NCCDP Names Karen Coppola, CDP as 2025 CDP of the Year

December 2025 - From the National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners and the entire dementia care community: congratulations, Karen, on being named 2025 CDP of the Year.

Karen Coppola, RDH, CDP, EAL has been selected as NCCDP’s 2025 Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP) of the Year—an honor that reflects what so many families, caregivers, and community partners already know: Karen brings rare steadiness, creativity, and heart to dementia care.

In Karen, we recognize a practitioner whose work lives at the intersection of clinical insight, lived caregiver experience, and practical innovation—and whose presence consistently restores dignity, connection, and confidence for people living with dementia and the care partners who walk beside them.

A steady guide when families need it most

Karen was nominated by Dr. Jeanine McCleod, who shared how she first connected with Karen through the Veterans Administration (VA) Caregiver Support Program, where Karen serves as a Peer Mentor. In a season marked by rapid change and uncertainty, Karen’s calm clarity, insightful counsel, and nonjudgmental support became a lifeline—helping a family find steadier footing, and later extending that same humility and consistency to countless others.

Innovation that brings partners back together: It Takes a Herd™

Karen’s trailblazing work is perhaps best known through It Takes a Herd™ (ITAH), a trademarked, dementia-friendly equine-assisted program that blends dementia care expertise, Equine-Assisted Learning (EAL), and a deeply person-centered approach. Through structured, meaningful activities with horses—paired with a robust, research-informed curriculum—Karen intentionally supports both the person living with dementia and the care partner, creating space for connection, confidence, and shared purpose.

Not a doctor’s appointment—an experience that restores connection

The impact of Karen’s work is especially visible when participants describe it in their own words. In a Boston 25 News segment filmed at Strongwater Farm in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, viewers see caregivers and loved ones engaging side-by-side in hands-on activities with horses—an experience that is social, skill-building, and emotionally grounding. Karen’s approach meets a real gap: support that truly serves both members of the caregiving partnership.

Read more at www.nccdp.org