Jill Quinn has worked in the voluntary sector for 23 years and in the dementia field for 18 of those years.  Jill left a national dementia organisation to start North Yorkshire wide Dementia Forward in 2012.  The charity has flourished and has grown from a team of 7 staff, supporting 200 families in its first year to a team of over 60 staff and 200 volunteers, currently supporting 4,500 families.  Jill puts the success of Dementia Forward down to a 'can do' approach and striving to be part of the solution but most importantly always hearing the voices of people living with dementia and learning from those experiences.

Dementia Forward supports people from pre diagnosis to end of life, covering North Yorkshire and York. They provide a help line and teams of advisors and care coordinators, headed up with a dementia specialist Nurse.  As well as advice, information and education they run day services across North Yorkshire that are activity based, providing a day of meaningful activity for the person diagnosed while the family carer receives a day of respite.  A specific focus at the moment is the development of age appropriate care for people living with young onset dementia, with a specialist advice service and outward bound respite days.