SPEAKERS BIOGRAPHIES
(alphabetical order)

LORD VICTOR ADEBOWALE has been Chief Executive of Turning Point since 2001 and has more than 25 years’ experience in the health, social care and housing sectors. Turning Point is a leading social care organisation, providing services for people with complex needs, including those affected by drug and alcohol misuse, mental health problems and those with a learning disability. He was awarded the CBE for services to the New Deal, the unemployed and homeless young people. He was appointed a cross bench peer in 2001.

CLAIRE BARCHAM is a qualified social worker and AMHP, who has helped to develop and lead the AMHP Leads Network. This professionally based group was set up to ensure that the views of people who trained AMHPs (then ASWs) or ran AMHP services were heard in the development of the 2007 Mental Health Act. Claire has a particular passion for the need for social workers to develop professional, as well as managerial leadership skills and is part of a four person team who have developed (and will run starting in June 2011) a course focused on helping social workers in leadership and management positions within organisations, develop professional leadership skills.

MAURICE BATES has worked across both adult and children’s services in practitioner, management, and leadership roles. He was director of both adult and children’s services at Redcar and Cleveland Council until March 2008 and went on to work as an interim director of children’s services in North East Lincolnshire, and as executive adviser for adult care in Bedford. He was co-chair of the Association of Directors of Adult services National Workforce Development Policy Committee until 2008 and retains his commitment to, and interest in workforce issues. Maurice currently balances his responsibility to The College of Social Work with studying for an MA in American History at Sheffield University.

TERESA BELL is Corporate Director (Community Services) West Berkshire Council. Teresa is the ADASS South East Safeguarding Lead and is also Secretary of the ADASS South East Regional Committee. She previously chaired the Berkshire West Safeguarding Partnership, overseeing the appointment of an Independent Chair. 

ANNETTA BENNETT has over twenty-five years experience in social care developing resources, implementing policies and national standards, promoting the rights and needs of children, young people and families impacted by a range of societal issues. She has held various roles protecting and safeguarding children from exploitation and abuse, encouraging culturally sensitive practice that gives equal concern to diverse and complex needs to achieve inclusive engagement, partnership working and positive outcomes for them.

PETER BERESFORD OBE is Professor of Social Policy and Director of the Centre for Citizen Participation, Brunel University and Chair of Shaping Our Lives, the independent national user controlled organisation and network. He is a long term user of mental health services, regular contributor to Community Care and Co-author of the newly published "Supporting People: Towards person-centred support. He is a Trustee of the National Skills Academy for Social Care and member of the Ministerial Reference group for Adult Social Care.

SARAH BRENNAN joined YoungMinds as Chief Executive, the leading national charity promoting emotional well-being and mental health for children and young people in May 2008. Sarah is passionate about young people and has over 25 years experience championing their causes. With extensive experience as a trustee as well as developing organisations and working with vulnerable young people she is also a qualified coach.

KIM BROMLEY-DERRY is the chief executive of Newham Council, the host borough for the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. He joined Newham at the end of 2007 as executive director for Children and Young People's Services, having previously served as director of Children's Services at South Tyneside Council. Prior to becoming director at South Tyneside, Kim was a service director for Children & Young People's Social Care at Leicester City Council. Originally a social worker by profession, Kim has worked in a range of settings in local government within both children's and adult services at both practitioner and management level since 1981, when he commenced work as a residential social worker in a children's home. Kim is the Immediate past president of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS); Kim chairs the Children’s Inter Agency Group which brings together the lead agencies in children’s services from across local government, health services, police and the voluntary sector. He also chairs the C4EO Expert Group on early intervention and the National Family Intervention Group. Kim was a member of the Government's Social Work Task Force.

STEPHEN BURKE Stephen Burke is director of United for All Ages, a new social enterprise bringing older and young people together to build stronger communities. Previously he was chief executive of Counsel and Care, the national charity working with older people, their families and carers, and of Daycare Trust, the national childcare charity. He is currently co-chair of Grandparents Plus, treasurer of the Older People's Advocacy Alliance, and a trustee of NAAPS and of Foundations Independent Living Trust. He has almost thirty years' experience working for national organisations and has been a councillor and leader of a London borough and vice-chair of a primary care trust.  

PAUL BURSTOW was elected as Member of Parliament for Sutton & Cheam at the 1997 election. Prior to being appointed Minister of State for Care Services in May 2010, he held several front bench positions in opposition, including Shadow Spokesman for Health, Shadow Minister for London and Shadow Chief Whip. Before being elected to Parliament Paul headed the Liberal Democrat’s Local Government Unit and served on Sutton Council for 16 years from 1986. Paul was educated at Glastonbury High School for Boys, Sutton, and Carshalton College before attending South Bank Polytechnic where he gained a business studies degree. On graduating he worked as a buying assistant before becoming a research assistant at the London Borough of Hounslow. Married with a son and two daughters, Paul enjoys cooking, reading and working out at the gym.

BRUCE CALDERWOOD is the Director in the Department of Health responsible for policy advice on Mental Health, Learning Disabilities, Autism and disability generally. He took up this role in January 2010. Since then he has published the Government’s first Autism Strategy, and a new Mental Health Strategy. Calderwood is a career civil servant working mainly on social policy and service modernisation. His previous roles include Director of an Office for Disability Issues, responsible for the government’s policies on disability equality and disability rights, and Older People’s Director, responsible for policy on pensions and the Government’s Older People’s strategy. He is married with three teenage children.

ANNE MARIE CARRIE became Chief Executive of Barnardo’s, the leading child care charity, in January 2011.  Her previous position was as Executive Director for Family and Children’s Services at the Royal Borough of Kensington.  Prior to this she worked for 3 years in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister working to transform the most poorly performing councils in England.

JO CLEARY is a registered social worker and qualified teacher. She has been Executive Director of Adults’ and Community Services at Lambeth Council since May 2007. She has also been the Corporate Director of Housing and Community Living at Luton Borough Council and Director of Social Services at the Corporation of London. She has held various roles at the former Social Services Inspectorate in the Department of Health, including that of Assistant Chief Inspector, Director of Older People and Children at the NHS Regional Office, London, and Head of Policy. She is co-chair of the Association of Adult Social Services (ADASS) Workforce Development Network and represents ADASS on the Social Work Reform Board. Jo is a Board Member of Skills for Care and the new College of Social Work and is a Trustee of the National Skills Academy for Adult Social Care. She was awarded a Fellowship from the University of Bedfordshire in 2008.

DAVID CONGDON is Head of Campaigns and Policy at Mencap.  He is responsible for campaigning and policy development. Recent major campaigns include Getting it Right, ‘Death by Indifference’, Changing Places, and Breaking Point.He has had a long commitment to Health and Social Care, having been a member of a Heath Authority and chair of Social Services. David was also on the panel for the DRC Formal Investigation into health inequalities experienced by people with learning disabilities or mental health problems. He is a founder member of Every Disabled Child Matters board, a Trustee of the National Development Team and a Trustee of National Voices. 

ANDREW COZENS CBE is Strategic Adviser (Children, Adults and Health Services) for Local Government Improvement and Development (formerly I&DeA) and a member of its Executive Leadership Team. In this role he advises central and local government and partner agencies in relation to children’s services, adult social care, public health and local government’s relationship with the NHS. He also is the LG Group’s Strategic Lead for Adult Social Care, managing the whole Group’s activity in this area. He also oversees the Agency’s work on culture and sport, and its relationship with the Centre for Public Scrutiny. Before joining IDeA in 2006, he spent ten years as director of social services in Gloucestershire and Leicester City. He also was Deputy Chief Executive for Leicester City Council from 2001-5. He was President of the Association of Directors of Social Services (ADSS) in 2003/4.

DISTRICT JUDGE NICHOLAS CRICHTON, Inner London Family Proceedings Court at Wells Street, is currently lead Family Justice Council member for work on 'hearing the voice of the child'. Member Munro Review group set up by Department for Education July 2010. Nicholas was a solicitor in private practice in North West London with particular interest in care proceedings/child protection, 1971-1986. Appointed Metropolitan Stipendiary Magistrate, since renamed District Judge (Magistrates Court), 1986. Appointed Recorder (public and private family law tickets) 1991. Appointed in 1995 to sit full time in Family Proceedings and closely involved in setting up and development of Inner London Family Proceedings Court at Wells Street, which opened in April 1997. Former member of Judicial Studies Board Family Committee and former chair of Inner and North London Guardian ad Litem Panel Committee. Chair/serving member of a number of committees and groups including Association of Lawyers for Children and Young Persons subcommittee, NSPCC group producing information for children with disabilities who face care proceedings, Coram Family Advisory Groups and National Youth Advocacy Service Professional Advisory Group. Frequent speaker at International Conferences and regular work in the field of child protection in Russia, Bulgaria and Ethiopia.

HILTON DAWSON had 15 years’ social work experience with Lancashire County Council, has worked for ChildLine and as Chief Executive of Shaftesbury Young People in the voluntary sector. A qualified social worker for almost 30 years, Hilton has been actively involved in politics for much of this time and was Labour MP for Lancaster & Wyre from 1997 until standing down in 2005.

ANDREW DILNOT is the chair of the Commission on Funding of Care and Support. Andrew is an economist and broadcaster, and is Principal of St Hugh’s College, Oxford and a Pro Vice Chancellor of Oxford University. He was the founding presenter of BBC Radio 4’s series on the beauty of numbers, ‘More or Less’ and was Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies from 1991 to 2002.  He is the chairman of the Statistics Users Forum of the Royal Statistical Society, and a trustee of the Nuffield Foundation. He was awarded a CBE in 2000 for services to economics and economic policy.

MATT DUNKLEY has been Director of Children’s Services in East Sussex since August 2005. He is an American Studies graduate from Sussex University. He began his career in 1983 as a graduate trainee with the Inner London Education Authority, and held senior management roles there, in Greenwich and East Sussex Education departments before becoming Director. He was awarded a Harkness Fellowship in Public Policy in 1995-96 at University of California at Berkeley.  He is also President of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS).

SAMANTHA FINCH is 15 years old and has been a member of Worcestershire's Children in Care Council since it was launched on 2 April 2008. Sam really enjoys shopping, is a member of a gym and would very much like to work with animals in a zoo. The Worcestershire Children in Care Council is called, Who Cares We Care, this name was one that was entered into a completion open to all Worcestershire Looked After Children and Young People and judged the best by the Children's Council. Sam is joined by eight other members of Who Cares We Care, who all work voluntarily and has participated in local and regional activities. Who Cares We Care has a mission statement and Aims that the young people compiled and also has a Pledge. Sam actively participated in the Action for Children  Consultation event held at West Midlands Safari Park on Friday 29th October 2010 which produced the fantastic artwork owned by the College of Social Work this art was created and painted with support by Looked after Children of Worcestershire. Sam has been part of a training day for Newly Qualified Social Workers, presented to a workshop of Care Matters Stocktake, has met England's Commissioner for Children Dr Maggie Atkinson and has never been to London before.

FRAN FULLER has spent her career working with young people and families in a variety of settings including youth settings, child protection, as a residential social worker in a family centre and in a secure unit and managing a unit for young people with learning disabilities. In recent years Fran has been involved in the Social Work degree and the Early Childhood Studies at Derby University including spending two years as Programme Leader for the BA (HONS) Applied Social Work.

MOIRA GIBB joined Camden as Chief Executive in July 2003. Previously she was Executive Director, Housing and Social Services in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. She has worked in a number of local authorities, Ealing, Surrey and Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in their Social Services departments in a variety of roles. She worked as a lecturer in social work at the then Preston Polytechnic, now the University of Lancashire. She was also a visiting lecturer at the London School of Economics. Before training as a social worker at Edinburgh University, she was a teacher in the London Borough of Newham and in Brussels. She is a graduate of Glasgow University.  She was President of the Association of Directors of Social Services in 2000/01 and was appointed CBE for Services to Social Services in the 2002 New Years Honours. She has served on a number of bodies, including the Lifting the Burdens Task Force, is currently a Director of the London Marathon and sits on the board of the UK Statistics Authority.  In 2009 she chaired the Government’s Social Work Task Force and is now chairing the Social Work Reform Board.

PERDEEP GILL qualified as a social worker 20 years ago and is now an independent safeguarding advisor and consultant. She also provides specialist advice on safeguarding cases involving ethnic minorities and Local Safeguarding Children Board development. She is a child protection advisor to BME voluntary and faith groups as well as to the Metropolitan Police.

KAREN GREENE is a mother of three boys aged 14, 10 and 7 years and also has a daughter of 11 years. Being a parent is a joy and she feels privileged to be able to work in partnership with God to be able to bring up children in the right and proper way. Karen is a parent champion in the London Borough of Enfield and a PEP member of Bush Hill Park School. She also volunteers as a TA at Carterhatch Jnr Sch twice per week and has trained as a facilitator in the parent programme - strengthening families strengthening communities. 

DAVE HILL joined Essex County Council on 1st November 2010 as Executive Director for Schools, Children and Families. This exciting challenge is Dave’s third role as Executive Director for children, having worked previously in Merton and Croydon. Dave has worked in local authorities since 1977, having originally trained as a social worker, later he undertook a Masters Degree in Public Service Management and trained to advanced level  as a consultant to individuals, organisations and institutions at the Tavistock Institute.


Dave is passionate about improving outcomes for Children and will except nothing less than excellence for Children and young people in Essex. He is a member of the Social Work Reform Board and a board member of the National College for Social Work, as well as being a Governor at the BRIT School and a Trustee for the Who Cares Trust.
He is married and has two teenage daughters, Dave is musical (singing, trombone and poor piano) and enjoys sport, cinema, DIY and theatre. 

RICHARD JONES is executive director of Adult & Community Services at Lancashire County Council. Richard qualified as a social worker in 1984 and worked in a range of practitioner and management roles in Bolton, Manchester, Cleveland and St. Helens. Richard was appointed director of Social Services in St. Helens in 1996 and moved to the Social Services Inspectorate in 2001 as assistant chief  inspector. In 2003 Richard took on the role of director of Social Services in Lancashire and in 2005 became executive director with responsibility for adult social care, community, cultural and customer services. Richard was chair of ADASS North West for five years and was also the chair of the North West Joint Improvement Partnership. He was a member of the Social Work Task Force and has been involved in the creation of and co chairs the "Think Local Act Personal " partnership which sets out the next stages of the development of adult social care. Richard was President of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services in 2010/11.
Richard is interested in supporting change through engagement with citizens and front line staff and has been a long time champion of the agenda around carers.

JEANNE KANIUK OBE is the head of the Coram Adoption and Permanent Families Service. She has a longstanding interest in the needs of children who are separated from their families and who need long term care. She is committed to the importance of ensuring that permanence decisions for these children are taken without unnecessary delay in order to minimise the damage which is a consequence of broken attachments and drift in the care system. In line with this commitment, she established one of the first concurrent planning projects in the UK in 1999. More recently she has been instrumental in developing the successful adoption partnership between Coram and the London Borough of Harrow, which has resulted in decisions about children’s long term care being taken promptly, and adoption placements being made within statutory timescales. Because of the impact on the long term looked-after children population it has also resulted in significant financial savings for the local authority.

MARY LUCKING as Head of Adoption at the Department for Education, is responsible for policy on domestic and intercountry adoption, and intercountry casework.  She has held this post since December 2008 following a number of posts in Further and Higher Education policy.

Professor CORINNE MAY-CHAHAL is Interim Co-Chair of the College of Social Work and Professor of Applied Social Science at Lancaster University where she teaches on undergraduate and post graduate social work qualification programmes. She is a past member of the Family Justice Council and a current member of the Munro Review Reference Group with a background of research, education and practice in social work spanning over 30 years.

BRONAGH MISKELLY is the Group Editor of Community Care. She has previously edited GP newspaper, the weekly for family doctors, for several years as well as doctors’ monthly Medeconomics and Enterprise magazine for entrepreneurial businesses. Bronagh, who started her working life as a community relations youth worker in Belfast, has also worked on both sides of the camera in television production. Bronagh has a long-term interest in social issues through both her work and having an MSc in Politics. She is a fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) and a member of the advisory committee for the New Dynamics of Ageing research programme.

DAVID NORGROVE began his career as an economist at the Treasury, working there until 1985. He then spent three years as Margaret Thatcher's private secretary while she was Prime Minister. He then went on to spend six years at Marks & Spencer in various roles and was trustee of the company's pension fund. After leaving Marks & Spencer in 2004, he was appointed chair of the Pensions Regulator. He is currently Chair of the Low Pay Commission and Deputy Chair of the British Museum and was appointed independent chair of the Family Justice Review panel in February 2010.

JANET PATRICK is a qualified social worker and teacher, and is the Strategic Advisor for Asylum in Croydon Council, having been for 9 years a significant lead in shaping Croydon’s strategy around and service provision for Unaccompanied Minors, asylum services, No Recourse to Public Funds and undertaking a range of external liaison both locally and nationally, contributing to key policy developments new initiatives for Croydon and with UKBA. Janet’s Local Authority social work career began as a graduate of Liverpool University in 1970, completing in 1974 a Masters Degree/CQSW at Brunel University, and finally gaining her post-graduate Teaching qualification 12 years ago. She has a wealth of generic social work experience in various London boroughs, and has a proven track record of strategic change management. She is an inspirational leader, and above all, is passionately committed to making life better for children, young people and their families.

HELGA PILE is a National Officer in Unison’s Local Government Service Group. She leads on social care workforce issues for the union. Helga is also a Board member of Skills for Care, the sector skills body for adult social care. Helga has previously worked for the GMB Trade Union, for the Low Pay Unit and for the publishers Incomes Data Services.

JEANETTE PUGH has worked for the Department for Education and its predecessors since 1991, following an earlier career in academic research.  Since June 2006, she has been Director of Safeguarding Group in the Children, Young People and Families Directorate, having previously been Director of the Children’s Workforce Unit.   Jeanette was awarded a CB in the 2008 New Year Honours list.

JULIET RAMAGE qualified as a social worker in 1983 and after 13 years of practice in several local authorities, moved to the voluntary sector where she managed several children’s projects. In particular, she developed support services for children living with HIV and services for asylum seeking families.

KATE RICHARDSON has worked in children and families social work since 1988. Since 1996, Kate has specialised in child protection. In 2006 Kate was seconded from the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) into the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) centre where she is the Child Protection Coordinator and Children’s Services Manager of the social work team.

DR JOHN SIMMONDS is Director of Policy, Research and Development at the British Association for Adoption and Fostering. Before coming to BAAF, he was head of the social work programmes at Goldsmiths College, University of London. He is a qualified social worker and has substantial experience in child protection, family placement and residential care settings. He has published widely including in 2009 with Gillian Schofield, The Child Placement Handbook. He is the adoptive father of two children, now adults.

TIM SPENCER-LANE is a lawyer with the Law Commission. He worked previously as the policy adviser to the Law Society on mental health and disability law and has written widely on mental health and community care law. He is currently the academic chairman for the Open University’s social work law course.

EMILY THORNBERRY has been MP for Islington South & Finsbury since 2005. Before entering Parliament, Emily practised as a human rights barrister at the chambers of Mike Mansfield Q.C. In 2009 she was made a ministerial aide in the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC). After the 2010 election, Emily became a Shadow Minister in DECC before becoming a Shadow Health Minister.

JEREMY VINE established himself as a charming but tough-talking presenter on Newsnight. He now presents the daily lunchtime show on Radio 2 and fronts Panorama.

SUE WALD
I qualified as a social worker in 1989 and worked for the following four years In Warwickshire, developing an interest in children looked after, those leaving care and youth homelessness. Following a short term contract at Centrepoint as National Development Manager, I managed the Young Homeless project in Leamington Spa from 1992 - 1997. I have been at Swindon Borough Council since 1997, initially as Planning & Contracts manager and Director Strategy & Commissioning since October 2006. In April 2008 I became a joint appointment with Swindon PCT. The Strategy & Commissioning Directorate is leading on the Children & Young People's Plan, Local Area Agreement, performance management across the children's trust, implementation of the common assessment and lead professional, joint commissioning and joint working with Health and Contact point.

I became chair of the ADCS Research Sub Committee in July 2008 and have represented research on ADCS Council of Reference since February 2009