Our Chair and Board of Trustees
Download this governance diagram (PDF) showing the roles of our Trustees.
If you have any questions about board business, please contact Karen Wilkins at BAAF, by phone (0207 421 2613) or email karen.wilkins@baaf.org.uk
Anthony Douglas, CBE - ChairAnthony Douglas was Vice Chair of BAAF for three years before succeeding Sir Edward Cazalet as Chair in 2003. He brings to the role a considerable personal and professional experience. As an adoptee, he understands the issues for children and families in family placements. Anthony Douglas has been Chief Executive of Cafcass, the specialist national agency representing children and families in family courts throughout England, since 2004. Cafcass supports over 100,000 children in public and private law cases every year. Prior to this he was Director of Social Services in the London Borough of Havering, where he was also Director of Housing, Leisure, Libraries and Neighbourhood Services, and in Suffolk, where he was Director of Social Care and Health Services. He was an economist and then a journalist prior to becoming a social worker. He has written four books on UK social care and is now writing a fifth on Resilience. He has been a school governor and a government adviser on specific programmes. He is a Visiting Fellow of the University of East Anglia and Chair of the British Association for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF). Anthony was awarded a CBE in 2008, for services to family justice and adoption. |
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Maswood Ahmed (Nominated by the Black and Minority Ethnic Perpsectives Advisory Committee)Maswood has extensive experience of managing in local government and the third sector. He qualified as a social worker from University of Liverpool, 1992. He has an MBA (Master of Business Administration) from Westminster Business School and currently completing an MSc in Advanced Social Work. Maswood has experience of managing award winning complex multi-agency and multi-disciplinary projects. He has over twenty years experience of working for local government and voluntary sector organisations e.g. Barnardos, NSPCC and Action for Children (formerly NCH). He has a keen interest in broadcasting and journalism and was director of Mass Film Productions Limited producing documentaries on socio-political issues for many years. He has served as a School governor in state and several independent schools. He has been the chair of social services Asian Workers Group for many years. Maswood is committed to promoting the welfare of children in care and is currently working as a team leader in children’s services. Maswood is renowned as an independent social work consultant acting as an expert witness in complex care proceedings. Maswood has particular expertise in working with children and families from Bangladeshi and other Black and Minority Ethnic communities. Maswood is married and father of 3 boys. |
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Alan Fisher (Nominated by the Independent Fostering Providers Forum)Alan is the Director of Care at Supported Fostering Services, a charity providing foster placements and packages of care for looked after children. He has spent his entire working life in social care with children, young people and their families. His experiences in an inner London community social work team and establishing a family support centre in Kent reflect his interest in partnership, multi-disciplinary practice and collaboration with service users in a statutory or voluntary sector setting. With over 30 years social work experience, his vitality is sustained by aiming towards the goal of a fostering service that is truly child centred and by the remarkable dedication of his carers. His biggest challenge is to respond effectively on behalf of the children in care whose future lies ahead of them. He is a birth parent and step-parent. He is the current chair of Fostering Through Social Enterprise, a group of charities and not-for-profit IFPs. |
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Norman Goodwin (Nominated by the Consortium of Voluntary Adoption Agencies)Norman is Chief Executive of Adoption Matters Northwest, a voluntary adoption agency, with its main headquarters in Chester, but covering the North West of England. He has worked there since 1985 having previously worked and managed in child care settings in Scotland, Wales and England. He is an executive member and former chair of CVAA and has also served as a Trustee of Children England the leading membership organisation for the children, young people and families voluntary sector. Norman continues to be involved in a number national initiatives and working groups on adoption and is currently a member of the Governments adoption expert advisory group. Norman lives in Chester and is married with two adult children. He enjoys playing cricket and regularly watching Liverpool FC. |
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Paul McCormack (Trustee with personal or professional experience of the care system)Paul is a Trustee with personal or professional experience of the care system. Paul has worked in local government (Civil Service) for approximately 30years. He is currently employed in a consultancy role specifically looking at performance within the West Midlands. Paul spent the first 18 years growing up in the “Care system”, having experience of failed adoption and several foster placements. He has an acute understanding in relation to the issues looked after children experience around identity, mixed heritage, loss, rejection etc. Paul has worked with young adults leaving the care system helping them establish themselves within local community, supporting those who have/are tracing birth families. Paul is married with 5 children ranging from 23years to 4yrs. 4 are birth children with the youngest being adopted. |
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Jean Minshull (Vice Chair) Trustee with personal or professional experience of adoptionJean Minshull spent over twenty years in the NHS, beginning her career as a nurse and midwife, and moving on into nurse education and senior management roles. Following her Master’s degree in leadership development she left the NHS to spend the remainder of her career as an organisational development specialist working in a range of public and private sector organisations. Jean has over twenty years experience of working with boards & senior teams in strategic planning & management, and has specialised in all aspects of human resources management including leadership and management development, executive coaching, and change management. Jean also has previously held a position as a trustee of a charity supporting people living with cancer. |
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Tony Rodgers (Nominated by the Directors of Social Services, Northern Ireland) |
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Carolyn Sampeys (Nominted by the Health Group Advisory Committee)Dr Carolyn Sampeys is a Community Paediatrician and Named Doctor for Adoption and Looked After Children for Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust. She acts as Medical Adviser in Adoption to Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan Local Authorities. Carolyn is Chair of the BAAF Welsh Medical Group and an active member of the BAAF Health Group Advisory Committee. Carolyn lives in South Wales and is married with 3 teenage children – 2 sons and a daughter. |
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Dr Peter Selman (Nominated by the Research Group Advisory Committee)Peter is Visiting Fellow in the School of Geography, Politics & Sociology at Newcastle University. He is nominated by the BAAF Research Group. He has researched and written on many aspects of adoption policy, including the adoption of Downs children and access to birth records, but has focused mainly on overseas adoption. He is Chair of the Network for Intercountry Adoption and Research and Literature advisor to the Intercountry Adoption Centre. He is also editor of Intercountry Adoption; developments trends and perspectives(BAAF, 2000). In recent years he has specialised in the demography of intercountry adoption and attended the 2010 Hague Special Commission on Intercountry Adoption as an independent expert. He is married with three grown-up sons. |
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Tony Sharp (Nominated by the UK Social Work Practice Advisory Committee)Tony qualified as a Social Worker in 1974 from the University of Bradford. He has spent all his professional life working for Essex County Council, predominantly in children and families services. He has chaired adoption panels and has also been the Agency Decision Maker. Since 1997 he has held the post of County Adoption Manager. Under his leadership, Essex is one of only three local authorities to be awarded Beacon Status for it’s adoption service. He is chair of the East Anglian Consortium of Adoption Agencies and the UK Social Work Practice Advisory Committee |
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Natasha Rego (Trustee with personal or professional experience of adoption) |
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Carole Sykes (Nominated by the UK Social Work Practice Advisory Committee) |
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Brian O'Sullivan, Honorary TreasurerBrian is Finance Director of Thomas Miller Investment. He was previously a Senior Vice President with State Street Bank & Trust Company. He has held senior finance and operations roles with a number of financial service companies, including Aviva and Schroders. He is a graduate of the University of London. He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and a member of the Association of Corporate Treasurers. Brian has four children, including one adopted child. |
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Nigel Brown (Nominated by the Association of Directors of Social Services, Cymru)Nigel currently holds the post of Assistant Director of Social Services at Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council. He is a qualified social worker and has 20 years experience of working with children and families and held a variety of posts in local authorities including Team Manager, Planning Manager and Service Manager. Nigel has gained experience of managing all areas of statutory services for children and their families and has also worked closely the voluntary sector to deliver joint services to children and their families. He has experience of chairing an Adoption Panel and is currently the Local Authority “Decision Maker” for both Fostering and Adoption services. Nigel is Vice Chair of the ADSS Heads of Children Service group and has worked with the Welsh Government and CSSIW to develop revised guidance on Serious Case Reviews. |
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Alistair Stobie (Legal Group Advisory Committee, Scotland) |
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Christine Cocker (Trustee with personal or professional experience of the care system)Christine Cocker is a qualified social worker and a Principal Lecturer in Social Work at Middlesex University. She has over 25 years experience as a social worker. She has researched and written about lesbian and gay fostering and adoption and social work with looked after children. She is particularly interested in the mental health of looked after children and is currently completing her PhD in this area. In addition to her academic post, Christine is also an independent member of a local authority adoption panel. Christine has three children, the youngest of whom is adopted. |
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Zachari Duncalf (Trustee with personal or professional experience of the care system)Zachari is a care leaver having spent 8 years in care in England from the ages of 11 – 19. During this time she spent time in residential, secure and psychiatric care. As such Zachari is particularly interested in the issues of mental health, leaving care and the life long effects of being in care. Zachari is also a PhD student at the University of Glasgow in her final year completing research on Adult Care Leavers: Autobiography, identity and the life course. In addition to this work Zachari holds a full time post as a Research Fellow at the Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children in Scotland (CELCIS), University of Strathclyde where all her work focuses on young people in care and care leavers of all ages. |
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Susan Ferguson (Co-opted Trustee)Sue Ferguson has many years experience as a doctor, initially in General Practice and then as a Community Paediatrician, increasingly involved with adoption and fostering, for which she developed a great passion. Following a long NHS career during which she was fortunate to have worked with many children who have benefited from excellent adoptive and fostering placements, she is now Medical Advisor to an Independent Fostering provider. Her main interests in the field have been around the developmental effects of emotional abuse and neglect of children. Sue has previously served on two adoption and permanency panels, spent ten years as chair of Trustees of a third sector charity supporting the mental health needs of young people, and has been a governor of a number of schools. Sue is married with two grown up daughters and lives in Herefordshire |
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Sally Rowe (Nominated by the Association of Directors of Children's Services)Sally Rowe is the Head of Families First within Staffordshire County Council’s People Team. She joined Staffordshire County Council in 2004. Sally has worked in a number of West Midlands Local Authorities as a Child Protection Social Worker and in a variety of senior management positions. She is currently leading the Families First change programme for the transformation of children’s services within the County Council. Sally has extensive experience of services for looked after children and has managed fostering, adoption and residential services for a number of Years. She has also been a member of two adoption panels and has acted as Vice Chair for both panels. She is currently Staffordshire’s Agency Decision Maker for adoption which is a role she has done for 5 years. Sally has lived in Staffordshire since 1991 and has two children who attend Staffordshire schools. She is passionate about ensuring all children who need support get the right help at the right time. |
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Robert Swift (Nominated by the Association of Directors of Social Work)Robert qualified as a social worker in the 1970’s. He afterwards worked in Cumbria and Malaysia before settling in Scotland. He has served on various adoption and fostering panels in local authorities and in the voluntary sector, and has held the roles of panel chair and agency decision maker. He is currently head of Children and Justice Services in South Lanarkshire Council. Robert chairs the Adoption and Fostering committee of the Association of Directors of Social Work. Robert is an adoptive parent and a birth parent and is author of The Family Business, published by BAAF. |
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Jacquie Roberts (Co-opted Trustee)Jacquie Roberts was the Chief Executive of the Care Commission in Scotland from October 2001 until December 2010, when she was appointed the Interim Chief Executive of the new Scottish care regulatory body, the Care Inspectorate. She retired from this post in February 2012. Jacquie qualified as a social worker in 1974 and specialised in child protection and adoption and fostering services in both Oxford and Lambeth. She moved to Dundee in 1986 where she continued to work in child protection, family finding and older people's services and became Director of Social Work for Dundee in 1997. She moved from this post to the Care Commission. Jacquie set up a small charitable trust for vulnerable children in Dundee and is an adoptive parent. She was awarded an OBE in 2010 for her contribution to social care |
