Senior Management Team

Mary-Anne Ross, Office and Finance Manager

Mary-Anne joined Connecting Communities as Office Manager in 2015. She also works at Helmsdale Primary School and as a mobile hairdresser. She grew up in Edinburgh, but moved north with her family when she was young, and now lives in Helmsdale.

Sarah Kerr, Communications Manager

Sarah is originally from the Isle of Wight and began working for the dementia cause in 2008 when she joined Alzheimer’s Disease International in London. After some chance meetings with Ann Pascoe and a move to the Highlands in 2013, she became a part of the team.

Krystle McCartney, Care Manager

Krystle joined the team in 2021 to take on the management and development of Sutherland Home Care. Originally from Kent, Krystle worked in a range of care-related roles in Glasgow before moving to the Highlands.

Circle of Support team

Wendy Simmonds, Project Lead for Helmsdale and Golspie Village Hubs

Wendy is originally from Nairn and was a retail manageress before moving to Brora. She has an SVQ3 in Health and Social Care and has previously volunteered as an adult literacy tutor and for HUGS Action for Mental Health. Wendy has also enjoyed tutoring creative writing classes at community learning centres.  Wendy lives with her husband Stuart and their two dogs, Max and Holly. In her spare time she enjoys Tai Chi, dog walking, writing and singing.

Anne Little, Art ‘n Blether Tutor

Anne joined us in April 2017 and runs our Art ‘n Blether classes. Originally from Calverton in Nottinghamshire, Anne now lives in Helmsdale and is a landscape artist.

Michelle Johnston, Project Lead and Cook – Dinner To Your Door

Michelle is local to Helmsdale, having lived in the village for most of her life.  Michelle initially started with us as our Delivery Driver but moved to the role of Dinner To Your Door Cook when the vacancy became available in October 2017.  Michelle is an excellent home cook who also enjoys baking.

Margaret Bashir, Assistant Cook – Dinner To Your Door

Margaret helps Michelle in our Dinner To Your Door kitchen and also provides cover as cook when required. 

Lynda Jack, Support Worker and Delivery Driver – Dinner To Your Door

Lynda began working for Connecting Communities as a Hub Support Worker. During the COVID-19 pandemic she took on the role of Delivery Driver for Dinner To Your Door and is excelling in the role. Lynda also provides support to some of our Caring For the Carer service users.

Sinead Denoon, Office Clerk

Sinead began working with us in 2021 to provide administration support in the office as well as handling Dinner To Your Door and Grab ‘n Go Bag orders.

Care team

Kareen Mcconnach, Project Lead and Support Worker

Kareen joined the team in May 2018 as our Dinner To Your Door Delivery Driver as well as providing admin support. Kareen is now taking over a supervisory role for both Caring for the Carer and Sutherland Home Care.

Tim Nixon, Support Worker

Tim has been a member of the team for a number of years, providing practical support to customers and enabling them to continue the activities they enjoy.

Gayle Richardson, Support Worker

Gayle joined the team in 2021 and provides support to Caring for the Carer service users based in the southern section of the project area.

Shannon Ross, Support Worker

Shannon joined the team in 2021 and provides support to Caring for the Carer service users based in the western section of the project area.

Connie Taylor, Support Worker

Connie joined the team in 2021 and provides support to Caring for the Carer service users based in the northern section of the project area.