Chief Executive

Cathy has served at the helm of the national charity since 2004. She has secured legislative changes, including the exemption of kinship children from the limiting of child tax credit to two children, and 1 year work conditionality exemptions for kinship carers claiming benefits.  She has initiated and undertaken ground-breaking research, delivered international talks and edited and co-written books on under-explored areas of children’s social care, including on family-led decision making, young parents, fathers and on sibling carers raising their younger brothers and sisters. She sits on a number of academic and national advisory boards, including the President of the Family Division of the High Court’s Public Law Working Group.  Under her leadership, the charity has been at the forefront of designing game-changing practice innovations, such as the ‘Lifelong Links’ approach for children in care and care leavers so all children have a support network to turn to in life.

In her spare time, Cathy set up The Elmgreen School, a non-selective comprehensive school in Tulse Hill, South London. She sits on the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust expert reference group and was Chair of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust for six years. For this work she was awarded an OBE in 2017.   She loves Cuban salsa dancing and sometimes tries running!