THE INSTITUTE

ABOUT

Where lived experience and science becomes collective leadership.

The Walking the Talk for Dementia Institute (WTDI) is a Brazil-based, non-profit organization built to challenge how dementia is experienced, understood and researched.

What began as a group of friends united by a shared purpose to create an immersive experience has evolved into Walking the Talk for Dementia (WTD) - a global platform for education, research, advocacy, collaboration, and community-building grounded in Patient/Person and Public Involvement (PPI) - and has ultimately led to the creation of our own organization, shaped by those who understand dementia from diverse scientific, social, and lived perspectives.

First WTDI Founders' Meeting – Atlantic Institute House, Oxford

WHY IT MATTERS

Dementia is not only a medical condition, it is a social, cultural, political, and deeply human experience.

Real change does not come from louder experts but from curiosity and deeper conversations, held in spaces where vulnerability, knowledge, and lived experience carry equal weight.

WHAT WE DO

The Institute acts across four interconnected domains:

Education

Designing learning experiences that challenge traditional power dynamics and center lived experience as legitimate expertise.

Community-building

Sustaining a global, intergenerational network of people connected by dementia — across research, care, policy, arts, and advocacy.

Research

Producing participatory, co-authored, and ethically grounded knowledge that reflects real lives and real complexity.

Advocacy & systems change

Supporting organizations and institutions to move from consultation to true co-creation with people living with dementia and care partners.

All four pillars merge in our annual Walking the Talk for Dementia conference, where education, community, research, and advocacy are lived in practice.

WHO WE ARE

The WTD Institute was founded and is led by an international group of researchers, advocates, professionals, artists, and people with lived experience in dementia, working across disciplines and perspectives to advance more inclusive ways of knowing and doing.

Board Members

Fernando Aguzzoli-Peres

Executive Director & Board Member

Journalist, Senior Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health at Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI) - Trinity College Dublin (TCD), and Director of Institutional Development at the International Longevity Centre Brazil (ILC-BR). Author of five books on dementia, with nearly 500,000 copies sold. A three-time TEDx speaker, Senior Fellow of the U.S. Department of State's Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI).

Fernando's work is deeply shaped by his personal experience as a care partner to his grandmother during his adolescence. His interests and expertise span clinical communication, community building, and storytelling as tools for connection, advocacy, and systemic change.

Maria Eugênia Godoy

Financial Director & Board Member

Senior Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health at Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI) - Trinity College Dublin (TCD); Project Manager of the multi-partner consortium to expand dementia research in Latin America; and International Advisor at BrainLat, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez (Chile).

She previously served as Coordinator of Bilateral Cooperation at Argentina's Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation, with extensive experience in the design and implementation of international science and cooperation policies.

Maria Teresa Ferretti

Stakeholder Engagement Lead & Board Member

Neuroscientist and science advocate, Maria Teresa brings over 20 years of global experience in Alzheimer's and brain research across academia (McGill University, University of Zurich, Karolinska Institute), not-for-profit organizations, and startups (Syntropic Medical). A Fellow of the European Academy of Neurology and Privatdozent at the Medical University of Vienna, she is a well-known expert and speaker in the fields of dementia and gender medicine, including two TEDx talks, over 50 peer-reviewed publications, three textbooks, two books for the general public, and several policy reports.

Maria Teresa's vision is that science, to be truly impactful, must move beyond silos and actively engage with society - especially people with lived experience of brain diseases. Her work focuses on creating platforms for exchange, communication, and collaboration, including the development of innovative forms of Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) in research.

Kate Irving

Research & Evaluation Lead & Board Member

Professor of Clinical Nursing at Dublin City University, she holds a PhD from Curtin University (Australia) focused on the use of physical and chemical restraint in acute medical settings. She is Vice-Chair of the COST Action EDEM (Ethics and Dementia) and Coordinator of the FP7-funded In-MINDD study on dementia risk reduction.

She previously led Ireland's National Dementia Education Programme, The Dementia Skills Elevator, designed to upskill workplaces and communities nationwide, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Alzheimer's Society of Ireland.

Max Schulte

Head of Media & Board Member

Filmmaker and photographer with over 10 years of experience documenting diverse cultures across countries. For the past three years, he has worked as a dementia advocate, using visual storytelling to raise awareness and amplify the voices of people living with a diagnosis.

Julia Passador

Head of Legal and Compliance & Board Member

Julia is a lawyer with experience in civil litigation and corporate matters, advising on dispute resolution, governance, and complex legal structures. She is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Legal Philosophy, with a particular interest in the connections between law and language.

Her work and perspective are deeply informed by her family's lived experience of supporting a loved one living with dementia for nearly 12 years—an experience that has shaped her understanding of care, relationships, and shared responsibility within communities. At the Walking the Talk for Dementia Institute, Julia is committed to strengthening legal and compliance frameworks, supporting ethical governance in service of meaningful systemic change.

Laurie Waters

Board Member

President of the U.S.-based NGO Paint Clover Purple Dementia Association. A member of the Global Dementia Expert Panel at Alzheimer's Disease International (ADI) and a former Ambassador and Early Stage Advisory Group member for the Alzheimer's Association, Laurie brings both lived experience and global leadership to her work.

Diagnosed with young-onset dementia at age 52, she has transformed her diagnosis into a mission championing inclusion, connection, and hope, and inspiring people around the world to live fully, with purpose and dignity, after a dementia diagnosis.

Elisabetta Favero

Board Member

Elisabetta is Italian and based in Dublin. She co-leads the Alumni Program of the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI). In her role at GBHI, Elisabetta supports global brain health and equity by fostering relationships, creating learning and networking opportunities, and managing creative collaborations.

She champions balanced nutrition, mind–body practices, and joyful social engagement as pathways to dementia prevention and resilient cognitive ageing - and truly walks the talk as a practicing nutritionist and yogi. Before joining GBHI, Elisabetta helped establish the Trinity Centre for Global Intercultural Communications. Prior to joining Trinity College Dublin, she held relationship management roles at KPMG and PA Consulting. Elisabetta's passion lies in bridging cultural, generational, and disciplinary contexts to advance global brain health.

Charlèss Dupont

Board Member

Charlèss Dupont holds a PhD in Medical Sciences, is a registered nurse with a BSc in Communication, and holds an MSc in Management and Health Policy. As a nurse, she has over ten years of experience working in nursing homes and with people living with dementia.

She is currently working as an Ethics Advisor for the European Research Council (ERC). Before joining the ERC, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher with the End-of-Life Care Research Group at Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Ghent University in Belgium.

Eduardo Zimmer

Board Member

Head of Research at Hospital Moinhos de Vento (Brazil), Assistant Professor at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), and Adjunct Professor at McGill University (Canada). He is a CNPq Productivity Fellow (Level B) and a grantee of the Serrapilheira Institute and Ciência Pioneira programs. He is the recipient of the Alzheimer's Association One-to-Watch Award (2021) and the Blas Frangione Early Career Achievement Award (2024).

He has authored over 150 scientific publications and has extensive experience in both experimental and clinical research on Alzheimer's disease.

João Barbosa

Board Member

João Barbosa is an award-winning portrait photographer and visual storyteller based in Braga, Portugal. With over a decade of professional experience, he uses photography to explore memory, identity, and care, with a special focus on dementia.

His work aims to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and support advocacy by making the lived experiences of people with dementia and their caregivers visible with dignity and empathy.

Agustin Ibáñez

Board Member

Agustín Ibáñez is a global leader in brain health, serving as Director of Global Research Networks at the Global Brain Health Institute (Trinity College Dublin) and Scientific Director of the Latin American Brain Health Institute (BrainLat, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez).

His research bridges computational neuroscience, aging clocks, exposome science, whole-body health, and artificial intelligence to advance understanding of brain health across diverse populations. Author of over 500 publications and recipient of major international grants (NIH, NIA, Wellcome Trust, Alzheimer's Association), he leads multicenter initiatives such as ReDLat and CliCBrain, promoting equitable, transdisciplinary approaches to precision brain health worldwide.

Effective Members

Iracema Leroi

Effective Member

Professor of Geriatric Psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin, Site Director of the Global Brain Health Institute as of 2025, and Consultant Geriatric Psychiatrist at St James' Hospital, Dublin. She was formerly Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Manchester. She currently leads the HRB Clinical Trials Network Dementia Trials Ireland and serves as Principal Investigator for a portfolio of pharmacological and non-pharmacological dementia clinical trials.

Driven by a commitment to place people with lived experience at the centre of research and care, Iracema's work focuses on the mental and cognitive health aspects of Lewy body diseases. She leads Ireland's EMERALD-Lewy programme and was Chief Investigator of the EU Horizon 2020 SENSE-Cog programme, which explored the links between sensory impairment and cognitive decline.

Michelle Steele

Effective Member

Chief First Nations Officer at the Paul Ramsay Foundation; Senior Fellow of the Atlantic Fellows for Social Equity at the University of Melbourne; and Co-Chair of the Global Fellows Advisory Board with the Atlantic Institute. She is an award-winning graduate of the Executive Master of Business Administration program at Queensland University of Technology.

Michelle's work is deeply informed by the impact of dementia on Indigenous peoples, particularly in Australia, where members of her own family are living with or have been affected by the condition. Her interests are grounded in her proud heritage as a Kamilaroi woman, and in advancing equity, leadership, and culturally grounded responses to dementia.

Clara Dominguez

Effective Member

Clinical neurologist, PhD, and Senior Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health at Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI) - Trinity College Dublin (TCD).

Clara has been involved in clinical practice and research in the fields of neurodegenerative disorders and headache, working mainly in Galicia, a region in northwest Spain with one of the fastest aging populations in the world. She works closely with patient associations and has a particular interest in non-pharmacological therapies. Her interest in neurodegenerative disorders stems from her family history of dementia - both of her grandmothers were affected - as well as from her fascination with human behavior and emotions.

Supporting Members

Graham Galloway

Supporting Member

Graham Galloway is the CEO of Meeting Centres Scotland, a charity that supports and oversees the development of dementia Meeting Centres across Scotland.

Meeting Centres are an evidence-based, hyperlocal model of community support for families affected by dementia, originally developed in the Netherlands, and now growing worldwide.

Claire Sexton

Supporting Member

Claire completed her doctoral and postdoctoral studies at the University of Oxford, before moving to the University of California San Francisco as an Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health.

Claire then served as Senior Director, Scientific Programs and Outreach, at the Alzheimer's Association. Claire is currently completing her MBA at the University of Warwick.

Helen Medsger

Supporting Member

Helen B. Medsger was the care partner and health advocate for two generations of her family who lived with Lewy body dementia.

She is currently a caregiver support group facilitator, educational speaker, research participant, and institutional advisor. She previously served as Chair of the Long-term Services & Supports Subcommittee of the U.S. NAPA Advisory Council on Alzheimer's Research, Care & Services.

Sherril Gelmon

Supporting Member

Sherril Gelmon has 20+ years of lived experience of dementia through the journeys of her late parents and her husband Phil. Her research and advocacy seek to improve systems and supports for dementia care partners, to address the challenges she experienced. She is Professor Emerita of Health Systems Management and Policy at Portland State University (USA).

She has co-led the WTD evaluation research activities 2024-2026. She serves on the GBHI Lived Experience Advisory Group, teaches and mentors Atlantic Fellows at Trinity, and serves on the Executive Committee of the ISTAART "Partnering with Research Participants" PIA. She participated in WTD 2024 and 2025.

OUR PAPERS

Alzheimer's & Dementia Journal (2024): 'Walking the talk for dementia: A unique immersive, embodied, and multi-experiential initiative' Nature Reviews Neurology (2025): 'Walking the Talk for Dementia — an experience to break down barriers' Alzheimer's & Dementia Journal (2026): 'The scope and impact of Walking the Talk for Dementia 2024'