Patti Dickson
has her PhD in Gerontology, and is a Licensed Clinical
Social Worker. Previously, she was the Manager of Education for the Alzheimer’s Association Greater Dallas
Chapter. Before moving to Dallas, she worked as Assistant Clinical Director at Active Adult Day Healthcare
where she was responsible for Social Work staff including all administrative requirements and documentation.
She also acted as a professional consultant to Amicable Homecare Agency of Cerritos, California and Lomita
Adult Day Healthcare of Lomita, California. She has for several years provided continuing education for
professionals and general education for adult lay persons. Patti has experience in management and organization,
including responsiblity for planning and implementation of small and large conferences which offered
continuing education for a variety of professionals including physicians and nurses.
Sydney Farrier
is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 40 plus years of experience and content expertise in the areas of psychiatry and healthcare
especially as related to aging issues and dementia. Her first 25 years of experience was in the area of psychiatry, counseling,
and family therapy. She has worked in hospital and other healthcare settings, serving as Director of Social Work at several
institutions. With over ten years as a presenter on various topics, she has successfully presented topics related to Dementia on
multiple occasions. She served in the capacity of educator and program development for the Alzheimer’s Association, Dallas
Chapter, and was an administrator for an Alzheimer’s Assisted Living community where she observed, first hand, the challenges in
caring for a person with a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. Sydney has published journal articles and papers as well as articles for the
general public. An additional area of interest is the area of ethics and ethical issues in healthcare.
Julie Wilson
Julie Thornton Wilson is a Licensed Master Social Worker and has been working in the field of geriatrics since 1994. She has a Masters
of Science in Social Work from the University of Texas at Arlington and a Bachelors Degree in Psychology and Rehabilitation from The
University of North Texas. Julie has extensive experience in long term care, assisted living, dementia care, hospice care,
home health services and case management. She has focused her career on working with seniors and their families.
She volunteers for several social service agencies in the Collin County area. Julie is also recognized as a Certified Advanced
Social Work Case Manager in her field.