Jennifer Challinor

Jennifer has been with the Trust since January 2018. She leads on embedding age-friendly, zero carbon and technology-driven innovation into both the work of the organisation and local communities. She is passionate about working with the local community and partners to test the next generation of innovations and to understand the challenges and opportunities of adapting to technology, a climate emergency and an ageing society in rural communities.

She coordinated the ‘Building the Case for a Care Campus’ Project for the Trust. This was a 3-year community-led project that ended in December 2020. The Care Campus Project explored what would make Dumfries and Galloway the best place to grow old.  During this project, she worked with rural communities, partners, and stakeholders to explore the opportunities of an ageing rural population and how rural places can innovate and be empowered to find solutions that work for them. This work continues to inform her work and our research and development activities at the Trust.

Jennifer has lived in the region for 12 years with her family. She has worked in a variety of social enterprises and charities in Scotland and internationally and has a background in programme management, evaluation, co-development, and community empowerment. She is passionate about rural communities and inclusive people-led innovation.

In her rare moments of spare time, she enjoys adventures around Scotland with her family and chocolate Labrador in their campervan.