Dementia Gateway: Biographies
Colm Cunningham
Colm Cunningham joined The Dementia Service Development Centre, University of Stirling in 2004,. Colm is the Director of Operations for the centre and its satellite services. Colm has a background in general and learning disability nursing before he undertook his Diploma in Social Work. He completed an MSc in Dementia Studies at the University of Stirling in 2002. Colm's current publications are on the design of environments for people with dementia and support for people in acute care.
Section editor: The environment
Professor June Andrews
Professor June Andrews is Director of the Dementia Services Development Centre at the University of Stirling. June is a psychiatric and general trained nurse and has worked in government, the NHS, and the Royal College of Nursing. June leads the DSDC which has provided education and information for service improvement in dementia care for over twenty years, with distance learning students throughout the UK and beyond.
Section editor: The environment
Professor Dawn Brooker
Professor Dawn Brooker is Director of the University of Worcester Association for Dementia Studies. Dawn is a clinical psychologist who has worked in a variety of clinical, academic and managerial posts in services for older people for over twenty-five years. In 2009 she established the University of Worcester Association for Dementia Studies to provide education, training, research and evaluation for those involved in providing care and support to people with dementia and their families.
Section editor: Getting to know the person with dementia
Sally Knocker
Sally Knocker, Pg Dip Dramatherapy is Director of Communications for National Association for Providers of Activities for Older People (NAPA), and freelance trainer and writer in older people's care.
Sally wrote and edited the Alzheimer's Society Book of Activities (2002) Age Concern England's 'The Whole of Me' (2006) and Counsel and Care's 'Not Only Bingo' (2007). Sally has worked with people with dementia and their families over the last twenty years, and is passionate about NAPA's vision to bring activity into the heart of good care.
Section editor: Keeping active and occupied
Buz Loveday
Buz Loveday is a specialist dementia care trainer with 17 years experience of devising and delivering tailor-made training for a large number of local authorities, private and voluntary sector care providers. Buz was the dementia trainer for CSCI, and provides training for the Alzheimer's Society. Buz and her team also provide accredited training in dementia care knowledge and practice, dementia care leadership, and dementia care training skills. Buz was co-author, with Tom Kitwood, of the training manual 'Improving Dementia Care', and co-wrote the new Alzheimer's Society training pack 'Tomorrow is Another Day', and SCIE's e-learning resource 'The Open Dementia Programme'.
Section editor: Difficult situations
Gwen Coleman
Gwen is a dementia specialist for Anchor providing dementia training and support for care and support services. Gwen is also a Registered Dietician (RD). She worked as a dementia training manager for the Alzheimer's society for 8 years where she developed her interest and speciality in diet, nutrition and dementia care. She managed the Alzheimer's society research based 'Food for thought' project, wrote a series of nutrition related practice guides, a catering guide and resources for carers. She also developed and delivered training around this topic.
Section editor: Eating well for people with dementia
David Thompson
Dr David Thompson is a Senior Practice Development Manager at the Social Care Institute for Excellence with responsibility for work on mental capacity. He has a wide experience of direct work, practice development, research and teaching, mainly involving people with learning disabilities. His areas of interest include advocacy, ageing, family carers and sexual issues – the latter being the focus of his PhD. David is also a Court of Protection Visitor.
Section editor: Making decisions
Karen Harrison Dening
Karen Harrison Dening is a Consultant Admiral Nurse working in Barnet Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust. She is also seconded to the National Council for Palliative Care to provide expertise to their work on dementia care. Karen has worked in dementia care for over 25 years and is now undertaking doctorate studies in advance care planning in dementia.
Section editor: End of life care for people with dementia
Sharon Scott
Sharon Scott trained as a registered general nurse. Over the past 15 years she has concentrated her clinical work and academic study in the field of specialist palliative care and has gained experience both in the UK and overseas. Over the past four years Sharon has developed a palliative care service for people with advanced dementia and their carers at St Christopher's Hospice in London. She is now a Dementia Palliative Care Research Nurse for Marie Curie, University College London.
Section editor: End of life care for people with dementia
Ruth Bartlett
Ruth Bartlett is a senior lecturer in Dementia Studies at the University of Bradford. With a background in mental health nursing and a doctorate in sociology, Ruth's current research interests are in activism, collective identity and younger people with dementia. Recently she has written a book about citizenship co-authored with Deborah O'Connor.
Section editor: Young onset dementia
Agnes Houston
Agnes Houston was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2006. She was the practice manager of a chiropractic practice until her diagnosis. Since her diagnosis, she has begun to develop her creative side, attending an art group, and she keeps fit at the gym and practises meditation. As vice chair of the Scottish Dementia Working Group, Agnes campaigns on many issues including better dementia training for nurses and raising awareness of visual difficulties commonly experienced by people with dementia. She has spoken at a number of conferences and training events in the UK and at the Alzheimer Europe conference in Oslo. She has had articles published in journals and newspapers, given radio interviews and appeared in several training DVDs. Agnes has reviewed and commented on this section of the SCIE Dementia Gateway in light of her experience of living with dementia.
Section editor: Young onset dementia
Janet Lallysmith
Janet Lallysmith began working in the field of health and social care over 20 years ago. Her main work experience is in adult mental health, particularly crisis work. She now works with Buz Loveday as an associate of DementiaTrainers. She is a qualified dementia care mapper and provides training across a range of topics in dementia care.
Section author: Antipsychotic medication and dementia and Alternatives to antipsychotic medication
