Mikey Hoag, Part the Cloud

“I felt powerless the day I learned my father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and I turned to my husband Jay and asked, what can we do?”
Michaela “Mikey” Hoag

Michaela “Mikey” Hoag, Founder and Chair of Part the Cloud, shared the story behind her title with us on September 18, 2022.

In 2012, Mikey partnered with the Alzheimer’s Association and a steering committee of women affected by the disease to launch the first Part the Cloud Gala. Since then, Part the Cloud has evolved into more than a star-studded fundraiser — it’s a movement to transform progress in Alzheimer’s research.

“The possibility of solving this disease is real and within our generation,” Mikey says. “I know that I can raise money, and I’m confident in the Association’s ability to invest the funds in the most meaningful ways.”

In 2019, Bill Gates made a personal $10 million gift to the Alzheimer’s Association to stimulate an additional $20 million in private funding for the Part the Cloud global research grant program. Part the Cloud’s total research investment in clinical research now totals $65 million in 65 research projects.

SUE SAYS

“We often don’t know what circumstances will enter our lives that completely change our course. What I learned from Mikey is that the best way to handle it is to be proactive. When Mikey’s father passed away she realized the power her personal story could have in rallying people around the Alzheimer’s cause. When her mother started to show signs of the disease, it was clear that she was meant to be a voice for the cause and a leader in raising the money necessary to “kick things into high gear.” Watch and listen to her optimism around the fight to end Alzheimer’s once and for all.”