About | Dementia Centre

Leading change for the better

We work with you to improve physical and social environments for people living with dementia.

30 years ago, HammondCare built the first purpose-built dementia cottage, based on principles designed to improve the physical and social environment for people living with dementia. And The Dementia Centre was born.

In 2024, the Australian Government launched guidelines based on the same approach, formalising for the whole sector the change we've championed and refined.

Our dementia-enabling design and care is industry-leading, proven in practice and informed by the voices that matter most to us - people living with dementia, and the people who care for them.

Stay informed

Meet our people

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

Commercial head and shoulders_HM_cropped

Holly Markwell

National Program Manager

Arsh Katoch

Senior Service Manager – Dementia Expertise

Monika Kodrun

Business Manager, Dementia Centre

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

Holly Markwell

National Program Manager

Arsh Katoch

Senior Service Manager – Dementia Expertise

Monika Kodrun

Business Manager, Dementia Centre

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, an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the Sydney School of Public Health at the University of Sydney and an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Health of the University of Canberra. 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.

Holly Markwell

National Program Manager

Holly Markwell is a National Program Manager for The Dementia Centre, HammondCare with an extensive background in learning and development including content creation, learning needs analysis, workshop facilitation and professional development programming. With over 20 years’ experience in dementia education, community aged care, and the disability sector, Holly is an advocate for relationship-based approaches and how we can bring a sense of shared wellbeing to life through story, self-awareness and engagement.

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.

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.

Work with us

Are you motivated by improving quality of life for people living with dementia? Why not join our team?

Browse positions

Types of Care

Costs of Care

Leading change for the better

We work with you to improve physical and social environments for people living with dementia.

Stay informed

Meet our people

Angela Raguz

Marie Alford

A/Prof Steve Macfarlane

Samantha Arnold

Dr Tom Morris

Holly Markwell

Arsh Katoch

Monika Kodrun

Angela Raguz

Marie Alford

A/Prof Steve Macfarlane

Samantha Arnold

Dr Tom Morris

Holly Markwell

Arsh Katoch

Monika Kodrun

Work with us