Chair Board of Trustees

I am very fortunate to be taking on role of Chair at such an exciting time of growth and development, and I look forward to meeting as many of the team members as possible over the next few weeks, and improving my grasp of what’s being done, and what more can be done.

I joined the board of Connecting Carers about four years ago after 40 years in management roles. Sadly, particularly in the earliest part of those years, employers were not encouraged to understand or demonstrate empathy for the workforce.

However for the most recent 15 years or so my work involved improving understanding within employers, and the workforce, for those experiencing barriers to work, whatever form that may take. I grew increasingly aware of and concerned about the many people affected by caring responsibilities and how they struggled to balance their responsibilities, work, family lives and the rest of their interests. Many employers are understanding, but many still don’t know what to do or how to best assist.

I had known Connecting Carers CEO Roisin for many years, and I didn’t need too much arm-twisting to become more involved by supporting Connecting Carers. I now in fact find myself in a more direct caring role, supporting a close family member as he struggles with vascular dementia, and have a better understanding of the Carer perspective.

Board Trustee

My background is in IT, having worked for over 30 years in a variety of IT-related roles within a mixture of startup and global companies. I am currently the Managing Director of sfG Software, an Inverness-based IT Support and Software Development company and I hope to be able to bring some of my IT background and experience to help support the team within Connecting Carers.

I have recently been indirectly involved in a care role within the family, and have come to realise the work and emotional stress involved in being an unpaid carer. Funding and support within the care sector now seems to be getting worse, rather than better, and the work that Connecting Carers does is absolutely invaluable. I am very happy to support Connecting Carers and the work it does in any way I can.

Board Trustee

I am currently retired after running a Technology business in the UK for 30 years. The company involved the design, manufacture and selling of communication equipment, mainly for CCTV systems, into projects in more than 50 countries around the world. Experience gained from this, beyond the technical side, was the understanding of the motivations of the great team of real people we had making it happen. This included both within and outside the company, employees, customers and suppliers. I am now settled in Highland and enjoying the wonderful outdoor world we live in. I am very keen to attempt to give back and try and to add value to Connecting Carers as they provide support to the hugely important integral part of society classed as Carers.