Dave Williams is the Chair of our Board of Trustees. He is also the Chief Officer of Manchester Carers Forum where he has responsibility for its overall management. This includes managing its staff and developing strategy. A carer himself, Dave always aims to provide strong and clear leadership which are the skills he hopes to contribute to the forward and ongoing development of the Shaw Centre.

David has over 25 years of experience and has worked in the Lloyds and North American insurance risk markets. David has worked extensively in the PFI/PPP and public sector arena for many years from a procurement perspective, and has been heavily involved in many different types of projects going back to the introduction of NHS Trust Wave One in 1991.

David has spoken at many conferences highlighting the insurance and risk management issues of PFI projects, in particular within the Road and Health sectors. In addition he has worked extensively on drafting national framework risk contracts in the UK.

David decided to become a Trustee to bring his expertise of risk management into the charity sector.

Awaiting description

Lisa decided to become a trustee at The Shaw Centre as her sister, Fran, attends the Centre 3 days a week. Lisa qualified as an Occupational Therapist in 1996 and has worked in different places supporting people with disabilities since then. She currently works as an Engagement Co-worker at Manchester People First, a self-advocacy group close to The Shaw Centre. She works part time, and is also mum to a 3-year-old bundle of energy, Alice. In her spare time Lisa enjoys holidays, especially camping with Alice, Fran and her husband Will. She also enjoys spending time with her family and friends.

Danielle came to The Shaw Centre in 2005 when it was known as Landridge House. She started on a placement from college when she was doing her NVQ s in health and social care; she was later employed until 2008. She then moved into to working with the elderly in a residential setting, some of the residents had learning disabilities and mental health issues. Whilst working there she gained her NVQ 3 in health and social care.

She always kept in contact with The Shaw Centre, calling in to say hello to everyone. When a position for a support worker became available she applied and in May 2013 she again started working at the Shaw Centre.

In December ’16 the post of senior support became available and Danielle successfully applied and was appointed in January 2017. Then achieved her level 5 diploma in health and social care.

Danielle together with the board of trustees has overall responsibility for The Shaw Centre and its staff ensuring we provide an excellent, person centred service for the people that need it.

Gail joined The Shaw Centre team in 2017. Under the guidance of the board of trustees and manager, Gails role is to work towards delivering a high-quality day service for our members.

Gail oversees the day-to-day activities at the centre she helps to keep our centre happy and a bright place to be.

Gail’s role is to implement meaningful activities helping our group members to have a sense of purpose and self-worth bringing joy to their lives in an environment of fun, trust and respect.

Gail has a qualification in counselling and a background in health care making her a great member of the team. She is always on hand to listen, understand, build confidence and self-esteem.

As well as supporting the group with our day to day activities Paula runs our kitchen. Paula; with help from the group, plans and prepares a variety of meals which are appealing, nutritious and centred around our group members' preferences, requests and dietary requirements.

Paula is mum to five grown up children and has been foster mum to many over the years. As well as being a busy mum Paula has many years of experience in the catering industry; catering for church, community and private events. Paula also has many years experience in the care sector working both in residential and community settings supporting vulnerable people.

Paula has gained a level 3 health and social care diploma. A well qualified member of the team.

Stephen joined the team in January 22. He sees himself as a youthful 65 year old. Before starting work at The Shaw Centre Stephen worked in supported accommodation providing support to three adults with autism. Steve is also dad to Laura, Laura attends The Shaw Centre 5 days a week. Stephen has a great understanding of the issues that affect individuals with a learning disability , their parents and carers making him a great addition to the team.

For us to reopen during the pandemic a cleaner was required. From July 20- Feb 21 we used a cleaner from an agency but the pandemic was lasting longer that first anticipated so we employed our own cleaner to help keep group members and staff safe.

Rachel joined the team in February 21. She knows the group well as she was also the manager of HNP, the building that we rented before we made the move to Redbank House.

Rachel has also managed a team of cleaners in a well known supermarket - she certainly knows her stuff when it comes to keeping germs and viruses at bay.

Andy joined the team in September 23, bringing with him his knowledge and expertise in music.

Andy has experience of working within day care settings supporting adults with learning disabilities to create music using assistive technology and percussion. He has also worked within school settings such as Mellands and Lancasterian supporting children and young adults to create music. He brings with him a wealth of knowledge. He has previously worked with OmniMusic, Disability Stockport, Drake Music and of- course The Shaw Centre delivering percussion and sing along workshops for over 15 years. Our citizens and staff team welcomed Andy to the team with open arms.

We look forward to working with Andy to broaden our horizons build on our music and art creativity.

Afara joined our team in March 22 as our Finance Officer. She is an accounting professional with over ten years experience in the field. She is excited to be a part of The Shaw Centre team and strives to bring her best to our organisation.

Maria joined the team in November 23. Before starting work at The Shaw Centre, Maria supported adults with a learning disability in a residential setting. with her she brings a Level 3 NVQ in Health and Social Care.

Maria, is also a carer at home, she has a son with asperges and is well aware of the issues that affect the citizens we support and their carers.

In her free time Maria enjoys walking and attends community groups - A social butterfly. We look forward to working with Maria.