6th August 2021

Alzheimer's Support staff and trustees have said a fond farewell to outgoing CEO Babs Harris, who has stepped down after six and half years to lead REME Charity.

Under Babs' leadership, Alzheimer's Support expanded greatly, becoming the leading provider of dementia care across Wiltshire and introducing a host of new services and initiatives. The numbers of people supported by the charity more than doubled and its work won numerous local and several national awards. 

I am, and will forever be, immensely proud of what we have created together. Alzheimer’s Support will always have a special place in my heart.

Babs joined Alzheimer's Support in 2015, taking over from founder Anna Littlechild. She led the organisation through six years of growth and development, presiding over the charity's expansion into North and South Wiltshire and the opening of Old Silk Works dementia centre in Warminster. She also launched the South West Dementia Social Care conference and Wiltshire Dementia Roadmap, and set, and met, a goal of providing a dementia group within five miles of every community in Wiltshire.  

Babs said: “We did this together. The achievements of this charity are down to my amazing team of senior managers and everyone who works and volunteers with us. This charity is all about the people who make it happen every day and who care so much about the people we support. But the time is right for me to say goodbye to our big little charity.

"I am excited now to start at REME Charity and looking forward to the challenges of a very different organisation."

Sarah takes the helm at Alzheimer's Support

The Board of Trustees has appointed Head of Community Services Sarah Marriott as Interim CEO. 

Sarah joined Alzheimer's Support nine years ago as a support worker in Kennet and has been a care coordinator in Westbury/Warminster and the charity's dementia adviser manager before joining the senior management team as Head of Community Services. 

Chair of Trustees Janet Dore said: "We are delighted to be able to appoint Sarah as interim CEO. She has done a magnificent job leading the expansion of our community groups in recent years and the Board has full confidence in Sarah to steer our ship while we consider the search for our next chief executive."

"She is already doing an amazing job as she has shadowed and increasingly taken over Babs' role in recent weeks. We know she is going to be an inspiring leader in the months ahead."

30 years of Alzheimer's Support