About
Andrea Schell
aka The Daughter
I was a caregiver to my mother, Judy Sue, for 10 years. Quite the journey.
I have a Master's in Interdisciplinary Studies from New York University where I focused my research on unpaid family dementia caregiving, bridging gender, sociology, feminist economics, and bioethics with creative practice.
My first Master's is in Sociology: Gender, Sexuality, and Society from the University of Amsterdam where I focused on female representation and feminist methodologies.
You can learn more about my work at andreaschell.com.
If you would like to contact me for any reason, please do so at hello@andreaschell.com.
Bonus content
Judy Sue - The Music Video
While this site is about being a caregiver, it is also about my Mom. If you would like to get to know her more, and get a song stuck in your head for the rest of your life, please check out the music video below that I made for her 70th birthday. Hilariously, this video got the attention of a national magazine and was featured as a "Best Gift Ever" idea. Enjoy!
Additional Work on Dementia Care
Research, programming, and public engagement
Conference Paper · American Men's Studies Association (2026)
Representing the Black Male Family Dementia Caregiver
How can cultural representation shape caregiving identity?
Examines the Academy Award-winning film American Fiction through a dementia caregiving lens, exploring how cultural representation may influence perceptions of Black male family caregivers and expand conversations around masculinity, care, and community.
Key insights
Representation shapes not only how caregivers are perceived by others, but also how individuals may come to understand themselves as caregivers.
Conversation
Discussing Dementia with Mettle Health
Joined Mettle Health for a public conversation exploring dementia caregiving, self-care, caregiver identity, and the experience of being temporarily able-bodied and able-minded.
Exploratory Qualitative Research Study · New York University
Understanding the Lived Experience of Family Caregiving
What can we learn by listening closely to family caregivers?
Designed and conducted an independent qualitative study with adult daughters caring for parents living with dementia. Through in-depth interviews, literature review, and thematic analysis, explored caregiver identity, responsibility, administrative burden, and changing family relationships over time.
Key insights
Listening closely to caregivers reveals dimensions of care that often remain invisible, including identity, dignity, and the everyday work that sustains families living with dementia.
Graduate Research, Curriculum · New York University
Interrogating Arrangements of Unpaid Dementia Care
How is unpaid family dementia care organized and what alternatives might exist?
Developed an interdisciplinary graduate seminar examining the history, economics, ethics, and future of unpaid family dementia caregiving, drawing together scholarship from sociology, feminist theory, disability studies, economics, philosophy, and public policy.
Key insights
Understanding caregiving requires looking beyond individual caregivers to the broader social, economic, and political systems that organize care.
Graduate Research · New York University
The Fulcrum of Dignity
What changes when we place the caregiver at the center of care?
Developed a conceptual framework positioning unpaid family dementia caregivers as the fulcrum through which dignity flows toward, or away from, the person receiving care, calling for interventions that support caregivers materially as well as emotionally.
Key insights
Supporting caregivers is not simply about improving caregiving skills, but about strengthening the conditions that allow dignity to be sustained throughout the caregiving relationship.
Programming
Creating Creative Health for Dementia Caregivers
Partnered with No Barriers USA to develop and facilitate creative health programming for caregiver retreats. Designed original workshops focused on caregiver identity, resilience, and creative expression, including an exercise later adopted into the organization's ongoing programming.
No Barriers USA →
Case Study
Creative Health @ University of Huddersfield
Featured as a creative health case study examining The Daughter's Department of Dementia Care as an example of how creative practice can contribute to health, wellbeing, and public understanding.
Read the case study →