Professor Robert A. Neimeyer, PhD

Robert A. Neimeyer, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus of the Department of Psychology, University of Memphis, and maintains an active consulting and coaching practice. He also directs the Portland Institute for Loss and Transition, which provides online and onsite training internationally in grief therapy. Since completing his doctoral training at the University of Nebraska in 1982, he has conducted extensive research on the topics of death, grief, loss, and suicide intervention.

Neimeyer has published 30 books, including Techniques of Grief Therapy: Assessment and Intervention and Grief and the Expressive Arts: Practices for Creating Meaning, the latter with Barbara Thompson. The author of over 500 articles and book chapters, he is currently working to advance a more adequate theory of grieving as a meaning-making process, both in his published work and through his frequent professional workshops for national and international audiences.

Neimeyer is the Editor of the respected international journal, Death Studies, and served as President of the Association for Death Education and Counselling. In recognition of his scholarly contributions, he has been granted the Distinguished Research Award, the Distinguished Teaching Award, and the Eminent Faculty Award by the University of Memphis, elected Chair of the International Work Group on Death, Dying, and Bereavement, and given the Research Recognition, Clinical Practice and Lifetime Achievement Awards by the Association for Death Education and Counselling. Most recently, he has received the Phoenix Award: Rising to the Service of Humanity from the MISS Foundation, been given ADEC’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and been recognized as an Honoured Associate of the Viktor Frankl Association for his lifetime contributions to the study of meaning.

 Dr Christopher J. Johnson received his Ph.D. in Sociology with a major in Aging and Family and minor in Social Psychology from Iowa State University, Sociology with major in Aging and Family. He earned his B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Denver. He has had a part time practice in gero-counseling with a gero-psychiatrist while in Louisiana as a licensed MFT, LPC. 

Chris retired as Director of Gerontology and Professor of Gerontology and Sociology at the University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM). He also was on the Board of the Geriatric Education Centers at LSU and Ole Miss. At ULM, he developed an award-winning (best academic program in Louisiana by Governor Foster) online M.A. in Gerontology Program. As Director of the Institute of Gerontology (NIA grant-funded) he has published in numerous journals and books. Dr Johnson taught in the Dementia Studies graduate programs at Stirling and Edinburgh Universities, Scotland and worked for the Dementia Services Centre at Stirling University. 

His exemplary teaching and research skills were recognized by being awarded a Distinguished Fellow in Gerontology. Working for Aging Consultants he and his wife Dr Roxann Johnson (PhD in Dementia Studies) have designed and developed over a hundred Memory Care neighbourhoods in long-term care homes in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. First published in the American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, the Johnson’s model of Alzheimer’s as Time Travel has won international acclaim. 

In the area of teaching, Chris came to Texas State to initiate and be a major contributor to the new online M.S. in Dementia and Aging Studies (link to a program description). His online Masters in Gerontology at ULM was awarded as a top academic program among Louisiana Universities by Governor Foster. He was recognized among the top five teachers at his former University (The University of Louisiana at Monroe or ULM) and has won teaching accolades at Texas State being voted favourite Professor by the student Honor Society three times. 

In research, besides procuring over 3 million dollars in grant and private funding, his interests are in end-of-life dementia care, social models of dementia care, suicide, thanatology, religiosity, and world religions. At his previous university, he was twice awarded “Researcher of the Year” in the School of Arts and Sciences. He has conducted a state-wide needs assessment of elderly in Iowa but specializes in oral histories. He was awarded an Endowed Professorship in Gerontology in Louisiana based upon his outstanding teaching and research skills.

   Dr Maggie Ellis is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews where she develops teaching, training and consultancy in dementia care, based on her own research. Maggie has been working with and researching the lives and experiences of people with dementia, their family members and professional caregivers for twenty years. Her research portfolio includes the development of positive interventions to support people to live well with dementia and to maintain and create relationships. Maggie’s main research focus is on identifying and utilising the spared communication skills in people at very advanced stages of dementia. As such, she worked with collaborator Professor Arlene Astell, to develop Adaptive Interaction, a method of supporting meaningful communication between caregivers and people with very advanced dementia. Adaptive Interaction is a nonverbal technique that supports the building of interpersonal connections and relationships using movements, sounds and eye gaze. This work has generated much interest in the fields of both dementia research and care. Maggie has received personal invitations from the editors of the Journal of Dementia Care and the Journal of Counselling and Healthcare to write articles on this research. She has also given invited talks to multidisciplinary audiences from Dublin to Toronto. She has recently co-authored a book on Adaptive Interaction and was also recently honoured with an MBE.

 Leeroy is the Clinical Director of a Palliative Medicine Service in Australia, who grew up and trained in East London, moving to Dorset for his postgraduate medical training. He has been working in palliative care since 2003, beginning in Lymington (UK), then New Plymouth and Auckland (New Zealand), before settling in Melbourne. Leeroy has developed leadership roles in clinical, educational and research activities and is the current President of the Australian & New Zealand Society of Palliative Medicine.

He has been a Clinical Lead for Schwartz Rounds and has an interest in cancer pain, health professional education, transitions in palliative care, communication skills, and holistic inter-professional care. His passion for improving the knowledge about palliative care has led to development and management of the Facebook page, “Palliative Medicine Teaching” which developed from medical student teaching .

Healthcare and society have an important role in supporting people and their families during life-threatening illness. The transition from living with an illness to dying from it affects people in different ways. It becomes even more important that we listen to understand and recognise where we can support people, their families and their social networks. 

For these reasons, Leeroy remains dedicated to promoting compassionate healthcare and communities.

 Angela is a Consultant Haematologist in the United Kingdom. 

She has been in her current post for 18 years. She trained in South London and Surrey and is originally from London. In her current post, Angela treats patients with the full range of haematological diseases,  both benign and malignant. Many of these conditions are chronic and, as a result, she has known some of her patients and their families for almost 18 years too. She is passionate about  the care of patients with haematological cancer, from the start of their cancer journey to the end. She believes in treating the whole patient as an individual and not just the disease. 

Death is a part of this journey and we are fortunately much more open in our discussions about death today than in her early medical career and sees this as a great advance in managing patients and their families.  Equally, for those patients fortunate to have been successfully treated, survivorship and getting back to a healthy life is key to a full recovery both physically and mentally. 

She loves the countryside, travel, running and yoga and is shortly embarking on Yoga Teacher Training, which she hopes to bring to cancer patients in the NHS in the future. 

With over 40 years in the Rail transport industry, starting as a Trainee Train Driver, then a Train Driver, then an Instructor Driver, Driver Manager, before becoming the Train Operator Interface Manager for Network Rail. His final position was as Rail Compliance Manager at Mersey travel. Tommy is now a Director of thredCiC Community interest Company. 

After being misdiagnosed with bipolar, he was finally diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s in December 2011. Since his diagnosis he's been: Chair of the Service Users Reference Forum (SURF) Board member of the Nation Dementia Action Alliance (DAA) Member of the 3 Nations Dementia Working Group (3NDWG) A member of Everton pass on the memories group and he is also Vice Chair of the Liverpool DAA Transport Group. 

In 2013 he won at the NHS Positively Awards the Recovery Champion and the Winner of Winners award. In 2014 he won the Innovate Dementia Award and he was awarded British Empire Medal June 2016 for work for People living with Dementia. 

His goal in life is to help his Peers and their family Carers understand that you can still live a happy and productive life after a diagnoses and to take the fear and stigma out of dementia. 

https://www.thred.org.uk/