Dementia Support Line
Alzheimer's Society Spokespeople List
Media interviews are available with Alzheimer's Society staff working across the charity.
Comments on health and social care, campaigns work, practical advice for people with dementia and their carers, fundraising and scientific research can be organised by contacting the Alzheimer's Society press office.
There are also spokespeople from the charity based throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland for regional media requests.
Alzheimer's Society works with many high profile and celebrity supporters who are part of our vice-presidents, patrons and ambassadors programme. To organise an interview with one of our spokespeople contact our media team by phone or email.
Our Spokespeople
Kate Lee, Chief Executive of Alzheimer’s Society
Kate joined Alzheimer’s Society, the UK’s largest voluntary provider of dementia support, as Chief Executive in March 2020. Despite the challenges of COVID-19, since joining she has driven transformational change in both culture and strategy; introducing new values, restructuring expenditure, and building a shared understanding and organisation-wide focus on the impact Alzheimer’s Society delivers to people affected by dementia.
This role is the latest in a voluntary sector career that spans nearly 30 years, including as CEO at children’s cancer charity Young Lives Vs Cancer (CLIC Sargent), and Myton Hospice, a large adult palliative care charity in Coventry and Warwickshire.
Kate is driven by leading by example. A keen supporter of partnership working, she founded both the Young People’s Cancer Coalition and the One Dementia Voice Group. She has led sector-wide initiatives to improve the openness of charitable reporting, producing award-winning trustee accountability reports publicly discussing the successes, but also the failings, of the charities she has led. She is a passionate advocate of equality, diversity and inclusion and has spoken openly about her own mental health.
Kate has won the Charity Times CEO of the year twice and was awarded an OBE in the 2024 New Years Honours list.
Fiona Carragher, Chief Policy and Research Officer
Director of Research and Influencing and part of our Executive Leadership Team, Fiona plays a pivotal role in our vision to create a world without dementia. She has overall responsibility for our Research and Influencing strategy; leading our world-class research programme and our work to strengthen our position as the national charity leader on dementia health, social care policy and societal change.
Fiona is committed to ensuring that we reach every person who has a dementia diagnosis and wants our help. She wants to change the conversation on dementia, mainstream the rights of people affected by dementia and drive the research agenda, working tirelessly to improve care and find a cure.
Previously, Fiona was Deputy Chief Scientific Officer for NHS England, providing leadership for the 50,000 healthcare science professionals and expert advice on science, innovation, and diagnostics. A passionate advocate for women in health, Fiona led the establishment of the first Women in Science and Engineering fellowship programme in the NHS.
Mark MacDonald, Associate Director of Evidence, Policy and Influencing
Mark joined the Society in February 2022 and is responsible for our policy, campaigning, public affairs and system change work. He is passionate about making sure decision-makers respond to the enormous impact dementia has on the healthcare system, the economy and – most importantly – on those people affected by dementia.
Mark's overarching objective in his role at Alzheimer’s Society is to make dementia more of a priority for decision-makers across England, Wales and Northern Ireland at a national and local level.
Prior to joining the Alzheimer’s Society, Mark worked in consultancy, where he provided clients with strategic counsel to shape their work across a number of areas, including oncology, ophthalmology and vaccines policy. Mark previously spent five years at Stroke Association, where he began working across policy, public affairs and influencing, including as Deputy Director for Policy & Influencing, during which time he worked with NHS England to establish the first National Stroke Programme.
Jennifer Keen, Head of Policy
As Head of Policy Jennifer is responsible for deciding what the Society thinks on the issues that matter to people living with dementia. She leads a team to build a compelling and evidence-based case for making dementia a priority through better diagnosis, social care and research.
She joined the Society in 2023 from the Institute of Alcohol Studies, a charity and think tank dedicated to advancing the best available evidence in the alcohol policy space. As part of that role she served as Communications and Advocacy Chair of the Alcohol Health Alliance, a coalition of more than 60 health organisations.
A longtime charity advocate, she has also worked to advance the rights of disabled people and those at the end of life, changing laws to protect health and disabled people’s lives safer.
She lives in London with her young family and is a keen, though slow, runner.
Tim Baverstock, Head of Local Systems Influencing
Tim joined the Alzheimer’s Society in April 2023, tasked with making the case for dementia to be the priority it needs to be locally across health and care systems.
Prior to joining Alzheimer’s Society, Tim was on secondment with NHS England, working in Community Health services with a specific remit on personalised care and held a substantive role of Deputy Director of Adult Social Care in Somerset County Council. He is keen on supporting local solutions, designed by communities and people, that meet the needs of the local population and address health inequality.
Tim also volunteers as a Trustee for a local dementia charity in Somerset, where he lives with his family, just on the edge of Taunton.
Richard Oakley PhD, Associate Director of Research and Innovation
Dr Richard Oakley joined Alzheimer’s Society in September 2020. As Associate Director of Research and Innovation, he plays a critical role in the development and implementation of Alzheimer’s Society’s Research Strategy, working with the Chief Policy and Research Officer to lead its growing and ambitious world-class research programme and portfolio.
In particular, Richard heads up the Research Grants, Research Communications, Research Engagement and Innovation teams. Together, they aim to ensure the Society provides essential funding and support to researchers, continues to engage people affected by dementia and communicates key milestones and developments in research across its networks and to the wider population.
Previously, Richard worked for eight years at Cancer Research, latterly as Head of Research Information and Communications, where he led on the implementation of a new communications strategy underpinned by audience insight and focused on delivering the maximum impact for organisational priorities.
Richard has a PhD in biochemistry (Bristol University) and a post doctorate in Tissue Engineering (EPFL, Switzerland).
Tim Beanland PhD, Head of Knowledge and Learning
Tim’s team own the Society’s practical knowledge to help people living with dementia. This knowledge is applied in our online and print dementia content, and in the learning and support we offer our frontline staff. Tim is the author of the puzzle book Mind Games.
He started at the Society in 2010, at a time when his late mother was being diagnosed with vascular dementia.
Tim has a BA in biochemistry and a PhD in evolutionary biology, both from Cambridge. He lives in Winchester with his wife Sarah. They have three sons, two cats and a dog.
Paul Reynolds, Associate Director of Commercial and Partnerships
Paul joined Alzheimer’s Society in 2022. Prior to this he worked for 20 years in health and social care, immersed in services that supported people who chose direct payments and/or personal health budgets to build their own care package. He has also worked to develop supportive informal carer services, having personal insight to how essential this is as part of caring for his mum who lived with dementia.
At Alzheimer’s Society, his role is focused on ensuring that service models are co-produced with people living with and affected by dementia, that we engage with partners who have aligned values and will help us expand our reach, and that our external training offer is designed to support those who engage with people living with dementia at key transition points in their lives. Paul also supports his service delivery colleagues with change and improvement projects that have a positive impact on the lives of those living with dementia.
Contact our press office
Please email our press office to get in touch about our spokespeople.
