Claire Cuccio
Learn about Claire Cuccio's work at the intersection of arts and wellbeing and what she brings to her job as the program coordinator and a group facilitator for the Elderwise Adult Day program.
by Genevieve Wanucha
Claire Cuccio is an arts specialist with passion and experience at the intersection of the arts, wellbeing, and community engagement. She has worked with a variety of arts and educational organizations in the US and across Asia to support creative social initiatives. For example, she worked for NeuroArts Blueprint, organizing and curating a community-building project at a Tibetan heritage school in Nepal and an international arts residency, “Tools for the Crater,” exploring depression through text, sound, and image.
Claire is interested in how art can draw a person out into the present moment and bring meaning and value into their life. “I like to use visual arts and tactile arts, such as traditional handmade crafts, to encourage people to explore questions about personal growth or the world,” she says.
While Claire has worked with students for much of her career, she has become increasingly interested in exploring how creative art can support the wellbeing of older adults and individuals living with dementia.
An Elderwise participant presses a garden cutting into clay
“Art is a way to express yourself without needing words, without having to remember or draw on complex language. It can be living through mixing colors,” says Claire.
Interested in joining an arts organization serving people living with dementia, Claire accepted the position of Program Coordinator and Group Facilitator for the Elderwise Adult Day program in June of 2025.
Elderwise®, an on-site collaborator at the Memory Hub, offers a structured adult day program featuring arts, exercise, discussion, and shared community for individuals living with dementia, while providing respite for caregivers. The program staff are guided by the philosophy and principles of Spirit-Centered Care®, created by Elderwise Co-Founders Sandy Sabersky and Ruth Neuwald Falcon. This approach honors personhood and recognizes that a person is whole regardless of physical or cognitive changes.
“I think that any day program for people living with dementia that enables independence and making one’s own choices,” says Claire, “is going to be inherently successful because the participants don't necessarily have that kind of freedom or agency in other parts of their lives. Elderwise is about creating a space where participants can enjoy things the way they want and can create the conditions in which they want to exist in the moment."
Claire joined Elderwise during a period of growth in the organization. In the last couple of years, Elderwise has expanded by offering the program 4 days a week at the Memory Hub, opening a new Eastside location in Bellevue, and growing its Board of Directors. Claire has taken on the big job of “holding” the entire organization, as Elderwise Program Director Janet Salsbury phrases it.
"Program coordination is a good role for me," she says. "My strengths are in team building, growing programs, and having a vision." As the coordinator, Claire leads and supports the Elderwise staff of facilitators and volunteers, and oversees participant enrollment, scheduling, family communication, and special event planning. Claire also works directly with Elderwise participants, facilitating group activities on select days.
Works of clay art in Elderwise
Elderwise typically focuses on wet-on-wet watercolor painting for the day’s art activity, often inspired by nature. Now, Claire is helping to offer complementary approaches, most recently a clay project in which participants experimented with different shapes and designs in the soft, pliable medium. She is also trying out new ways to use music and narrative.
"I think Elderwise is giving back the creative part of human experience," she says.
Claire appreciates how operating on-site in the collaborative environment of the Memory Hub offers Elderwise unique opportunities to leverage resources from the UW Memory and Brain Wellness Center and four other collaborating organizations. Elderwise participants spend time in Maude’s Garden at the Memory Hub and have enjoyed cultural exchange with participants in the Chinese Healthy Aging Program offered by Kin On Health Care Center. Caregivers and family members can learn about support resources and consultations available at the Memory Hub, including those offered by the Alzheimer’s Association® and other partners.
Looking ahead, Claire is interested in exploring additional ways to support caregivers of Elderwise participants at the Memory Hub.
Claire holds a PhD in Japanese Literature from Stanford University and speaks Japanese and Mandarin. These language skills have helped her connect with participants of Japanese heritage, and she hopes for more opportunities to do so.
“For me to be able to pronounce names correctly, or to reference Japanese ideas or concepts in a particular situation that might make them feel more connected or more comfortable has been and will be incredibly valuable.”
Outside of work, Claire doesn’t leave the arts. She freelances for the International Examiner and various arts publications. Recently, Claire ran a workshop for the Photography Center Northwest. She is involved in a variety of creative projects that facilitate wellbeing through the arts.
