Board members
Learn more about our board members
Last updated: 28 July 2025
All board members have been appointed through the public appointments process. Together, our board brings a breadth of skills and knowledge, enabling us to develop as a modern and effective specialist regulator.
Dr Andrew McCulloch
Dr Andrew McCulloch is chair of Social Work England. He has experience in health and social care, having led mental health and social research charities, as well as spending 16 years in the former Department of Health. In recent years he has had a portfolio of non-executive roles in health and social care, and nature conservation. Until 2017 he was chief executive of the Picker Institute Europe – a world leader in evaluating and reporting on people’s experiences of health and social care. Prior to joining Picker, Andrew was chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation. During his career Andrew served on a range of boards nationally and locally across health, local authorities, charities and regulators.
Colum Conway
Colum is our chief executive. He is a former social worker and previously led the Northern Ireland Social Care Council. He spent six years as chief executive of a not-for-profit providing care services across Ireland. Colum has worked in statutory family and child care services, early years policy, funding and service provision, and family systems support services.
Dr Adi Cooper
Dr Adi Cooper OBE is a registered social worker and the independent chair of 2 safeguarding adults boards and the care and health improvement adviser for London (for the Local Government Association and Association of Directors of Adults Social Services). She is a visiting professor at the University of Bedfordshire and a safeguarding adults' consultant. Working in adult social care for nearly 30 years, she was director of adult social services, housing and health for Sutton Council for 9 years.
Dr Sue Ross
Dr Sue Ross is a graduate of St Andrews and Oxford Universities and holds a Ph.d from Keele University in ‘Systems Approaches in Child Care’. She also has a diploma in coaching and mentoring from the Institute of Leadership and Management. She is a social worker and has worked in the North East of England, the East Midlands, Wales and Scotland. Her first director post was in East Renfrewshire in Scotland and since then she has acted as director of children’s and adults services in organisations across England and Wales and Scotland. She was also the chief executive of a large primary care trust in England.
Simon Lewis
Simon has three main areas of relevant experience and capability. First, he has (or has recently had) a number of board-level roles: within healthcare, workplace relations, professional regulation, higher education, sports governance, and charity. Second, he has (or has recently had) a number of independent regulatory roles across various sectors: within sports, healthcare, and finance/business. Third, he practises as a lawyer, in various relevant areas of law, and sits as a part-time judge.
Amrat Khorana
Amrat is a biomedical scientist by background, with leadership experience spanning healthcare, education, and the charity sector. He is chief executive of a regional organisation supporting communities through education, care, and social impact programmes, and has held senior roles across the NHS and in regulatory settings. He also serves as chair of Support 4 Sight and as a trustee of Action Against Medical Accidents. A former associate non-executive director at the Professional Standards Authority, he contributed to regulatory reform and patient safety policy. Amrat is committed to inclusive governance, person-centred support, and strengthening public trust through evidence-informed, accountable services.
Cheryl Hobson
Cheryl is a qualified public sector accountant with a masters degree in business administration, and has held senior positions within local government and the NHS in finance and commissioning. She chairs the board of trustees for a large multi academy trust and holds an independent board level role within the NHS. Having previously chaired the audit and risk committee of a large clinical commissioning group, Cheryl is currently an independent member of audit, risk and governance committees within the local government and police sectors. She is also a lay panel member for the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
Chris Nicholson
Chris has experience of social work through being a parent of 4 adopted children and a kinship carer. He also has close family members in the care system. He is chair of Bournemouth Churches Housing Association and a trustee of the Family Rights Group. Until 2024 he was chair of the Animal and Plant Health Agency, an executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). Chris was a partner at KPMG, where his roles included Head of Central Government Services and Head of Public Sector. He has particular experience in regulation.