Our team at
Harbour Manor

For me, that means supporting their independence, respecting their choices and ensuring their dignity.

Caring for others has always been important to me. I was a registered nurse in the Philippines and have a diploma in adult care and adult and child safeguarding. I have also had dementia training.

A big career highlight for me was progressing to Deputy Manager. Being able to develop my leadership skills has been great, it has given me more opportunities to lead by example, and support colleagues deliver high-quality care.

Providing compassionate care means you genuinely need to care for others. You also need to be committed to making a positive difference to people’s lives. To do that, it is important to be a good listener and to be patient, while also building a strong relationship with residents’ families.

Outside of work, I enjoy cooking and spending time with family and friends. I also enjoy getting away for the weekend when I can, I find it a great way to relax and recharge with the people who are most important to me. I like to keep a good balance between work and personal life.

I started my career as a Care Assistant, supporting people with a wide range of needs, including advanced dementia, autism, schizophrenia, and other mental health conditions.

Gradually, I started helping plan activities alongside my care role, which is when I realised I had a real passion for it. I could see almost immediately how residents engaged with thoughtful, well-planned activities and I knew this was the direction I wanted my career to take.

I progressed to my current role as Lifestyle Lead at Harbour Manor when the home first opened. This gave me the opportunity to build our activities programme from the very beginning. Since then, our activities plan has gone from strength to strength, developing into a varied and vibrant programme shaped around our residents’ interests, choices, and individual needs. It is incredibly rewarding to see residents having fun, grow in confidence and feel a genuine sense of achievement.

Outside of work, I am a mum of three including one son with additional needs. This has given me an even greater understanding of the importance of recognising each person as an individual, and being able to adapt activities so everyone can take part.

My experience means I am used to balancing nutrition and thinking of new ways to make sure everyone eats well.

The best part of the job for me is being able to make someone happy by creating a plate of food that triggers happy memories. That is always such a highlight. I also enjoy hearing residents stories.

Outside of work, I spend most of my time with my family. We have two children and dogs, so life is pretty hectic. I love that coming to work is like being with a second family and I feel lucky to be part of the team at Harbour Manor.

The experience showed me how meaningful it is to support someone and be able to provide kindness, dignity and compassion. It inspired me to build a career where I could continue to make a positive difference to people’s lives.

I have now worked in care for over 14 years, in care homes and in the community, visiting people’s homes as a personal carer. I have always been passionate about providing person-centred care and making sure people feel respected and valued.

I believe that getting to know people as individuals is at the heart of great care, and one of the things I enjoy most is building relationships with residents, their families and colleagues. I’m always happy to listen, offer advice and provide support whenever a resident or family member needs someone to talk to. I’m a firm believer that sometimes a cup of tea, a conversation and a little bit of laughter can make all the difference.

I want Harbour Manor to be somewhere that people feel they belong, rather than somewhere they just live. Fundamentally, this is someone’s home, and we should treat it as such.

Outside of work, I’m a proud mum to three grown-up children. I also run a successful majorette troupe in Felixstowe. We take part in regional and national competitions and support local events. We have also been lucky enough to take part in some fantastic events including the Scotland Tattoo and London’s New Year’s Day Parade. Majorettes is a big part of my life, so you’ll often see me twirling something I’ve found or dancing in the corridors. When I’m not busy with majorettes, I spend my time with my family.

I started in domiciliary care before moving to care homes. I really enjoy working with older people and have steadily progressed from care assistant through to my current role as Unit Manager.

Part of my role is managing the practical side, like overseeing colleagues, dealing with medication and handling appointments or queries. I love my job and am always trying to find new ways to make residents’ lives as carefree as possible.

In my spare time, I do a lot of online gaming and lead a relatively large gaming community. I would rather read a book than watch TV.

Previously, I looked after three care homes in Southend before moving to Suffolk where I became a property manager. All in all, I bring decades of experience with me.

On a personal level, I also have an understanding of dementia after I looked after my mother when she came back to England after living in Australia.

I joined the team at Harbour Manor in 2025 and really enjoy my role here. What I like most is stopping for a chat with residents and seeing how my work genuinely makes a positive difference to everyone that lives and works here.

I have three children with one still living at home so my life outside of work is very family orientated. I also enjoy paddle boarding and photography.