Kathy Hickman has worked with health service organizations for more than 25 years. As Senior Director, Education & Knowledge Translation with the Alzheimer Society of Ontario, Kathy leads the Education team in the development and implementation of in-person, virtual and elearning education programs for people living with dementia and their families, professional care providers and the general public as well as supporting best practice development for education services at local Alzheimer Societies in Ontario and the professional development of Alzheimer Society staff and volunteers across the province.
Kathy has led the design of Alzheimer Society education programs such as the U-First!® suite of education programs for direct care providers and care partners of people living with dementia and the First Link® Learning Series including the Taking Control of Our Lives self-management program for people with early stage dementia and their care partners, offering support, education workshops and strategies early on and throughout the disease process so they’re better able to manage the dementia journey. She provides strategic oversight for the growing elearning platform ALZeducate.ca which offers both live and asynchronous learning for a variety of stakeholders, as well as the Dementia Dialogue podcast and Dementia Friendly Communities which both aim to increase awareness and reduce stigma related to dementia.
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 Global Learning Partners, Certified Dialogue Education™ Trainer.