Within her role as Education Manager for the Alzheimer Society of Ontario, Kathy led the design of the Alzheimer Society U-First! training program for health care providers of people living with dementia, the First Link® Learning Series for people with early stage dementia and their care partners and the Taking Control of Our Lives self-management of dementia program in partnership with the Centre for Education and Research in Aging and Health, Lakehead University. The change that is brought about in the lives of people living with dementia can be momentous and the approach to learning how to maneuverer this journey must therefore be transformative in nature. Kathy used Dialogue Education™ to create such a learning experience for this group and to design training for Facilitators.
Kathy has also worked as a Knowledge Broker with the brainXchange (formerly the Alzheimer Knowledge Exchange) since 2009 supporting the integration of knowledge into practice by developing strategies and processes to support effective KTE, facilitating communities of practice, supporting effective knowledge use by surfacing existing knowledge, catalyzing the development of new knowledge by bringing the right people and knowledge together.
Kathy believes in the importance of purposefulness in both the planning and learning process. She aims to help learners define a vision of what it is they truly want to achieve, while honouring and respecting their ability to succeed in making that vision a reality. Kathy attempts to find ways of tapping into the affective domain in order to help learners find their own meaning and inspiration to create change for themselves and those around them. Using powerful visual images is a favourite way to support this discovery of meaning. Kathy creates an open, comfortable and safe atmosphere for learning with and from others.
In addition to her passion for her work with and for people living with dementia and their care partners, Kathy loves spending time with her family which includes 3 young boys who keep her on her toes.
Kathy has a Bachelor of Applied Science in Gerontology from the University of Guelph and a Master of Education from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto, and is a Certified Dialogue Education™ Trainer.