Our Story
Mentia was formed in 2017 with a vision that everyone, regardless of ability, should be able to share a life well-lived. We build person-centered technology that supports people living with dementia and the people who care for them.
Mentia’s work began from the belief that people living with dementia should have the same opportunities as others to express their life experiences, interests and sense of self. That principle continues to shape how we think about technology, engagement and care.
Before Mentia was a company, its foundations were in research. Mandy Salomon’s doctoral work at Swinburne University of Technology, supported by Alzheimer’s Australia (now Dementia Australia), explored how digital media could help people living with dementia participate more actively in their own well-being. The research developed a prototype, AVED — Applied Virtual Environment for Dementia — which later evolved into our first product, the virtual world engagement program DevaWorld.
From the beginning, Mentia has combined digital engagement, human-computer interaction and person-centered care. People living with dementia, families and care teams have contributed to co-design, prototyping and testing so that products reflect real needs and interaction styles.
People living with dementia contribute directly to the design and refinement process.
Identity, agency and individual experience sit at the center of the work.
Research, testing and real-world feedback inform how Mentia’s products develop.
Mentia’s product journey has evolved from its original research environment into practical tools designed to support both people living with dementia and care teams.
2012–2016
Mandy Salomon’s doctoral research explored inclusive digital engagement for people living with dementia.
2017
Mentia was established to turn the research into tools that could support dementia care in everyday settings.
DevaWorld
The AVED research evolved into DevaWorld, an immersive digital environment designed around participation, engagement and sense of self.
2025–2026
Mentia’s research foundations evolved into two practical tools: CarePlay for experiential workforce learning and MentiaCompanion for personalized conversational support.
Mentia is continuing to develop technology that helps people living with dementia take a more active role in daily life while giving caregivers better context, support and time for human care.
Mentia brings together experience across dementia care, research, technology, product development and creative media.
Cofounder, CEO
Algis is a pragmatic innovator who bridges the gap between market needs and product development. He has driven product pivots in dynamic markets, working with global companies as an entrepreneur and management consultant. Algis has advised US and European start-ups in dementia care and senior living and played key roles in healthcare think tanks. He holds advanced degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT.
Cofounder and Chief Scientist
Dr. Mandy Salomon is an entrepreneur working at the intersection of creative media, human-computer interaction and cultural gerontology to build next-generation tools for people living with dementia and those who support them.
As Mentia’s co-founder and CEO, Mandy’s focus is applying innovative technologies to solve the large-scale senior care challenges of scaling expertise and up-skilling care staff for better health outcomes.
Dr. Salomon received her Ph.D. at the Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne (Australia) for her work on inclusive design for people with dementia, and for developing digital systems that enable them to participate. While there, she conducted studies that showed the acceptance of 3D virtual worlds for people living with dementia and the psycho-social advantages of using them. Stirling University’s Dementia Services Research Centre (UK) selected Dr. Salomon’s research for its ‘Ideas today that will impact tomorrow” award, describing her work as ‘digital empathy’. She was also the recipient of the Smart Services Cooperative Research Centre’s ‘CEO award for Best PhD‘. Dr. Salomon also holds an MA in Media and Communication, and a BA in Drama and Visual Arts. She draws on an extensive body of work across television, radio, theater, print media, and applied research.
Mandy brought Mentia to the US in 2017, where it is a portfolio company at Launchpad Digital Health in San Francisco.
In 2018, Mentia was honored as a finalist in Sompo/Aging2.0’s search for the most promising high-impact startup in senior care. Dr. Salomon is a Research and Industry Fellow at Swinburne University, a member of Creative Aging San Francisco, and an Alliance member of Aging 2.0.
“Every day, I meet incredible people working to create cultural change in the dementia space, and I feel blessed that my varied career has led me to this period of transformation, and that I can support the change creatively and digitally. I invite anyone who knows the pioneering work of the late Tom Kitwood – who argued that dementia is a social condition, as much as it is a neurocognitive one – to pause a moment. Think how excited he would be to know that ‘the help of healthy others’, which he saw as a foundation for well-being, is being fuelled by technology’s capacity to scale engagement, community, and understanding.”
Cofounder, Chief Technology Officer
Serge (Wikipedia) is an Internet strategist, entrepreneur and angel investor. Serge’s pleasure is where technology and usage meet. He enjoys a distinguished career at the leading edge of information technology and as an international speaker in corporate, government and academic environments. A mathematician and software engineer by training, Serge researched image recognition, speech recognition and AI at IBM and Cap Gemini. Today, he believes that the best way to create and share knowledge is through games. Serge sits on the board of the Somfy Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Somfy that focuses on innovative housing solutions for disadvantaged communities.
Community Manager
Monique is on the leading edge of dementia’s cultural change movement, having recently introduced thought leader Michael Verde (Memory Bridge) and training maven Teepa Snow (PAC) to Australian aged-care organizations. Monique moves teams toward their milestones through strategic planning and implementation, which drives alignment and cohesion. In addition to her professional committments, Monique is a family dementia advocate.
Community Manager Europe
With over 12 years of experience in health psychology and disability, Cinthya is dedicated to evaluating and addressing the unique needs of patients and their families. Her area of expertise is providing support persons with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, prioritizing a person-centered and holistic approach to treatment. Cinthya has also played a pivotal role in training caregivers in various home care settings across France, empowering them with the skills needed to provide compassionate and effective support. Her keen interest in the intersection of health and technology allows her to analyze and enhance the relationship between information access and patient care, striving for equitable health solutions for all.
Product Manager
Randy O’Connor is a designer focused on game, systems, and product design. He works across a variety of platforms, from web to mobile to PC to board games. He’s an expert in educational game design, and has worked with the MIT-Gambit Game Lab, Amplify Education, and Netflix, among others. His award-winning credits include Stranger Things VR, Waking Mars, and Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor.
Venture Partner at Tribe Global Ventures
Viki Forrest, an innovative Australian business leader working in the world’s tech epicenter brings extensive experience from her time in Silicon Valley and beyond to the role of Queensland Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner – Americas.
Viki has long-standing, deep networks within the technology and venture capital communities in North America through her work with Australian technology companies to commercialize their innovations in the market.
She was previously Chief Executive Officer of ANZA Technology Network and has more than 20 years of international experience spanning across Australia, New Zealand, Asia and the United States.
TIQ is the Queensland Government’s dedicated global business agency, helping Queensland exporters take their products to world markets, and promoting Queensland as the perfect place for investment. TIQ’s global representatives facilitate business across 13 markets globally, and our regional trade and investment advisors focus on the major centers across Queensland. Read more about our services at www.tiq.qld.gov.au
Digital Health Executive, Serial entrepreneur
Beth Rogozinski is CEO at Oncoustics, an innovative AI diagnostics company that is creating low cost, non-invasive solutions for the detection and surveillance for diseases of the liver, kidney and pancreas. As a serial entrepreneur, technology professional, and business strategist, Beth has produced and published more than 30 games and apps, including over a dozen products for health and wellness. As Chief Product Officer at Pear Therapeutics, she led the development of Pear’s first clinical products and the product team submission of the De Novo 510k to the FDA. Pear’s ReSET™ was cleared by the FDA in 2017 as the first ever prescription digital therapeutic.
Specialties: Digital medicine. Healthcare innovation and commercialization. Startups. Technology Innovations. Product, game and transmedia development, mobile technologies and software development; strategic market development, ROI and marketing campaign measurement; partner relations and contract negotiations; branding, brand development and marketing communications.
Scientific Advisor
Dr Sfeir brings formidable clinical and research expertise to Mentia. Trained in geriatrics, gerontology, and oncogeriatrics, he was head of research at RESEDA MNE BFC, a research and training center for Neurocognitive diseases. Dr Sfeir developed the Dijon Campus’ training framework in the field of Neuro-Evolutionary diseases (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis, Huntington’s, Charcot’s disease). He is currently the Medical and Health Innovation Director at Vyv3 Bourgogne, leading the Robotonomie project (a project aiming at developing robotic functionalities to maintain the autonomy of frail older people).
CEO, Senior Helpers North Bay CA
Robert “Bob” Nations has been a Senior Helpers owner for over 16 years. He owns and/or manages five territories, and his three current territories are distinctly different. The Napa County territory is a rural farming community of 136,000 people. The Solano County territory is a commuter territory, with people commuting to San Francisco and Sacramento; its population is 451,000. The Sonoma County territory has 485,000 people, and from this office they also manage two other rural counties.
He opened his first community training center in 2020, partnering with a local CNA school, and now operates three Centers of Excellence.
The key to Bob’s success is community involvement. He currently serves as Board President for two non-profits, Share the Care and Napa Valley Support Services, and is a member of the Board of Stewards at Crosswalk Community Church. He has previously served on the Napa Commission on Aging, Dementia Capable Napa Valley, and the Solano Section on Aging. He is the author of Navigating the Art of Aging.
Bob enjoys spending time with his wife Heather, daughter Kate, son Logan and son Mouhamed. You can find him gardening, cooking, pairing food and wine, reading, being outside or attending an Atlanta Hawks basketball game.
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