Rachael Litherland (Author) Rachael Litherland co-founded Innovations in Dementia with Nada Savitch in 2007. She has a background in psychology and advocacy and is particularly interested in ways of working that enhance people's day to day lives. She especially enjoys working with people with dementia in care homes, having begun her working life managing an advocacy project for care home residents with dementia in London. Rachael has focused for the past few years on involvement methods and has seen a lot of change from the early 2000s when she set up an involvement programme for the Alzheimer's Society. Philly Hare (Author) Philly Hare became a Director of Innovations in Dementia in January 2017. She was previously a Programme Manager at Joseph Rowntree Foundation, overseeing their major programme Dementia without Walls. She is also an Exchange Fellow at the University of Edinburgh and Honorary Visiting Researcher at the University of Bradford. Philly's particular interests are the empowerment and inclusion of people with dementia, and the application of research evidence to practice. As a qualified social worker, Philly has over 30 years' experience within the NHS, Local Authorities and the voluntary sector in many areas of adult social care.
This very important book showcases accurately a giant stride this project achieved in moving people living with dementia from participants to leaders in the world of dementia research. As someone fortunate to have been closely involved in one project, and knowing the pioneers and the book's authors well I cannot commend too highly this game changing initiative. For the first time people living with dementia were placed at the centre with their needs, wishes, aspirations, talent and commitment encouraged and supported to lead answering questions we all are asking and can benefit from answering - that is genuine research. Let us all hope the baton it is handing over will be taken further. -- Keith Oliver, author of Dear Alzheimer's