Committee

Ruth is currently Director of Social Work for the South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust, covering five Borough Council areas in SW London. 

She has previously worked for Local Authorities and Trusts in East London and in Hertfordshire and has also worked for CSIP/NIMHE. 

Ruth gained a Doctorate in Education in 2007, focusing on the learning needs of mental health staff and leaders in complex organisations.  She is co-author of 'Leadership for Personalisation and Social Inclusion in mental health' (SCIE, 2009) and was editor of the SCSN's paper on the Positive Future of Social Work in Mental Health.

Ruth is particularly interested in rekindling British social work's links with grassroots community movements for social change and social justice and in making links between British and international social work.  She is currently part of a team developing a new Human Rights Based Leadership Programme for mental health social work with SCIE, NMHDU and University of Central Lancashire.

Peter Gilbert is Professor of Social Work and Spirituality at Staffordshire University, and Visiting Professor with both Birmingham and Solihull Foundation NHS Trust and the University of Worcester. Peter was the NIMHE Project Lead on Spirituality from its inception to 31st March, 2009, and now works to the National Spirituality and Mental Health Forum. He has recently been appointed Chair of the National Development Team for Inclusion. Peter is a member of the National Mental Health Development Unit's Equalities Programme Board, and on the executive of the new British Association for the Study of Spirituality (BASS). A former Director of Operations for Staffordshire County Council and Director of Social Services for Worcestershire, Peter is a registered Social Worker with 13 years of direct practice. Between 2003 and 2006 he was NIMHE/SCIE Fellow in Social Care with Professor Nick Gould, and is currently Facilitator for the Social Care Strategic Network.

As someone who has experienced depression, Peter is passionate about holistic practice and committed to ensuring the integration of theory with practice. He is author of 'Leadership: Being Effective and Remaining Human (2005) and co-edited: Spirituality, Values and Mental Health: Jewels for the Journey, November, 2007. Having published guidelines for CSIP/NIMHE on Spirituality for frontline staff in 2008, he co-wrote (with Dr Ruth Allen and Professor Steve Onyett) SCIE's Position Paper: Leadership for Personalisation and Social Inclusion in Mental Health. Peter is currently working on a revision of his book on social work and mental health: The Value of Everything, a handbook for Pavilion Publishing on Spirituality, and (with Professor Neil Thompson) a development and resource pack on Leadership.

 

Ben Bano was Director of Social Care and Older Peoples Services in East Kent Mental Health Partnership Trust prior to founding Telos Training Ltd in 2005. 

Telos Training has a particular focus on a whole person approach to Health and Social Care training. Ben has taken a particular interest in integrating the Health and Social Care perspectives to Personalisation and in leadership development of Team Managers and Senior Practitioners to bring this about.

Ben has facilitated a number of successful learning sets for senior social care practitioners in integrated mental health services in the last two years. 

Within the last twelve months he has been involved with a number of Mental Health Trusts in the implementation of self-directed support and the leadership development required to facilitate this process.

Kate Dawson has over 27 years experience working in social care and mental health. She is currently working as Head of Strategic Commissioning for mental health in East Sussex County Council. 

Kate has worked within local government and in the NHS in a range of operational and strategic management posts. She has always worked closely with the third sector and was a co-founder and director of a woman and mental health service in the south east. She is committed to the principles of social justice and social care and remains a registered social worker. She has led the redesign of many services to promote independence and social inclusion. Most recently this has included extensive recommissioning of day, vocational and residential services. She has a track record in establishing sustained service user involvement in the delivery and commissioning of services. 

Kate is particularly interested in organisational and management processes to support effective front line service delivery. She has examined this through her masters degrees in social work, business administration and in psychoanalytic approaches to organisational consultancy. 

Kate will be leaving local government in the near future to work as an independent consultant with a particular focus on developing the mechanisms for co-production, change management, leadership and mentorship.

 

Vincent Badu was appointed Director of Social Care at Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in May 2006.

As a member of the trust executive management team he has strategic responsibility for governance and partnership working including the professional leadership of more than 300 Social Work/ Care staff seconded to the NHS from the County and Unitary Councils across the Sussex area. 

Vincent has a professional background in public sector management and more than twenty years experience in local government and community services. In 2002 he was graduate of The IDeA National Development Programme for BME Manager in Local Government and today is one of the senior leaders who assess aspirant Directors applying to participate in the NHS Institutes National Breaking Through Leadership Development Programme.

Lynn was appointed as Associate Director for Social Care at Greater Manchester West NHS Foundation Trust in 2005. 

In this post she has strategic responsibility for the Care Programme approach, the adult and child safeguarding agendas, and the S75 partnership agreements with the three Local Authorities covered by the Trust. She also has a professional lead role for more than 400 staff seconded to the NHS. 

Qualifying in 1979, she become an ASW in 1983, and held management and training posts in a number of Local Authorities around Greater Manchester. Meeting the challenge of integrating social work values and perspectives into mental health services has been a consistent focus in her career.