Lived Experience Advisory Partners (LEAP) Council
People living with dementia and caregivers/care partners informing research.
The Toronto Dementia Research Alliance (TDRA) Lived Experience Advisory Partners (LEAP) Council was created to bring together people living with dementia, caregivers/care partners, family members, and representatives from community organizations to help integrate the lived experience voice into TDRA’s work.
With meetings taking place four times a year, LEAP members provide input on priority items that are focused and within scope. Some of the goals of this council are to:
- Provide feedback on strategic goals, direction and research led by TDRA
- Help inform community organizations of current dementia research initiatives
- Guide the creation of educational tools intended for research study participants
- Provide a forum for study participants and partners to provide feedback on their experience in a TDRA study
- Sit on TDRA committees and Research Working Groups
Our current LEAP members are listed below.
Lived Experience Advisory Partners Council Chairs

David Bogart, Lived Experience Chair

Dr. Sanjeev Kumar, Scientific Co-Chair

Dr. Carmela Tartaglia, Scientific Co-Chair
Community Members
- Ron Beleno
- Chaitali Desai
- Anuroop Duggal
- Alicia Heaver
- Linda Krisman
- Sylvia LaFontaine
- Paul Lea
- Frank Palmer
- Fran Schellenberg
- Cara Sullivan
- Tyler Redublo
Organization Members
- Melissa Hiebert, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH)
- Amanda Nash, Heart & Stroke
- Connie Putterman, CAMH
TDRA Members
- Ruth Kruger, Knowledge Translation
- Dr. Luca Pisterzi, Director, Strategy & Operations
- Brittany Prokop, Research Coordinator
- Winnie Qian, Program Officer
- Dr. Tarek Rajji, Executive Director
Interested in joining the TDRA LEAP Council? For more information, please contact Ruth Kruger, Research Coordinator TDRA.