Stephen is the new Association of Directors of Social Services (ADASS) President 2021-22 and has been the national Policy Lead for Mental Health since 2014. Stephen’s current day job is with Oxfordshire County Council and Cherwell District Council as Director of Adult and Housing Services.
Stephen gained national recognition for leading the transformation of adult services, as well as being system lead with the NHS for a number of urgent care work streams. He started his career as a nurse and worked for the first half of his career in a number of NHS roles include board level positions.
Stephen is recognised for his work developing innovative models of adult social care with a focus on earlier invention, partnership and market inclusiveness. He has a passion for co-production, improving quality and has led the introduction of #doityourway a model of “Promoting Independence’. Sometimes described as radical sometimes traditional he has an absolute focus on leadership with a specific emphasis on the roles that professional leadership plays and the impact this has on everything we do.