Alison Woodhead Director of Public Affairs Expand Alison is responsible for Adoption UK’s relationships with politicians and other key decision makers, and leads our research and policy work. She runs our #Equal Chance campaign for better support for adopted children in school. She also oversees our media work, publications and digital communications, including our website and social media channels. Alison has over 20 years’ experience in the voluntary sector. Before joining Adoption UK she worked with Oxfam, the UN and others, in campaigning and media roles. She came to the voluntary sector from a career as a television documentary producer. She has an adopted daughter. Contact Alison [email protected]
Ann Bell Director Wales Expand Ann is responsible for developing and managing our activities in Wales. As well as overseeing the delivery of services to adopters across Wales, Ann also liaises with the Welsh Government and local authorities, ensuring that the voice of adoptive parents is heard in the new National Adoption Service. An adoptee and adoptive parent herself, Ann was formerly a secondary school teacher and more recently worked as Director of Communities that Care in Wales. She has a Masters degree in early childhood studies and has done research into the support needs of adoptive parents during the first year of placement. Contact Ann [email protected]
Dr. Julie Elliott Clinical Director, Adoption UK Expand As Clinical Director Julie is responsible for the clinical and therapeutic delivery across Adoption UK and ensures that we have robust clinical governance around the therapeutic services we offer. She manages the Psychology and Therapy Hub (PATH) which deliver a range of therapeutic programmes. The team includes qualified and experienced psychologists and therapists, and experts by experience who deliver on the peer support components within PATH. Julie is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist with over 25 years’ experience of working within Children and Family services across the NHS, Social Care, Education and the Independent/Charity sectors. Following an undergraduate degree in Psychology and Moral Philosophy and Applied Ethics, she completed a PhD in Psychology, focussing on the effects of trauma in childhood. She then went on to complete her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. Julie has previously managed Psychology and Psychological Therapy services within the NHS.
EJ Havlin Director Northern Ireland Expand As the director of our service in N.Ireland, EJ is responsible for service delivery and development across N.Ireland. EJ manages a team of skilled and experienced staff members who have personal and professional experience allowing them to offer information, advice and support to adoptive families in N.Ireland. With a degree in Social Sciences plus a range of community development and adult education & training qualifications, EJ comes from a voluntary sector professional background. Previous roles have involved widening participation & social mobility in higher education at Queens University Belfast, capacity building initiatives in Belfast community projects & developing empowerment programmes for older people across N.Ireland. EJ is committed to enabling the voice of adopters to be raised. EJ is an adopter and was previously a volunteer with Adoption UK. Contact EJ [email protected]
Emily Frith Chief Executive Officer Expand Emily’s previous roles include leading on policy and advocacy for the Children’s Commissioner; Special Adviser to the Deputy Prime Minister on health and welfare; heading up a national commission on children’s mental health at the Education Policy Institute, and leadership of External Affairs at Turning Point, the health and social care charity. She was a member of the Oversight Board for NHS England’s taskforce for improving children’s inpatient mental health care. She played a leading role in putting children at the top of the political agenda in decisions relating to the impact of the pandemic and led a campaign which directly led to the investment of £600m in mental health care. Contact: [email protected]
Fiona Aitken Director Scotland Expand As the director of our service in Scotland, Fiona is responsible for service delivery and development across Scotland. Fiona manages a team of skilled and experienced staff members who have personal and professional experience allowing them to offer information, advicee and support to adoptive families in Scotland. With a degree in Sociology and a qualification in Speech and Language therapy, Fiona comes from a child focussed professional background. Previous roles involved developing and coordinating family support services for children and families affected by disabilities, and working in a residential respite environment. She has a further qualification in Autism, and an interest in therapeutic interventions. Fiona believes that Adoption UK in Scotland offers unique support to families, with a foundation of peer support and shared learning and experiences, and is keen to develop the support services to help meet the needs of families and raise awareness of adoption in Scotland. Contact Fiona [email protected]
Jane White Director of Quality Assurance Expand As the Registered Manager for England Jane is responsible for ensuring the service is compliant with legislative and regulatory requirements. Jane is our Director of Quality Assurance for Adoption UK, she is responsible for ensuring an effective system of quality assurance and evaluation operates within Adoption UK’s support services. This will support the service to evidence good practice, and continuous improvement. Jane is also the lead for Safeguarding for England. She has 29 years of safeguarding experience, primarily within Local Authority Children’s Social Care. She is experienced in partnership working and is passionate about service user participation and involvement in service development and improvements. Jane’s experience spans across all areas of children’s social care and includes a number of years of strategic leadership of permanence services such as Children in Care, Care Experienced, Adoption, and Fostering services. Jane’s aim is to support the teams to demonstrate the impact of the services provided and to showcase best practice within Adoption UK. Contact Jane [email protected]
Joel Saddler Chief Operating Officer Expand As Chief Operating Officer Joel is responsible for the day to day operational management of the charity in addition to income generation, including fundraising and business development. Joel has over 35 years’ experience in the public sector and third sector having careers in the NHS, Ofsted Early Years, a national advocacy charity and a private sector childcare business. He joined Adoption UK in 2014 and since then has been the lead in winning, developing and overseeing a number of government grant funded projects. Contact Joel [email protected]
Sam Parkin Manager of peer support across England Expand Sam Parkin is responsible for managing peer support services across Yorkshire and Humber, as well as overseeing the delivery of peer support across England. Sam also liaises with RAA’s to ensure the voice of adoptive parents are heard across the region. Sam has worked at Adoption UK for over 5 years and has worked her way up from an adoptive parent volunteer to manager in that time. Sam has a background in customer service and previously worked in the hair and beauty industry for over 20 years.