1. FEEDBACK & QUOTES
‘Of course I thought your presentation was great. You were prepared with
PowerPoint but didn’t use it which indicates spontaneity and passion. You
described from experience the stages and philosophy of community involvement
and empowerment. You were articulate and yet not rambling and you illustrated
beautifully what ‘professionals’ need to hear. You saved your one PowerPoint
slide to last and it was a pity you didn’t put this up earlier because it said a lot. If
I had any advice to give you it would be – keep the passion, stay with what you
want to say and ask for more time’. Jenny Knight (Implementation Advisor-
N.I.C.E)
‘Val’s presentation at the South East Public Health Conference was a breath of
fresh air. It was interesting to hear how true involvement in regeneration projects
can result in real, long term gain for local people. The Lewisham project provides
inspiration to all of us who are looking to work with local people and shows how
much more can be achieved when professionals resist the urge to parachute into
communities with long worked and quick fixes but rather take a bottom up
approach to bring about sustainable regeneration’. Anita Counsell (Public
Health Principal)
‘Val I think you presented very well in terms of presentation style. You were
clear, spoke at the right speed and projected your voice for the whole audience.
You spoke with enthusiasm and passion about your experiences of working in
and with the community in New Cross Gate. You were honest about the
frustrations from both sides, especially how hard it is for the community to work
with the NDC team. You were honest about the expectations of the NDC team
for people to give up valuable time and expertise for the programmed without any
pay or benefits. But most important of all you were REAL! You were voicing the
concerns that many people in the audience were feeling from a professional view
point, because it is frustrating for both the community and the health
professionals, although is obviously more frustrating for the community because
they can’t go home and night and forget about it.
Val you are valuable because you have experienced both side of the
regeneration and NDC experience. You have been a member of the community,
the nominated lead for the Community and the Chair of the NDC Health Theme
Group. You can voice concerns and frustrations of the community who rarely, as
you know, get a voice to do so. You have used your experience and the contacts
you gained positively to shire your skills with others. You truly are the community
voice, rather than a professional voicing the concerns of the community.
Val your strength is in your ability to show those working in regeneration and
community involvement an honest and truthful account of how it has been for
you. I really think professionals need to know how their planning and decisions
affect people’s lives and how little it takes to make this experience a positive one.
You know what it is like to be a community member living and working in an area
that has been allocated funding to develop itself’. Helen Atkinson (Public
Health Specialist)

2. ‘Val is a passionate and extremely effective community advocate who has
worked tirelessly with both local community organizations and statutory services
for years. Val has a strong communication skills allied to an extensive
knowledge of national and local policy and the interplay with local partnerships
which enable a singularly accurate and penetrating analysis of how things work.
As a community consultant, with experience of working on my many projects.
Val has worked on some of the most challenging and practical aspects of health
and social care policy and delivered time and again. Val’s skills set as a
professional Trainer and Consultant make her one of the most relevant and
effective people I have worked with’. Matthew Scott (Lewisham Community
Network)