Sam tells us a litttle bit about herself and her new role at PAVO 

"Some of you will know me from my time as chief officer with Dementia Matters in Powys. I got to know quite a few of the Community Connectors and was really impressed with the enthusiasm and commitment towards spreading the word about Dementia Meeting Centres. It was a great first impression of what Community Connectors can do.

My general work background has mainly focused on welfare rights and community development work and I completed a health and community development MA in 2005. The principles of community development have always remained close to my heart and inform everything that I do. I am particularly committed to a ‘nothing about us without us’ approach and see this as clearly aligned with the ‘What Matters’ conversation that is so central to the Community Connector role. 

My other big passion (yes, the picture is a clue!) is horses. I have been horse obsessed since, well, forever basically. I have three horses in my life namely Axel, Temple and Timo and I have taught with horses since 2011 when I retrained as a natural horsemanship instructor. I still teach and really enjoy supporting the development of a trusting relationship between horse and human.

I’m really looking forward to my six months with PAVO and am especially looking forward to reconnecting with people I know and also meeting those I haven’t worked with yet."