Caroline Abrahams is Age UK’s Charity Director and leads all the charity’s influencing activity, as well as being the charity’s lead media spokesperson. She is also co-chair of the Care and Support Alliance (70+ charities campaigning for decent social care for all who need it) and was previously a Social Care Green Paper adviser, and an SRO for a strand of the NHS Forward View. She is currently co-chairing one of the vision groups for the 10 Year NHS Plan. She has been at Age UK for more than a decade, after other roles in the voluntary sector and the LGA and as a civil servant and adviser in Government and Opposition. A barrister by training Caroline is chair of one charity (Kinship) and a trustee of another (The Charterhouse). Caroline was awarded a CBE for services to older people and the voluntary sector in 2021.

Nadra Ahmed has been Chairman of NCA since 2001. She has been involved in the field of social care for over 40 years and until 2005 was the Registered Manager of two private care homes for older people, having developed and run services since 1981 which included a homecare service.

Nadra has served on numerous government taskforces and continues to do so. Through Covid she became recognised as the respected voice of social care. Nadra has served as the Vice Chairman of Skills for Care for 11 years having been appointed at its inception: she was also a trustee of Parkinson’s UK and continues to support various charities as a trustee/patron or president, despite her tight schedule; these include the veterans charity RBLI and a small disabilities charity Spadeworks.

Nadra is the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Kent and a Kent Ambassador and served as the High Sheriff of Kent in 2023/24 which is a royal appointment.

In 2006 she was awarded the OBE for her services to Social Care. She is a regular contributor to journals and speaks regularly at national and international conferences throughout the world. Nadra is regularly called upon by the major media networks to represent the views of social care providers on some of the most challenging issues facing social care.

Nadra is driven by a desire to ensure the delivery of quality services to the most vulnerable members of our society. She works across a number of government departments which have an impact on the social care world giving evidence and expert advice to parliamentarians.

Jane Townson is CEO of the Homecare Association. She has extensive experience in the social care, health, housing, and technology sectors. Formerly, she was Chair of the Care Provider Alliance; Chair of the Board of Kraydel; CEO Somerset Care Group; Chairman YourLife (JV with McCarthy & Stone); Vice Chair UKHCA; and Senior Independent Director of the Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. Jane spent the first 14 years of her career in international leadership roles in research and development at ICI, AstraZeneca, and Syngenta. At Syngenta, she held the position of Global Head of Bioscience Research. She then founded her own business, providing education and training on the link between lifestyle factors and long-term health.

Martin Green has had an extensive career in NGO development, both in the UK and internationally, and is the Chief Executive of Care England, the largest representative body for independent social care services in the UK. A Trustee of the National Centre for Creative Health (NCCH), Vice President of The Care Workers Charity, Champion of The National Aids Trust and Commissioner of the Royal Hospital Chelsea.

In 2013 he was appointed Visiting Professor of Social Care at Buckinghamshire New University.

In 2012, in his role as Department of Health and Social Care Independent Sector Dementia Champion, he led the development of the Dementia Care and Support Compact for The Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia.

In 2008 he was named care personality of the year and was awarded an OBE for Services to Social Care in the 2012 Queen’s Birthday Honours List. In 2019 he was presented with the Health Investor Outstanding Contribution Award.

Martin Green writes and broadcasts extensively on social care issues and is on the Editorial Board of Community Care Market News and Care Talk magazine.

Jeremy Richardson is currently Chief Executive at Avery Healthcare, one of the UK’s leading premium care home operating businesses. Prior to Avery he was Chief Executive of Brighterkind, the Four Seasons Healthcare Group and Runwood Homes and has been active in the healthcare sector for over ten years. Prior to healthcare, Jeremy held a number of senior roles in the hospitality sector including as Managing Director of Haven Holidays, Chief Executive of Menzies Hotels and founder and Chief Executive of Kew Green Hotels, one of the UK’s leading hotel management companies which he grew from start up with a colleague. Jeremy is the senior Non-Executive Director on the Goodwood Estate and is Chairman of the Real Good Dental Group, a private equity backed dental chain.

Bill Morgan is Senior Counsel at (and co-founder of) Incisive Health. He has served as a Health and Social Care Special Adviser in both the Cameron and Sunak administrations, and worked in the Conservative Research Department in the 2000s. He lectures at Imperial College London and is a Visiting Professor at the Institute of Medicine at the University of Bolton.

Daniel Casson brings together people to foster improved ways of working to improve outcomes for people who need care and support. His passion lies in bringing together influential individuals and cultivating an environment for innovative approaches to care.

He set up Casson Consulting in April 2019 to work with people in social care on innovation and digital transformation. Like any good project it has taken on a life of its own, and he have developed a niche of bringing together people from all parts of the social care community to share ideas and create new ways of working. He works with care organisations, health and local authorities, care umbrella bodies, tech companies and people with lived and living experience.

His driving principles are:

• Social care’s role is to help people live as independently as possible according to their context.
• The best way to predict the future is to create it. (Peter Drucker)
• We haven’t come this far, just to come this far.
• The best time to do something was 10 years ago, the second best time is now.

Sam Monaghan joined MHA as Chief Executive in February 2018, drawn to the charity’s strong values and the quality of care and support it provides for people in later life.

Sam’s focus has been on ensuring that MHA’s range of residential care, retirement living, and community-based services are fit for the future; and through collaborating together they achieve the greatest benefit for residents, members, and colleagues. Enhancing the quality of support has also been a key driver, through the continuing development of MHA’s dementia and end of life care, chaplaincy and music therapy, alongside its community and intergenerational activity fostered through its homes and schemes.

Sam qualified as a social worker in 1988 and has worked in both the public and third sector throughout his career, having held the role of Corporate Director of Children’s Services with Barnardo’s, prior to joining MHA.

Lionel Zetter is a multi-award-winning public affairs, political campaigning, and lobbying expert with over 40 years’ experience as an author, political consultant, and Conservative Party activist.

Lionel was chairman of the Government Affairs Group, president of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, and chairman of the PRCA Public Affairs Board. He is currently Vice Chairman of The Enterprise Forum, and Vice President of Public Affairs Asia, and he sits on the Advisory Council of Scottish Business UK.

He is the author of ‘The Political Campaign Handbook, ‘Blueprint’, and ‘Lobbying – the Art of Political Persuasion’ – the standard industry reference work.

HC-One is the UK’s largest dementia and nursing care home provider with homes across Britain. Before HC-One, James worked across a range of sectors, having started in consumer and financial services before holding leadership roles in healthcare. He spent a number of years with Bupa, including as CEO of Health Dialog, a US based pioneering health analytics and chronic disease management business, in which Bupa was an early investor, before leading the European and International division of Boston based Bright Horizons. James also served as a Non-Executive Director of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust for seven years and is Non-Executive Chair of Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice.

Professor Vic Rayner OBE is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Care Forum, joining the organisation in 2016.

As CEO she chairs the government national workforce advisory group. In addition, she chairs the National Social Care Advisory Group on social care and technology and has been at the forefront of promoting digital transformation across care. She sits on a range of government and national specialist groups with a focus on the social care workforce, digital transformation, new models of care and regulation. She has recently stepped down from chairing the working group of the APPG on adult social care.

Vic is a regular national and international speaker and has extensive knowledge and expertise across a wide range of care, support, housing and social policy agendas. Prior to joining the NCF, she was the CEO of Sitra, a leading national membership body championing excellence in housing, health, care and support.

Vic is the incoming chair of the Global Ageing Network and has worked extensively with international partners on key areas of innovation and change. She is the current Chair of the Care Provider Alliance, a role she will hold until September 2025. In addition, she was awarded an Hon. Professorship in Health Sciences by City University, working closely with the My Home Life programme and the wider University agenda around ageing and care. She was awarded an OBE for services to social care in 2021.

Karen Hedge’s career began as a paid carer whilst studying at university and whilst rewarding, she quickly became motivated by the pressures on the sector. A champion for person led care and support, she believes that evidence of impact is seeing the difference it makes for people. Care futures designer, and self-confessed data geek, she sits on the Leadership team of ImPACT working to address the evidence implementation gap and is Chair of the Scottish Government Digital Services Innovation Board. She has worked at various seats round the social care table including government and, as Director of the Prince of Wales (now King’s) Foundation.

In her current role as Deputy CEO of Scottish Care, she continues to shape the future of social care with a focus on human rights, ethical commissioning, fair work, and digital. When not working, this Ayrshire lass can be found on the beach with her family. Coastguard, FRSA, MIoD and wannabee salty sea dog.