Alissa Anderegg

Alissa Anderegg is an Alzheimer’s Association advocate, actress, singer, and high school student. She has been involved with the Alzheimer’s cause since her grandmother, Mary Fran Anderegg, was diagnosed with the disease. Alissa most notably appeared in the Emmy-award-winning documentary, The Alzheimer’s Project: Grandpa Do You Know Who I Am? with Maria Shriver which debuted last year on HBO. After an initial on camera interview, Alissa’s story touched the hearts of the producers and directors who expanded her story into one of the five lessons the segment explores. In “Lesson 5: You can be the keeper of memories”, Alissa interviews her grandmother’s closest friends and loved ones to learn about her life before Alzheimer’s.

Additionally, Alissa is a seasoned performer in musical theatre and various acting genres. She worked for three years as an original cast member of Mattel’s The American Girls’ Revue at the American Girls Place Los Angeles where she inspired audiences with the show’s message “I will be the best that I can be”. With American Girl, she sang at venues throughout Southern California including the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, the opening of the Mattel Children’s Hospital, the Grove, the Girls on the Run Marathon, Geffen Playhouse, and several events at the store as one of eight brand ambassadors. Alissa’s theatre credits include starring in the Los Angeles premiere of Parade, winner of the StageScene LA “Best Musical” award, as Annie in three productions of Annie throughout Northern and Southern California, and as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz benefitting Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Ronald McDonald House Charities. She enjoys using her gift of singing to promote charities and causes she believes in. Her upcoming projects include co-hosting and starring in Kabaret for Kids in Northern California with proceeds going to the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano and in a concert benefitting LifeLine for Pets of Pasadena’s Cat Pad. Also, Alissa has worked as a Ford model where she has appeared in campaigns and been a fit model for companies like the Gap, Old Navy, and Mervyns.

Throughout the years, Alissa has been singing and speaking at events throughout the state to raise awareness for Alzheimer’s disease. She is in an Alzheimer’s Association registered advocate, spoke with Assemblymen in Sacramento during the Alzheimer’s Action Summit, performed in the Alzheimer’s Association’s Night at Sardi’s: Bye Bye Birdie fundraiser directed by Seinfeld’s Jason Alexander that raised $1 million, sang at Leeza Gibbon’s Circle of Care: Leeza’s Place 2nd Anniversary celebration, and has walked and sung in Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walks in Los Angeles and San Francisco for the past three years. This spring, she organized the FIJI’s Across America send-off event at Leeza’s Place for a group of fraternity brothers who biked from California to Virginia to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Association. As a titleholder in the Miss America scholarship program, Alissa has embraced Alzheimer’s Awareness as her platform and spreads the word throughout her appearances. Recently she started the Facebook group, Alz4Kidz & Alz4Teenz: Resources for kids about Alzheimer’s for kids and teens to talk with others their age about dealing with loved ones with Alzheimer’s, and for them to get involved and learn more about the disease.

Even though she is only 16, Alissa does not let her age stop her from achieving her dreams and giving back to her community. In her spare time she volunteers with several charities in Los Angeles County as a member of the National Charity League where she has earned the coveted 100 hour community service award for the past three years, attends events as Miss San Jose’s Outstanding Teen, choreographs numbers for her high school dance team, and commutes from her Bay Area home to Los Angeles for auditions. She is so excited to speak among her biggest role models for a wonderful cause