Walking the Talk for Dementia (WTD): A Transformative Experience

Walking the Talk for Dementia (WTD) is a unique, immersive global initiative. It challenges conventional power dynamics in dementia research and care.
By bringing together people living with dementia, caregivers, researchers, and advocates, WTD promotes shared vulnerability, equity, and knowledge exchange. These principles drive meaningful change in dementia advocacy.

Meet the founder: Fernando Aguzzoli Peres

Fernando is a Brazilian journalist, bestselling author, and internationally recognized dementia advocate. Fernando’s journey began early, when he became the primary caregiver for his grandmother as a teenager. He is the Director of the Walking the Talk for Dementia Institute. In parallel, he is also a Senior Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health at the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), Trinity College Dublin. Additionally, he serves as Director of Institutional Development at the International Longevity Center Brazil.

WYLD members at Walking the Talk for Dementia

This year, three WYLD members applied for and were awarded a fellowship. The fellowship supported their participation in Walking the Talk for Dementia 2025.

Maria Florencia Clarens is a clinical neuropsychologist, PhD in neuroscience, and research lead at WYLD.

Florencia shared: “Coming from traditional academic conferences shaped by hierarchies and titles, WTD was something entirely different. For seven days on the Camino de Santiago, researchers, clinicians, caregivers, people living with dementia, artists, and advocates walked side by side as a community, united by a shared commitment to improving the lives of people affected by dementia. WTD reaffirmed that progress in dementia is not only about science, but about people, empathy, and connection.”

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Belen Custodio is a public health researcher. Her work focuses on implementing community-driven strategies to support dementia care partners.

Belen shared: “Walking the Talk for Dementia was an experience grounded in love, joy, and community. It highlighted the importance of lived experience, reminding us that the true experts are people living with dementia and their families. WTD showed that dementia does not define a person—lives remain filled with creativity, resilience, and purpose.”

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Valeria Macias is a clinical neuropsychologist and gerontologist. She has extensive experience in clinical interventions based on the Person-Centered Care Model for older adults with neurocognitive disorders.
Her work includes support, training, and psychoeducation for families and informal caregivers. She focuses on dementia care and brain health promotion.

She is the first Ecuadorian selected as an ambassador for the Alzheimer’s Association ISTAART (USA). Furthermore, she is also a Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) Fellow 2025. Likewise, she participated in Walking the Talk for Dementia 2025 in Spain.

She serves as a university lecturer in dementia interventions, healthy aging, and clinical neuropsychology.
Currently, she is the Director of the Clinical Intervention Department at SOMA. At the same time, she works as a clinical neuropsychologist in the Neurology Department at AXXIS Hospital de Especialidades Médicas in Quito, Ecuador.

Valeria shared: “The true highlight of WTD for me was connecting with people beyond job titles, professional achievements, or diagnoses. Finding a strong, like-minded community transforms the experience of navigating dementia—turning something isolating into something deeply human and hopeful. Embracing people with lived experience is priceless. In essence, that is what WTD stands for, and it reminds us who the real experts truly are.”

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Highlights from the journey: An Immersive and Transformative Experience

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