Baroness Jill Pitkeathley OBE

Baroness Pitkeathley was appointed Chair of Cafcass in 2004, in 2005 she also took on the role of Chair of the Home Office Advisory Panel on Futurebuilders. Jill is currently President of Volunteering England, Community Council for Berkshire and The Prostate Cancer Charity. She is Vice President of Carers UK and the Princess Royal Trust for Carers. She was raised to the peerage in 1997, sits on the Labour benches and is a very active working peer.

Vice Chair

Valerie Howarth is Former Chief Executive of ChildLine and also worked for many years at Chief Officer and Assistant Chief Officer level in social services departments. She serves on the Board of the Food Standards Agency, is Trustee of a number of Children’s charities and a patron of the National Youth Advocacy Scheme. She was vice-chair of the National Care Standards Commission and is secretary to the All Parliamentary Children's Group.

Cafcass Board Members

Gillian Baranski

Gillian is the Justices' Chief Executive on the South Wales Magistrates' Courts Committee, and a barrister.
She was formerly Clerk to the Cardiff Justices / Chief Legal Advisor to the Cardiff Justices and has over 20 years experience of Family Courts.

Jennifer Bernard

Jennifer is a consulting director for City & Guilds.  She has worked extensively in the public and voluntary sectors, including as director of services for the NSPCC.  She is currently chair of the Child Poverty Action Group and the Social Care Association.  She is a registered social worker.

Margo Boye-Anawoma

A barrister specialising in children law. She is also a Deputy District Judge of the Principal Registry of the Family Division in London and a committee member of the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust.

Erica De'Ath OBE

Previously Chief Executive of the National Council of Voluntary Child Care Organisations, Chief Executive of the National Stepfamily Association and the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths. Erica is currently a Trustee of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, the Public Management and Policy Association and The Cranfield Trust.  She has published widely on family and children's issues.

Mark Eldridge

Director of Legal Operations, Greater London Magistrates' Courts Authority and a barrister. He was formerly Chair of the Association of Justices' Chief Executives before taking up his present post.

Ernie Finch

Ernie has had senior commercial management and board experience holding key roles in project management, change programmes and customer service. He has successfully lead reviews in the public sector advising on and managing business development and improvement. This includes working with the family justice system to address unnecessary delay in Public Law Cases and contributing to Programme Boards and Steering Groups. Ernie has a portfolio of commercial and public interest roles.

Harry Marsh MBE

Harry has served on the Board since 2003 and is currently lead member on diversity issues and also a member of the Cafcass Audit Committee. Harry has been a member of the General Social Care Council since 2001 and chairs its Audit Committee. He is Vice Chair and Trustee of National Children’s Bureau and serves on its Policy and Resources Committee. He was formerly Chief Executive of Contact a Family and a former Chair of the Carers Alliance and the Council for Disabled Children

Richard Sax

A family law solicitor and partner at Manches. He is a Deputy District Judge of the Principal Registry of the Family Division. He is a founder member and former Chair of the Solicitors Family Law Association, and has been a member of its Children Committee since its inception.

Professor Jane Tunstill

A Visiting Professor of Social Work at Kings College, London, Jane previously held Chairs of Social Work at Keele University and Royal Holloway, London University. She has worked in the voluntary and statutory child care sectors, and undertaken a wide range of commissioned research studies of services for children and families.

Nicholas Stuart

Former Principal Finance Officer for DfEE and now retired from the Civil Service, Nicholas Stuart is Chair of Governors at Edward Wilson Primary School and a Trustee of Harrow Mission. During a distinguished civil service career he was Private Secretary to the Head of the Civil Service and the Prime Minister, and a member of the Cabinet of the President of the European Commission. In DfEE he was Director General for Employment and Lifelong Learning, and Director General for Lifelong Learning.