We want to make a difference
We are delighted that our team includes so many people who want to support our community with varied skills, vast knowledge and a common purpose to connect and support others.
We want to make a difference, nurture social innovation and impact and help to continue to create a healthier and happier Bailiwick Community.
Our Patron
Our Board
Louise is Chairperson for HC. She has volunteered as a member of the board with the Charity since 2002. Louise started her career as a General Nurse, working in UK, Guernsey and overseas. After a period of work in both primary and secondary care Louise worked in public health and eventually moved in to education. During the day, Louise is the Principal of The Guernsey Institute. The links between Health Connections and education are strong; learning new knowledge or a skill and gaining success is a route to health and happiness. Louise is married and has two adult children. Louise completed a professional doctorate in education in 2022, loves walking and being with friends.
Catherine Griggs qualified as a Chartered Certified Accountant (A.C.C.A) in 1996 and has worked in the financial services industry for nearly 30 years.
She is currently Managing Director of Stenham Asset Management Inc, where she is also a director of many investment funds and other companies within the Stenham Group. Before moving to Guernsey in 2013, she worked for Stenham Advisors PLC in London as a senior manager in operations, finance and client services. Prior to that she was Chief Finance Officer and a Partner at Montier Partners LLP and before joining this firm in 2000 was Group Financial Controller and Compliance Officer at the Gaiacorp Group. She has recently completed the IOD Certificate in Company Direction and currently continues her lifelong learning on the IOD diploma programme.
Catherine enjoys spending time with her two daughters, running on the cliffs with her dog, playing golf and singing in a church choir.
Bella has over 35 years’ experience of working with people at their most vulnerable and most resourceful in the public, private and charitable sector. Her health career began when she worked as a Nurse and Midwife. She holds an MA in Health Management and is an accredited Executive, Resilience and Systemic Team Leadership Coach.
Her personal mission is to support others to live happier, more fulfilling lives and to be as healthy as they can be. Whilst leading Health Connections LBG and privately practising at Wings Coaching she is also a director at The Association of Guernsey Charities (AGC) and Chair of CareWatch carewatch.org.gg
She remains resourceful by connecting with nature, her 3 (almost) grown up children, friends and large extended family.
She is confident that the success of the charity will be because of the collective responsibility of its dynamic Board of Directors, staff and volunteers as well as the donors and supporters who are dedicated to compassionately creating a connected community.
Contact Bella directly by email: bella@healthconnections.gg
Mimi is the newest addition to the board. With roots in Marketing, she has extensive experience having worked for advertising institutions such as Ogilvy & Atomic London, on household names like Coca-Cola, BP, Cancer Research & the NSPCC, as well as a plethora of startups, scale-ups and local Channel Island brands.
Mimi lives and breathes effective communications and strategic brand growth. More recently, her tactical attitude and creative problem solving has led to more operational and commercial roles, working as a Chief Operations Officer for a UK tech-led football leisure brand and now as an Executive Trading Manager at Norman Piette.
Although a self-proclaimed “import”, Mimi has fallen in love with Guernsey and lives with her locally-born husband and baby boy.
Srabani has over 30 years’ experience in Business Strategy and Marketing in a wide range of industry sectors in the UK, with the last 7 years in the finance sector in Guernsey. Srabani is currently a Director and the Global Head of Portfolio Marketing at a global financial services provider and is responsible for building out audience centric product positioning and strategy to drive revenue.
Srabani has recently completed the IOD Diploma in Company Direction. She has a deep personal interest in health and wellbeing, and is an organic grower of vegetables. Having moved to the island 8 years ago, Srabani has embraced island life and is an active member of Guernsey Rowing Club and can be seen rowing with her team on the bailiwick waters.
Kirsty is our Board Secretary and assists the CEO with ad-hoc projects, particularly focusing on capturing the impact of the charity.
Kirsty has years of experience in a corporate setting and applies her expertise to supporting the Board ensuring excellent governance and improving the efficiency of the charity.
Kirsty has settled back into Guernsey life with her young family after spending 9 years in Singapore. Health Connections is an ideal fit for her as she is passionate about improving mental health, combatting loneliness and alleviating stress/anxiety. The fact that the charity also focuses on sustainability through its Reloved and Preloved shops is the icing on the cake for her. Her previous volunteering experience includes working with a Singapore charity supporting single mothers.
Kirsty is an avid reader and has an annual (realistic!) running target so you may find her along Guernsey’s beautiful coastline armed with either a good book or running shoes!
Our Team
Agi joined our shop team as a volunteer in the summer in 2020, following disruption to her her travel plans due to Covid 19.
Agi moved to the island when she was 11. She is multilingual and has travelled to over 40 countries. She has achieved a BA in Fashion Design (University of Leeds) and has worked in lingerie, travel, accounting, retail & marketing.
Due to her passion for sustainable living, an incredible ability to merchandise with a natural eye for detail, as well as a warm and helpful style with customers and volunteers, she is one of our shop floor staff as well as our Operations Manager.
Agi loves meeting new people each day in our shops and at local events and is able to signpost people to support that matters to them via our online directory.
In her spare time, Agi trains Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and volleyball, enjoys wild camping and foraging, sea swimming, cooking Asian food & organic growing in her greenhouse as well as sewing, crafting and up-cycling at any opportunity.
Fiona has 3 children and lives on Herm where her husband is the Herm Technical Services Manager.
Prior to having children Fiona worked in Customer Services for BT in the UK. Since then, she has studied childcare and has been a Homestart volunteer on Guernsey.
On Herm, she has carried out a variety of jobs to serve the local community and in 2020 she started a well being project to renovate Herm’s rundown village hall with the aim of it becoming a community hub. She managed, through the generosity of Guernsey businesses and individuals like Dame Mary Perkins, to raise enough money and equipment to totally renovate and fit out the hall.
In November 2021, she took part in the Community Connector Training with Health Connections and realised how much she would like to work for the charity in a role which enables her to help support people in the community.
She thoroughly enjoys spending time with family and friends, is a keen cook and cake maker and a very successful fund raiser.
Jan was born and raised in the UK but moved to Guernsey in 1991, and has called it home ever since, along with her two adult daughters.
After years of working in both the Finance Industry and for the States of Guernsey, Jan recently made the decision to retire from full time employment. With more time on her hands, she wanted to look for a role where she could really help and support her local community.
In March 2024, Jan joined Health Connections as a volunteer and has now, enthusiastically, taken on the role as a Transport Coordinator. Since being a part of the Health Connections team, she has thoroughly enjoyed meeting, supporting and working with new people and looks forward to continuing to make a difference in helping create a healthier and happier Bailiwick.
When Jan is not working, she enjoys walks with her golden retriever, undertaking home improvement tasks, gardening and spending time with her family and friends.
Jo volunteered with Health Connections as office support for nearly two years before being offered the position of Transport Coordinator in July 2024 which she enjoys as a contrast to her work as a Beauty Therapist / Masseuse.
In her spare time she loves spending time with her family and friends, walking and sea swimming (even during the winter months).
She also loves learning new skills each day!
Magdalena has been living on Guernsey for 17 years with her husband and children.
During that time, as a qualified Health Trainer and Counsellor she has worked for HSC and supported and volunteered for several charities in Guernsey including Guernsey Bereavement Service.
She loves working in the community and inspiring and motivating people to change their lives for the better.
She has a passion for healthy living and well-being.
Her hobbies are psychology, personal development, wholesome cooking, DIY, arts & crafts.
Our Volunteers
Shop Assistants
We currently have over 28 creative and friendly volunteers who help us run our charity shops.
Car Drivers
We currently have 36 committed and caring car drivers who use their own cars (milage paid by HSC) to drive people who have genuine transport difficulties to their appointments and activities. We also have 4 office volunteers who support the transport co ordinators.
Talking Cafe Host Volunteers
We currently have 3 volunteer Health Connectors who support our lead Health Connector, 8 Talking Cafe Host Volunteers who work in pairs in our Talking Cafe’s connecting local people to support on the directory and signposting them to our 1:1 Health Connector and Transport Service.
At Health Connections we rely on the support our Volunteers give us. Follow this link to join our network of volunteers.
Our Structure
Why our Volunteers work with us
Pierre Herve – off island support volunteer
My purpose in becoming a charity volunteer was to make some sort of meaningful contribution to people experiencing physical and/or emotional difficulties. I retired as a registered nurse in 2017, but still felt a need to offer support to a worthwhile charity.
Being part of an existing local charity that was undergoing transformation I became quite excited by the underlying principles set out in the charities vision plan and felt that I could help by becoming a volunteer with newly the re-branded ‘Health Connections’.
Under new operational leadership came the idea of providing a change of direction in the offering of community support. A concept that enabled the delivery of health related information using a partnership approach. I felt this was a wonderful opportunity in which voluntary and statutory services could offer health related support to people in our local community and felt drawn to offer my services.
