasant Bank, they understand you because they work and live alongside you every day.
Website | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | X (Twitter) | YouTube
Renasant Bank supports the Georgia Alliance for Breast Cancer
Georgia Alliance for Breast Cancer (formerly It’s The Journey) is a registered 501c3 non-profit that strives to support Georgia’s breast cancer community by raising funds to support breast health and breast cancer programs throughout the state of Georgia.
GAABC’s mission is to engage with Georgia’s breast cancer community to increase access to care and reduce disparities in cancer outcomes.
Randi Passoff, a breast cancer survivor, founded GAABC in 2002. She created “the kinder and gentler breast cancer walk” based off the Avon 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk. Instead of a 3-day walk of 60 miles over 3 days and sleeping in a tent, the Georgia 2-Day Walk covers 30 miles over 2 days, and participants sleep in a hotel. Most importantly, what’s raised in Georgia stays in Georgia.
Renasant Bank is a major supporter of GAABC, both in corporately donated funds and employee donations and participation in the walk.
To learn more about GAABC and the 2-Day Walk, go to the GAABC Website.
About North Fulton Business Radio and host John Ray
With over 800 shows and having featured over 1,200 guests, North Fulton Business Radio is the longest-running podcast in the North Fulton area, covering business in our community like no one else. We are the undisputed “Voice of Business” in North Fulton!
The show welcomes a wide variety of business, non-profit, and community leaders to get the word out about the important work they’re doing to serve their market, their community, and their profession. There’s no discrimination based on company size, and there’s never any “pay to play.” North Fulton Business Radio supports and celebrates business by sharing positive business stories that traditional media ignore. Some media leans left. Some media leans right. We lean business.
John Ray is the host of North Fulton Business Radio. The show is recorded and produced from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta. You can find the full archive of shows by following this link. The show is available on all the major podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon, iHeart Radio, and many others.
The studio address is 275 South Main Street, Alpharetta, GA 30009.
John Ray also operates his own business advisory practice. John’s services include advising solopreneurs and small professional services firms on their value, their positioning and business development, and their pricing. His clients are professionals who are selling their expertise, such as consultants, coaches, attorneys, CPAs, accountants and bookkeepers, marketing professionals, and other professional services practitioners.
John is the national bestselling author of The Generosity Mindset: A Journey to Business Success by Raising Your Confidence, Value, and Prices.
