When Camille Salisbury joined the Memory & Movement Charlotte Board of Directors in March 2025 she needed little introduction. In the local Parkinson’s world especially, she’s a legend. Camille and her husband Andy were among the first people Dr. Sanjay Iyer met in Charlotte – and they’re a big part of the reason he’s here.

“When Andy was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1996 at age 44, there was no specialized Parkinson’s care in Charlotte. We travelled all over the southeast to find care and treatment. I joined a committee at Atrium that started the Movement Disorders Center there. When Sanjay arrived patients flocked to him…including us!”

Camille’s advocacy didn’t stop there. Camille and Andy co-founded Close to a Cure along with another Charlotte family impacted by Parkinson’s. With an army of volunteers and friends, they brought both Muhammad Ali and Janet Reno to Charlotte and raised over $1 million for Parkinson’s research. Later, Camille, Andy and their children launched Pounding the Pavement for Parkinson’s and raised over $500,000 for Atrium’s Movement Disorders Center.

When Dr. Iyer joined MMC in 2019, Camille and Andy stayed in touch with him and learned more about MMC’s family-focused approach to care. “When Andy was diagnosed, our daughter was four and our son was an infant. They never knew their dad before Parkinson’s. I spent years trying to make life ‘normal’ for them – but I realize now that it was never the kind of normal I was striving for. Living with Andy made them the mature, caring adults they are today. I’m grateful for that, but I see how much we all would have benefited from MMC’s resources. Families dealing with a progressive illness need the support and education MMC provides, to recognize that normal looks different for everyone and that’s what’s truly normal.”

Camille looks around the clinic and smiles. “I never thought this would be my imprint on the world, but looking back, it all makes sense. I have a background in marketing, lived experience that proves MMC’s mission, and a passion for making a difference. Those roads lead right here.”