About Daniel C. Potts, MD, FAAN

Coauthor of A Pocket Guide for the Alzheimer’s Caregiver and one of Maria Shriver’s Architects of Change, neurologist Daniel C. Potts champions life-affirming care for those living with Alzheimer’s disease/Dementia and their care partners.

On staff at Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center, Potts also is Founder and President of Cognitive Dynamics Foundation, through which is channeled inspiration and hope born of caring for his father, Lester, who became an acclaimed watercolor artist in the throes of Alzheimer’s disease. Potts tells his father’s story of triumph, hope, and creativity internationally.

A 10-time Patient Choice Award winner and one of America’s Top Physicians, Potts holds a BS in biology from Birmingham-Southern College and received his MD from the University of South Alabama College of Medicine. He completed his internship in internal medicine and was chief resident in neurology under Dr. John N. Whitaker at the UAB Heersink School of Medicine. A Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), Dr. Potts also is an affiliate of the Alabama Research Institute on Aging, the University of Alabama Department of Psychology, the James Houston Center for Faith and Successful Aging, and the McCollough Institute for Pre-Medical Scholars, and is on the clinical faculty at both the University of Alabama and the University of South Alabama Medical Schools. In 2016, he was chosen by the University of Alabama Medical Alumni Association as a recipient of the Martha Myers Role Model Award, honoring physician alumni whose lives epitomize the ideal of service to their communities.

A noted writer, Dr. Potts coauthored the best-selling Neurology for the Boards, has authored numerous articles and blogs about Alzheimer’s disease/Dementia for Maria Shriver and others, and is a frequent guest on podcasts dealing with dementia, caregiving, neurology, and the expressive arts. Potts co-authored Treasure for Alzheimer’s with Richard Morgan, PhD, and Finding Joy in Alzheimer’s with Marie Marley, PhD. He also co-authored the first chapter on expressive arts therapies in a major medical textbook, Geriatric Neurology (2014, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.). His latest book, Bringing Art to Life (2022, Resource Publications), shares reflections and poetry from the intergenerational expressive arts program of the same name that he co-created. In addition to professional writing, he has been a lyricist for nationally known composers, and has published 7 books of photographs and poetry.

Dr. Potts has served on the Alabama Alzheimer’s Task Force, the Alabama Coalition for Culture Change, and the Boards of Directors of Alzheimer’s of Central Alabama, the Alabama Humanities Foundation, and the Mal and Charlotte Moore Center for Caring Days. Potts serves on the advisory board for Embodied Labs, a healthcare virtual reality development and training company. He was a co-convener of the Clergy Against Alzheimer’s and Faith United Against Alzheimer’s advocacy networks, and was Editor-in-Chief of Seasons of Caring, the first-ever multi-faith collection of meditations for dementia caregivers. Potts serves as a media expert for the AAN, and was named Donald M. Palatucci Advocate of the Year by the AAN in 2008. With Edie Hand, he hosted Rx for Healthy Lifestyles on the Rural TV Network.

Potts is a baritone soloist in both his church choir (First Presbyterian Church of Tuscaloosa), the Birmingham-Southern College Alumni Choir, the Southern Harmony quartet, and the professional choral ensemble, Sursum Corda. He resides in Tuscaloosa, Alabama with his wife, Ellen W. Potts, MBA.