Board member, Administrator and Team Leader

Yvonne is a founding member of the YODAT Board and YODAT Administrator and Day Service Team Leader.

In her working career Yvonne was an occupational therapist in Mental Health teams in both New Zealand and England. This work was mainly with people living with dementia and their whānau and caregivers.

Yvonne was pivotal in establishing the running of the YODAT Day Service where she served for two years as the coordinator organising all the activities and CST sessions.

Board member

Fred is a founding member of the YODAT Board. Until his retirement, Fred was a career banker in New Zealand, Australia and England. When he was 63 Fred was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

As well as being on the Board, Fred was invaluable with helping Yvonne run the YODAT Day Service for its first two years. He continues to be a participant in it. As the consumer representative on the board, Fred’s role is vital for voicing consumer perspective.

Treasurer

Nathan is studying towards his Chartered Accountant qualification which is due to be completed in 2021 and has been working for Deloitte Private in Wellington since 2019.

In his career he has worked in a number of different industries and offerings to provide business advisory and taxation services, with a keen interest in partnering with clients in an outsourced finance function role. Nathan has acted as Treasurer on the YODAT board since September 2020.

Secretary

Emma is a registered Mental Health nurse with a speciality in dementia. She has worked in the UK and NZ in a variety of roles for the NHS, for DHB’s, Aged Care Facilities, private Home Care Providers and more recently for Dementia Wellington. She developed and delivered an educational programme for Dementia Wellington and has established a Living Well programme for people in early stages of dementia.

Currently she works as Health Improvement Practitioner in a medical practice where she is leading a project to support better recognition and response to early change in cognition in primary care.

Emma strongly believes that a wider recognition and understanding of dementia by health professionals, NZ society as a whole – including families/friends supporting a person living with dementia, leads to a better quality of life for that person and those around them.

Chair

Brigid is a neuroscientist working at the Centre for Brain Research, University of Auckland, with a research focus on younger onset dementia.

Since 2016 she has led an observational study of a family with genetic frontotemporal dementia, called FTDGeNZ (The New Zealand Genetic Frontotemporal Dementia Study). The aim of this study is to identify pre-symptomatic markers of dementia so that early intervention is possible.

Brigid's other research interests include barriers to diagnosis of younger onset dementia, the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of New Zealanders living with younger onset dementia, and the effectiveness of support groups for younger onset dementia carers. Brigid joined YODAT's board in 2019.

Board Member

A media and creative consultant, Claudia lived abroad for close to two decades working for global media brands. Following been the brand and marketing manager at the London HQ of ITV plc (the UK-based international broadcaster, production and distribution company), she moved to their USA HQ where she worked in creative strategy and development, and ultimately oversaw marketing, communications and branding across the group of ITV US businesses.

Prior to ITV, she worked in commercial enterprise and development for magazine publishing group Time Inc. UK, and for News UK newspapers.

Claudia is pleased to serve on the board of YODAT; she recognises how vital it is to support those living with dementia and their carers.

Board Member

Philippa Middleton is a renowned internationally awarded entrepreneur who has successfully executed several businesses in the last 20+ years.

Philippa has an extensive commercial and business knowledge which is underpinned by a comprehensive sales and marketing background - as well as her relentless and passionate work ethic.

As well as creating prosperous companies, Philippa has had the opportunity to execute change management within several businesses.

Her visionary and innovative lens will be an asset that will complement and enhance the existing philosophies and mandates that the YODAT Board upholds.

Philippa also has a personal invested interest in this particular healthcare sector as she helped her mother for more than 2 decade, as she battled with younger onset dementia.

Board Member

Sally is a founding member of YODAT and psychogeriatrician at Capital and Coast DHB, specialising in rehabilitative approaches for people living with dementia. She is co-convenor of the Psychiatric Training Programme for RANZCP, through University of Otago, Wellington campus.

Following her qualitative study of people living with younger onset dementia facing aged care (in collaboration with Victoria University of Wellington School of Architecture), she co-founded YODAT in 2015.

Collaborating with an applied linguist, she developed a programme on the value of shared reading for people living with dementia and has published five dementia-friendly books, adapted from classic literature. The programme now includes an international randomised control trial, a qualitative thematic study, and a national library-based project with Victoria University of Wellington.

Board member

Paul Gini is an economist who has led analytical teams in the Ministry of Education and the Earthquake Commission.

Since retiring in 2016 he has undertaken a variety of voluntary roles including as a board member for a secondary school and a rest home provider. He is actively involved in rest home visitation and is a YODAT day service volunteer. He has been a member of YODAT's board since 2019.