Dementia - Activities
Online Resources for Older Adults and Seniors Living with Dementia
About Us
Dalia earned her PhD from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in 2006 in the Institute of Health Promotion Research and the Interdisciplinary Studies Program. In 2011 she completed a Post Doctoral Fellowship with the Department of Psychology at UBC. In 1976 she graduated from the Bezalel Academy of Arts & Design in Jerusalem, and in 1980 received a Master's of Architecture degree from UBC. After working in architecture for about 30 years and raising a family, Dalia returned to school to pursue a new direction in gerontology, specifically in the study of creative expression, dementia and the therapeutic environment. The Creative Expression Activities Program she conceived and developed for seniors with dementia won an award from the American Society on Aging and the MetLife Foundation. She continues to deliver presentations and workshops demonstrating the program and her research work in the US, Canada, Israel and Europe. Dalia founded the Society for the Arts in Dementia Care in British Columbia and is the moving force behind the annual international conferences and workshops on creative expression, communication and dementia (CECD).
Hilary is the President of
Spark of Life, with a global focus on dementia education, research and innovation, working with leaders who are agents of change in different fields. Hilary has background in occupational therapy and a Master’s Degree in Science from Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Western Australia. Hilary has pioneered projects on how to ease the transition to residential care, early identification and prevention of depression and a multidisciplinary approach to palliative care. Hilary has also achieved the advanced level of dementia care mapping through the University of Bradford, where Person Centred Care was developed. In addition Hilary developed the pioneering Creative Expressive Abilities Assessment Tool with Drs. Dalia Gottlieb-Tanaka, and Peter Graf at the University of British Columbia which is now used around the world. Hilary has unique expertise in the use of the creative arts as a means of self-expression and founded the Australian chapter of the Society for the Arts in Dementia Care. She has provided a forum in Australia for the sharing of knowledge in this field through state, national and international conferences and symposia since 2006. In 2011 Hilary co-edited a book called Creative Approaches in Dementia Care by Palgrave MacMillan UK. Since 2003 Hilary has spoken at national and international conferences, in many countries including UK, Canada, USA, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia.