our board
SfC&D is governed by a strong and diverse Board made up of respected figures in our sector. Collectively, Members represent employers, service users, the workforce and strategic planners in Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland and England. The Board is currently 12 strong. You can find out about our Members and their accolades and skills below.
Professor David Croisdale-Appleby OBE, JP
Chair of SfC&D and Chair of its partner organisation, Skills for Care
David is a professional corporate strategist and is a Strategic Advisor to the Boards of many UK organisations in both the public and private sectors. For many years he was a CEO of a number of advertising agencies and multinational communication groups. He was a founder Director of the University for Industry (learndirect). He is active in policy formulation in health and social care.
Sharon Allen
Chief Executive Officer, Skills for Care
A qualified social worker, housing professional and MBA graduate, Sharon has nearly 30 years experience of working in social care and supported housing service provision. This includes both statutory and voluntary sector experience and culminated in her being Chief Executive of a large voluntary sector provider prior to joining Skills for Care in 2010. Sharon has extensive experience as a Board member across a range of organisations.
Garry Coutts
Convener of the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC)
Garry is also Chair of NHS Highland. He was previously a local authority councillor in both Edinburgh and Highland at one time chairing their Housing and Social Work Committee. He is currently leading work on the strategic commissioning of services for looked after children in Scotland.
Anna Fowlie
CEO Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC)
As a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Anna worked for 18 years in HR in local authorities. This led onto a career within Scottish Government and also COSLA, dedicated to promoting and protecting services relating to the education and care of children and young people.
Rhian Huws Williams
Chief Executive, Care Council for Wales
Rhian has more than 30 years' experience of working in social services in Wales. Rhian holds a CQSW and MA in social work, is a qualified trainer and holds an MSc in Public Sector Management. Since it was established in 2001, Rhian has been the CEO for the Care Council for Wales. Rhian was a member of the Independent Commission on Social Services in Wales.
Brendan Johnston
CEO Northern Ireland Social Care Council (NISCC)
Brendan has held this position with the NISCC since its establishment in October 2001. He qualified as a professional social worker in 1976 and has worked in a range of practitioner and senior manager roles since. Prior to his appointment as Chief Executive, he was a longstanding member of the Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work (CCETSW) committee and of the Training Organisation for Personal Social Services (TOPSS).
Miriam Karp
Non-Executive Director Northern Ireland Social Care Council (NISCC)
Miriam has worked extensively in training and consultancy in the public, private and community sectors in Northern Ireland and England. She has written widely and is published on relationships, sexual health, women's and gender issues and personal development. Among many positions, Miriam holds, she is an Associate with Arthritis Care UK and a member of SCIE's (Social Care Institute For Excellence) Partners' Council and of the NI General Teaching Council.
Ellis Williams
Group Director (Community & Children's Services) Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council
Ellis's 28 year career in social services has taken him from Northamptonshire to South Glamorgan, Cardiff and Plymouth before becoming Chief Social Services Officer in Newport in February 2001. He joined Rhondda Cynon Taf CBC in January 2007 in his current role. He is also currently the Lead Director on Workforce issues for ADSS Cymru, and a Member (Statutory Sector Employer representative) of the Care Council for Wales (CCW), Chair of its Workforce Development Committee and National Strategic Advisory Group. Ellis is also a Member of Welsh Assembly Government Direct Payments Advisory Group and of the Strategic Leadership Group, South East Wales Social Care Partnership SCIP (SE).
Board Key Messages
The UK Board meets quarterly to cover our full business as an SSC and discuss pertinent issues. This is to ensure that we are working to meet the range of needs of the 1.87 million workers and over 62,000 employers in our sector across the UK. The key messages from each meeting will be shared with you here.
Board Stakeholder Seminars
In 2008, SfC&D's UK Board introduced seminar opportunities, to use some of their time together to debate and discuss, with key employers and stakeholders some of the pertinent issues facing our sector. They felt that this would help them to stay focussed on cutting edge issues, and better equip the Board to give strategic direction to the operations of SfC&D and national imperatives. These have been very successful to date and allowed us to share key issues, and solutions in policy and practice with stakeholders across the four nations. Reports from these seminars will be shared with you here.