Our History

Gary W. Steinke, M.D., Rose Kleiner, M.S.W., L.C.S.W., Michael Gilfix, Esq., and Elayne Brill founded Respite and Research for Alzheimer's Disease (RRAD), a non-profit corporation, in 1984. Their vision was simple but ambitious: create a safe, dignified place where people living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias could spend the day, while their caregivers found respite, education and community.

In 1986, the Alzheimer's Activity Center opened its doors in a Willow Glen school site. Just two years later, in 1988, the State of California designated the AAC as a Designated Alzheimer's Day Care Resource Center — making it the first large-capacity, dementia-specific adult day care program in the country.

In 1991 the program relocated to a newly built 9,000 sq. ft. facility on Enborg Lane in San Jose, where it remains today. That same year, the Rosa Elena Childcare Center opened on the same campus, bringing an intergenerational dimension to the agency's work and giving children and elders the chance to learn from one another every day.

Over the decades the AAC has served thousands of Santa Clara County families, hosted state and national researchers studying dementia care, and trained generations of staff, students and volunteers in the art of person-centered care.

Today RRAD continues its mission: maximizing physical, social, intellectual and emotional functioning for our clients while supporting the families who love them.