From the Desk of Sam Goodrich

June 22, 2022

As the TimeSlips community continues to grow, we’re introducing you to each of our team members and highlighting the work that benefits YOUR creative engagement. From managing myriad details of member requests, creating content for communications, to individual training and large-scale organizational partnerships, these are the faces behind the TimeSlips team. It’s our joy to get to know you, and for you to get to know us!

This week we would like to introduce you to Sam Goodrich.

What’s your role at TimeSlips?  How long have you been with them?
I’m the Tele-Stories Program Manager and a Certified Trainer. I first learned about TimeSlips in 2010 and have been hooked ever since!

How and why did you get involved in this work?
I found TimeSlips at a crucial time in my young adulthood. My dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s when I was a senior in high school and I didn’t handle the news well. I went off to college the next year to study Musical Theatre where I was lucky enough to connect with TimeSlips Founder and Lead Creative Strategist, Anne Basting, who was a theatre professor at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She showed me that the things I was learning in my acting classes could be applied to the care I could provide my dad which was a pivotal change for me.

After my dad passed, I split my time building creative projects for people with memory loss, and caring for several older adults with various neurocognitive challenges. I have the unique privilege of saying that I know TimeSlips from many angles; student, artist, family care partner, professional care partner, and now program manager.

Why am I involved in this work? I know how hard it can be. I know not every family has someone like my mom, who provided the most incredible, person-centered care for my dad. I know there are systems we must work within that often value profit over personal wellbeing and I know others do not have the same resources and opportunities that I did when I went through this with my dad. I consider it my honor and responsibility to help others navigate the hardships of caring for someone with more support and opportunity for joy. Because there is still joy to be had!

What is a unique benefit of working with TimeSlips that people may not realize?
We’ve always been a remote organization. I like to joke that we were working remotely “before it was cool”. I am unbelievably grateful for this aspect of my job, because it means that I can travel with my wife, who is an opera singer, while still maintaining a fulfilling job I care deeply about. I’m a Milwaukee girl, writing this from Santa Fe, New Mexico where we are spending our summer. I’ve also worked from Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, Prague, Aspen, and beyond. It has helped give me a new perspective of what it means to be “home”. To me, home is where my wife is, while work is where the wifi is! 🙂

What inspires you?
My Aunt, Eleanor Austin Guilbert has been writing her whole life, mostly haikus and short stories. Both her and my dad were/are great writers and storytellers. Her entire life she’s wanted to get something published so her work could be shared beyond family and friends. This spring, I was visiting with her when she got a call that a medical literary journal wanted to publish one of her stories! At 97 she made one of her life goals a reality. Her hard work and determination are endlessly inspiring to me. Never give up, no matter how long it may take!