CoramBAAF's Board of Directors meets on a quarterly basis. Board members come from different disciplines and include representatives from our membership.
Andrew Carter, Chair
Andrew joined Lambeth Council as Corporate Director of Children’s Services in November 2022. Before this, Andrew was Executive Director of Community and Children’s Services for the City of London Corporation. He was also responsible for community safety, libraries, homelessness and rough sleeping, public health and registration services. Under Andrew’s leadership, the City of London Corporation’s children’s social care services were judged as outstanding by Ofsted in 2020.
Previous roles for Andrew have included Assistant Director for Children’s Social Care for Thurrock Council in Essex, and for a time as both Interim Director of Children’s Services for the London Borough of Hackney and Director of Children’s Services at the City of London.
John Jones, Treasurer
John is the Independent Pension Board Chair for the Dyfed and Tower Hamlets Council pension funds. Previously in his career he held several senior Finance positions in London, including the posts of Director of Finance for two London boroughs and as a Finance Director at the Mayor of London's office.
Ziafat Ali
Ziafat has been dedicated to supporting and empowering young people since 2011, when he established his first education and training venture. Over the years, he has founded multiple Ofsted-regulated services, including Independent Fostering Agencies, Children's Residential Homes, and Supported Accommodation services.
As the Director of Thrive, based in Lancashire, Ziafat brings extensive expertise in both the care and education sectors. He has a proven track record in leading children’s services through strategic planning, partnership development, and the implementation of high-quality standards. Driven by a deep commitment to improving the lives of vulnerable children, he is passionate about ensuring the best possible outcomes for children and young people in society.
Dr Carol Homden CBE
Carol is a member of the National Adoption Recruitment Forum & Adoption Leadership Board. Carol started her career setting up print media enterprises in East Anglia before moving to London as a freelance arts journalist and editor. She then became Director of Marketing and Development at the University of Westminster, later moving to the British Museum in 1999 as its first Director of Marketing and Public Affairs. Her affinity for improving the lives of young people motivated her to accept the position of Commercial Director for the Prince’s Trust in 2003, where she was responsible for all aspects of income generation. Carol became Chief Executive of Coram in April 2007. She is Chair of the National Autistic Society, and a member of the Department for Education’s Children’s Interagency Group (CIAG) and the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales. Carol was awarded a CBE in 2013 for her contribution to services for children and families.
Marcella McHugh
Service Manager of Adoption, Fostering and Placements, London Borough of Lambeth
Velou manages the Coram Group Finance and Resources. Velou is a graduate of Mechanical Engineering and completed his Master of Business administration in Finance and Information Systems. Velou has 20 years of Financial sector experience, working in managerial positions in different sectors including commerce, industry, education and the voluntary sector. Velou is Qualified by Experience and also a part qualified member of Association of Chartered Certified Accountants in UK. Velou has contributed to the development of financial regulations for charities under the Statement of Recommended Practices (SORP) to the charity commission and was a member of the HM Revenue & Customs consultation group on Vat reforms for charities.
Jonathan Finney
Jonathan is a communications specialist and works in corporate communications for Electronic Arts, a video game company headquartered in California. In his current role he works across international markets. Jonathan has held communications and corporate affairs roles in diverse organisations across the voluntary and private sectors. Earlier in his career, he worked in government departments including the Cabinet Office and the Government Equalities Office. Jonathan and his partner became adoptive parents in 2019.
Barbara Hudson
Barbara is an independent social work consultant based in Edinburgh. Her career in social work has included time as a hospital social worker in Norfolk, a children and families worker in Leeds and Service Manager for Adoption, Fostering and Residential Services in Bradford.
Barbara’s belief in creating opportunities for children separated from their birth families, to join and grow up within adoptive or foster care inspired her to take up the post of Director of BAAF Adoption and Fostering Scotland. She was responsible for developing policy, devising and delivering training across Scotland and Northern Ireland and was part of a major review of adoption in Scotland. Currently Barbara works with a number of local authorities and with Scottish Adoption and the Dean and Cauvin Young People’s Trust, alongside her role as chairperson of Coram IAC.