Before launching Dementia Knowledge Network, Robin Walters was a memory care director in West Virginia. WV state regulations require 30 hours of training for all Memory Care staff. After a stint in private nursing, Robin became a CDP and CADDCT with Health Consultants Plus to be a clinical and dementia education consultant to senior living and memory care facilities. She began doing conferences and engaging in public speaking on dementia topics. Robin was teaching CDP classes regularly but wanted to teach Montessori, so she became a CMDCPT to facilitate Montessori dementia education. Torn between clinical consulting and dementia education, Robin decided to pursue her passion for education and form her own LLC to pursue teaching full-time. She created the Dementia Knowledge Network from scratch, and it’s become a lucrative, full-time business.
Robin Walters, LPN, CDP, CADDCT, CMDCP, CMDCPT, APC, CPCHCP
Founder and CEO, Dementia Knowledge Network LLC
Most of her CDP students come from referrals and word-of-mouth. She also obtains clients by posting her classes on the NCCDP calendar (available to all approved CADDCT trainers). Her bio on the NCCDP calendar also brings a lot of trainers, because many trainers on the calendar don’t include their biography, and students gravitate to experienced and relatable educators. Robin has a great social media presence and talks about her passion and ideas – the way she comes across and communicates engages new CDPs and excites them. Robin utilizes her website, created through Wix, which is easy to maintain herself and change/edit regularly. She has a robust social media presence and a large email list obtained organically and through her conferences which she maintains in Mailchimp. She now trains full-time but limits her classes to 12 people. Currently, she does 4 days of CDP training every week, with 1 day reserved for Montessori training.
Robin recently became a VP of Corporate Training to present NCCDP-sponsored classes, review and expand the NCCDP curriculum, and engage with CDPs and trainers across the NCCDP landscape. You can find Robin through her website: www.dementiaknowledgenetwork.com and find a CDP, CADDCT, or Montessori class at www.nccdp.org.
