The Aging & Brain Health Alliance at Rutgers University-Newark fosters interdisciplinary and university-community collaboration to expand our understanding of aging, brain health, and the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. We focus on populations with elevated risk for dementia, especially African Americans, who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease at over twice the rate of the general population. In partnership with local community-based and faith-based organizations, we promote Alzheimer’s awareness and risk reduction through brain-healthy habits and lifestyle choices. Each year, we reach about 1,200 local African American residents through our community-based heath education programs and about 5,000 people through our public health newsletter, Aging & Brain Health.Since 2015, over 850 older African Americans from in and around Newark have joined our “Pathways to Healthy Aging in African Americans” program as Very Important Participants (VIPs). Through their participation they strive to improve their own brain health and reduce their risk for Alzheimer’s disease, while also supporting and participating in NIA-funded research on healthy aging.