About The Dementia Centre.
Multidisciplinary experts coming together to advance global research and best practice in dementia care.
About The Dementia Centre.
Multidisciplinary experts coming together to advance global research and best practice in dementia care.
Global thought leaders in dementia research
Older and younger people living with dementia need access to services designed to support their unique and specific needs.
We help make this happen by building and sharing dementia knowledge and supporting others in improving practice for people with complex needs worldwide.
Our range of dementia services and programs:
- draw on local and international expertise
- combine research, design and practical modelling
- provide access to high-quality and tested tools
- participate in quality research into dementia, environmental design, aged and palliative care.

The key to our success is focus
These are The Dementia Centre’s six core focus areas:
Research
Championing thought leadership and emerging evidence in dementia research.
Design and the environment
Increasing dignity and choice for more equitable, compassionate care.
Models of care
Defining best practice in tailored care, locally and internationally.
Understanding behaviour
Deepening knowledge of changed behaviours and psychological symptoms of dementia.
Palliative care
Improving understanding of end-of-life care in the context of complex dementia.
Engagement
Committed to meaningful consultation with people with dementia, care partners and experts.
A commitment to excellence
We are committed to continual learning across our key focus areas and ensuring our work is evidence-based and aligned with best practices. The views of people with lived experience of dementia inform the knowledge and advice we provide. This helps support our Mission of improving quality of life for people in need, including those living with dementia.
But none of this can be achieved without strong relationships with leaders in dementia care and research. Collaboration is our lifeblood. Through global knowledge sharing and the pursuit of excellence, we can empower professionals to deliver high-quality care.

Meet our expert team

Angela Raguz
General Manager Dementia Centre
Marie Alford
Head of Dementia Professional Services
A/Prof Steve Macfarlane
Head of Clinical Services

Samantha Arnold
Head of Service Development & Dementia Expertise, People & Learning
Dr Tom Morris
Head of Research & Information Excellence

Monika Kodrun
Business Manager, Dementia Centre
Arsh Katoch
Senior Service Manager – Dementia Expertise

Sarah Fox
Commercial Lead – Consulting Services

Angela Raguz
General Manager Dementia Centre
Angela is regarded as an Australian leader in dementia care, both in residential and ‘at home’ care. In 2020, HammondCare provided care for than 1,600 people in residential services across sites in NSW and Victoria.
In her role as Chief Operating & Risk Officer for the Dementia Centre, Angela is involved in the planning, construction and start-up of new services, and oversees Quality Safety & Risk across the organisation.
With a strong history in leading the Residential Care team and overseeing Quality Safety & Risk, Angela supports existing and new managers so that the philosophy of care is well and uniformly understood, and ensures that what we say we want achieved and what happens is in alignment with our philosophy and practiced daily in the services we provide.
Involvement in the conception to planning stage of a residential service to the commencement and every day operation means she is highly qualified in best-practice dementia design, and quality service delivery and improvement.
Angela has worked in the aged care industry for 25 years and is a Registered Nurse. During this time, she has managed both dementia-specific and general residential aged care facilities.
Marie Alford
Head of Dementia Professional Services
With a background in social work, advocacy and leadership, Marie has a strong commitment to social justice and consumer engagement. Having worked in behaviour support programs for over 20 years, since the early Commonwealth initiatives, she is the strategic lead for Dementia Support Australia, a HammondCare-led service delivering national dementia support programs.
She is a member of the Department of Health and Aged Care Expert Advisory Group. Specific areas of expertise are behaviour support and complex dementia, sports-related brain injury and supporting people living with dementia from diverse life experiences and backgrounds.
Prior to joining HammondCare, she was the Director of the South Australian and Northern Territory Dementia Training Study Centre, and General Manager of Alzheimer's Australia South Australia.
A/Prof Steve Macfarlane
Head of Clinical Services
A/Prof Macfarlane coordinates DSA’s specialist clinical support team while applying his 20 years’ experience to conduct clinical trials in Alzheimer's disease.
Prior to joining The Dementia Centre in 2016, A/Prof Macfarlane was appointed the Director of Aged Psychiatry at Peninsula Health. He is a qualified geriatric psychiatrist.

Samantha Arnold
Head of Service Development & Dementia Expertise, People & Learning
Samantha Arnold joined HammondCare in 2014 and has worked in human resources management and operations roles. In her People Partner role, Samantha developed strong relationships with key stakeholders by empowering business leaders and employees to get the best outcomes for the organisation.
In her current role as Head of Service Development and Dementia Expertise, she oversees HammondCare’s new residential services and focuses on operationalising and embedding HammondCare’s philosophy of care in HammondCare services.
Dr Tom Morris
Head of Research & Information Excellence
Dr Tom Morris is Head of Research & Information Excellence for The Dementia Centre, HammondCare and an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the Sydney School of Public Health at the University of Sydney. He is a clinical neuropsychologist, researcher and analyst with over 10 years’ experience in ageing and dementia.
Tom is responsible for three portfolios that support the characterisation, understanding, and wellbeing of older adults and people living with dementia. These teams include an Information Insights team that drive analyses and evaluations of aged care services, a Research team that supports academic research in the area of complex dementia, and a Research Governance team that is responsible for the oversight of organisational research activities and governance across HammondCare.

Monika Kodrun
Business Manager, Dementia Centre
Monika is an experienced operations manager who loves making good things happen in organisations she cares about. She brings more than 10 years of event and operational experience, and has supported people and causes in the tourism, not-for-profit and university sectors.
She has an uncanny ability to identify what needs to be done and when across a broad range of responsibilities; expertly planning, motivating, and managing activities and projects to ensure success.
Monika is deeply passionate about inclusion in the community and her role at the Dementia Centre allows her to continue to remain people focused, creative and innovative with a great sense of humour, all of which help her navigate complex and stressful situations with ease.
Arsh Katoch
Senior Service Manager – Dementia Expertise
With over 10 years' experience in the aged care sector, Arsh is passionate about dementia care and has a strong commitment to advocacy and leadership in the area. A Gerontologist with clinical training in Physiotherapy, Arsh is a member of the Dementia Care Expert Reference Group with the Australian Physiotherapy Association that advocates for the role of Physiotherapists in dementia care.
As Senior Service Manager – Dementia Expertise, Arsh has a strong focus on program development, stakeholder engagement, project management and quality improvements.

Sarah Fox
Commercial Lead – Consulting Services
An experienced project and service manager with a passion for relational care models. Sarah brings 18 years’ experience working within the health (palliative care), residential aged care, community, and primary care sector in a variety of capacities including project management, service management, client coordination, quality improvement initiatives, and stakeholder engagement. Her deep understanding of the health and aged care sector and current reforms assists her to guide and assist organisations to meet industry standards and achieve quality improvement and best care.
Sarah is a member of the Australian Association of Gerontologists and a team member of the NSW Rural Fire Brigade (Communications Officer).
Our global partners
The Dementia Centre empowers everyone from healthcare professionals and managers to home carers, to take action to improve quality of life for people living with dementia. Through formal partnerships, projects and collaboration, we’re able to share best practices in dementia care.
We engage a range of highly-skilled, multidisciplinary teams throughout Australia and the UK, including but not limited to:

- Registered nurses
- Registered mental health nurses
- Occupational therapists
- Physiotherapists
- Social workers
- Medical specialists
- Psycho-geriatricians
- Geriatricians
- Neuro-psychologists
- Clinical psychologists
- Speech pathologists
- Dietitians
- Nurse practitioners
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