Sam Bolam
Chief Officer and Transformation Lead
It is a genuine honor and privilege to be part of this innovative and tenacious organisation called tide. Seldom have I worked with people who believe so strongly in an organisation's mission. All of the team have direct experience of the carer role and many of us have cared for someone close to us who have been affected by dementia. This makes a huge difference to how tide functions. Everyone brings such passion, commitment and enthusiasm to their role. The team are totally invested in making the world a better place for carers of people living with dementia.
As Chief Officer, I am focused on strengthening tides position as a crucial contributor to understanding how policies and systems need to develop in order to effectively support carers. We are nothing without our partnership connections and carer networks and we are working hard to constantly extend our relationships in order to understand the unique impact that dementia has on diverse communities. We can only impact dementia through working in partnership and concerted action in this critical area forms a central aspect of our approach for the next stage of tide's development.
About Sam…
I have approaching thirty years experience of working on a wide range of projects for both the voluntary and statutory sector. I have a particular interest in participatory approaches to health and wellbeing and have a Masters in health and community development.
I managed an advocacy project in the Midlands for people living with dementia and this was when I really began to understand the multiple challenges that were imposed, not by dementia, but by how services and society responded to people living with dementia. I have witnessed many positive changes since then but it is clear that there is still a great distance to travel. I was also the chief officer of a dementia charity which set up the first Dementia Meeting Centre’s in Wales based on the Dutch Adaptation to Change model. This work underlined the critical role that carers play and the organisation was very active in ensuring carers and people living with dementia were included in all aspects of the organisations development including recruitment and evaluation processes.
I am also interested in capturing evidence for best practice and have published articles for the Journal of Dementia Care and Public Health Leadership.
On a personal basis, I live in mid Wales and have three horses who are a large part of my life. I am very fortunate to live next to a forest with good outriding so take the opportunity to do this regularly. It’s one of the loveliest ways to enjoy the spectacular Welsh countryside.