Staff profiles

Adoption UK brings together people with a range of adoption and professional experiences. This page contains profiles of key members of the team, and details of their roles within Adoption UK.

Jonathan Pearce - Chief Executive

Director Jonathan Pearce

Jonathan has been in post at Adoption UK since 2002. He has been closely involved in all the key adoption initiatives of the last seven years, contributing vital input from the perspective of adoptive families. He has a background in the voluntary sector, law and journalism. He worked for many years at the Legal Action Group (a charity campaigning for access to justice for disadvantaged groups) and also for Community Care magazine as a journalist specialising in adoption and children’s issues.

He has recently been a member of the Prime Minister’s Independent Assessment Panel on the effect of the Equality Act/Sexual Orientation Regulations on the operation of the Faith-Based Adoption Agencies, and is currently part of the following bodies/initiatives:

Department for Children, Schools and Families' Adoption Stakeholder Group
Department for Children, Schools and Families' Commissioning Adoption Support Services Group
BAAF UK Social Work Practice Advisory Committee

He is also the current Chair of the Consortium of Adoption Support Agencies.

Janet Smith – Director of Adoption Support

Adoption Support Services Manager Janet Smith

In her role as, Janet has overall responsibility for Adoption UK’s support services including training, membership and volunteer-led services throughout the UK including Adoption UK’s Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales offices activities. Janet is also the Registered Manager for the purposes of registration with Ofsted.

As a prospective adopter and then an adoptive parent, Janet has been involved with Adoption UK since the early 1980s. She became more closely involved with the charity as a trainer in 2000, then as Training Manager in 2003 before being promoted to her current role in September 2006.

Janet is a qualified relationship counsellor, a qualified teacher/trainer and also has extensive experience from working in the financial services and commercial banking industry.

She is currently on the Executive Committee and Treasurer of Attachment in Action Association which was set up to:

Advance the practice of effective attachment therapies by providing a national forum for presentations, debate and discussions with regards these therapies.
Develop training opportunities for professionals by means of organising courses and conferences.

Ann Bell – Development Manager Wales

Ann Bell Development Manager Wales

Ann is responsible for developing Adoption UK’s activities in Wales, including liaising with members and local authorities and increasing membership of both, setting up support groups, lobbying Welsh Assembly Government, setting up a helpline facility and library in Wales and generally raising awareness of the needs of adoptive parents. Ann is also responsible for ensuring that Adoption UK works towards providing its services equally in Welsh and English.

An adoptee and adoptive parent, Ann is currently working towards a MSc in Early Childhood Studies and is a former secondary school teacher.

Fiona Lettice – Development Manager Scotland

Fiona is responsible for raising the profile of Adoption UK amongst adopters and professionals in Scotland, participating in the consultation and implementation of the Adoption Act is Scotland, managing and organising the work of the Scotland office and developing the organisation throughout Scotland including recruiting and developing volunteers for the organisation. Fiona organises conferences and workshops to help develop knowledge of adoption related issues. She is also:

Treasurer of Scottish Attachment in Action, an organisation ‘promoting healthy attachments throughout Scotland’
Member of the advisory group for Scottish Adoption and Advice Service (SAAS)
Part of the steering group of a research project being carried out by Glasgow University on ‘Cortisol levels of children with attachment difficulties’

An adoptive parent, Fiona began as an Adoption UK volunteer before taking up the post of Development Manager. She also has more than 30 years experience of working in the catering industry and organising large scale events.

Stephen McVey – Development Manager Northern Ireland

Stephen McVey has been Development Manager for Adoption UK in Northern Ireland since December 2008. He has been involved in developing the organisation, particularly in representing adopters needs/issues to the various political and health bodies.

He has a background in the business sector in Ireland, managing several national and multi-national companies and has a special interest in sales/marketing. He is an adoptive parent and has an interest in integrated education in Northern Ireland.

Stephen is also a member of the following initiatives:

ARIS (Adoption Regional Information System)
Concurrent Planning Project (Belfast /Family Care)
ATFIG (Adopting the Future Implementation Group) - reporting for and advising the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety

Garry Lucas – Training Manager

In his role as Training Manager, Garry is responsible for the direction and development of Adoption UK training and education activities. He is also responsible for the oversight of workshops, courses, conferences and seminars for adopters, prospective adopters, long term foster carers and practitioners to extend their understanding of adoption issues. Garry manages a small staff team, as well as 30 self-employed trainers.

Previous to his current role, Garry ran his own training company and worked as both a trainer and Buddy for Adoption UK. Prior to this he held senior positions within Learning & Development in Cable & Wireless and Marconi/GEC. Garry is an adoptive parent.