I am the founder and Chair of Dementia Friendly Communities (now known as Connecting Communities), set up in 2012 as a direct result of my Fellowship work around living with dementia and the resulting loneliness, isolation and trauma for dementia families. I set it up after travelling to India to learn about early dementia, the carer stress and what can be done about it.

The years since then have taken me on an incredible journey from carer activist (presenting papers at international conferences in Europe, Taiwan and Japan) to student (MSc in Dementia) to NHS Highland board member, all while developing a viable rural Circle of Support for older folk.

I have co-written a number of published papers about living with dementia and over the years delivered lectures to nursing students on carer issues, culminating in a Churchill Fellowship Action Fund collaboration to develop an interactive online Covid-19 dementia education programme for care homes.

My Fellowship totally changed my life, giving me the wherewithal and credibility to make a difference – but far more importantly as a dementia family, to have the support we need when we need it, which is a far cry from when we began this journey.