Our Board & Committees
As a not-for-profit organisation, Dimensions is governed by a Board that brings with it a wealth of knowledge and experience about the sector we work in.
The Board is responsible for directing and monitoring our work so that we act properly and meet our objectives.
Download our Board of Management One Page Profile.
There are two co-opted members of the Dimensions Board to provide support, scrutiny and challenge:
A family member – to ensure the voice of families is heard loudly and clearly.
A person with lived experience of a disability – to bring their experience of any discrimination, inequality and disadvantage to the discussions and decision-making, and to ensure we remain true to our values of putting people we support at the centre of what we do.
For details of Board and Committee Membership please see here.
For a copy of the Register of Interests, please contact the Company Secretary.
Meet our Board members
Nick Baldwin CBE. – Chair of the Board
Nick has a wealth of relevant leadership experience and expertise in supporting people with learning disabilities and autism. He served as the Chair of Ambitious about Autism, and of Sanctuary Housing Group, from 2008 to 2014.
Nick also has substantial executive board experience in regulated industries, including as Chief Executive of Powergen plc (a FTSE 100 company) from 2001 to 2002. He is a Chartered Engineer by profession and a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and of the Institution of Engineering and Technology among others.
Read Nick Baldwin’s One Page Profile
Gordon Lyle
Gordon joined the Board of Dimensions in October 2014 and is Senior Independent Director of the Board. Gordon is currently Chair of the Human Resources Committee and Remuneration & Nominations Committee. He is an independent consultant in the fields of organisational culture, engagement and leadership and brings experience in HR change and leadership.
He has experience in financial services and retail, but started his career in hospitality working in hotel and restaurant operations. From there, he moved on to human resources and has led the HR functions for Stakis PLC, Hilton UK and Ireland and Starbucks.
Read Gordon Lyle’s One Page Profile
Richard Crompton, QPM (@Rich_Crompton)
Richard is Chair of the Discovery Board.
Richard is committed to high quality public services, having had many years’ experience of police leadership at the highest level, including as Chief Constable of Lincolnshire Police, and in Non-Executive leadership roles, including as Chair of the Plymouth Hospitals Trust and Chair of Safeguarding Adults Boards in Somerset and Wiltshire.
He is currently Board Member of Torbay & South Devon NHS Foundation Trust and a Trustee of Lifeworks Devon.
Richard is the father of an adult daughter with Downs Syndrome.
He was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service in the 2011 New Year’s Honours List.
Read Richard Crompton’s One Page Profile
Shahana Khan OBE – Chair of the Group Audit & Risk Committee
Shahana has been Finance Director/CFO of healthcare organisations in the UK and the Middle East. She has served both in the capacity of Executive Director of NHS Trust Boards and Non-Executive Director/Trustee on the Board of Accord Housing Association and Healthcare Financial Management Association, where she is also a national Past President. She has worked at national, regional and local level and was recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list having been awarded the OBE for her services to healthcare finance and social housing. Shahana is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accounts and Chartered Global Management Accountants.
Shahana is Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee.
Read Shahana Khan’s One Page Profile
Noah Franklin
Noah has a background in finance and general management, with a wealth of board experience in the commercial and charity sectors.
He is a chartered accountant who held senior roles at Whitbread and at Cadbury Schweppes, where he was Finance Director for Europe, the Middle East & Africa and Managing Director for Global Business Services. He has also been Chief Financial Officer for an AIM-listed technology company and for a substantial international dairy produce business.
Noah was a Trustee and Treasurer of Diabetes UK from 2011 to 2020 and for an education charity in Kenya from 2009 to 2013. He is currently a Trustee of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
Noah is Chair of the Group Finance & Resources Committee.
Read Noah Franklin’s One Page Profile
Sherry Malik (@sherry_malik)
Sherry has over 28 years’ experience of leading and managing a diverse portfolio in public (local and central government, and the NHS) as well as in voluntary and commercial settings, both in executive and non-executive roles.
Sherry was former Director of Children Services at the NSPCC and has previously undertaken leadership roles at LB Hounslow, Cafcass, the Audit Commission, the General Social Care Council and Action for Children.
She has served on the Boards of the Children’s Workforce Development Council and Skills for Care and Development. She was vice chair of Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals Trust and founding Chair of Essex Cares.
She is proud to be a registered social worker and is passionate about championing social work. She believes in seeing families and individuals within their community in a whole life context, rather than by age, condition or ability.
Sherry is currently Chair of Quality & Practice Committee.
Read Sherry Malik’s One Page Profile
Angela McNab
Angela began her professional life in clinical roles, including as a speech therapist working with people with learning disabilities and autism.
She has since held a number of policy and leadership roles across health and social care, regulation and the Civil Service, including as Chief Executive of NHS bodies and Trusts, Director of Public Health Delivery and Chief Executive of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.
Angela is currently Senior Responsible Officer (Mental Health) for NHS England and holds a number of advisory roles on public health policy and strategic support, and she sits on the Kent & Medway Integrated Care Board.
Read Angela McNab’s One Page Profile
Huw John
Huw has worked within social care for over 35 years, including front line carer, development, regulatory and senior leadership roles across the public, charity and private sectors. He is the former CEO of Manchester Care and The Camphill Village Trust and was previously the Deputy Chair of the National Care Forum and a Trustee of The Voluntary Organisation Disability Group. Originally a qualified Youth and Community Worker, he has extensive experience of championing person focused support and opportunities for people with learning disabilities, autism and dementia.
Read Huw John’s One Page Profile
David Isenegger
David has been a solicitor for almost 30 years and has worked in a variety of international organisations gaining experience in complex legal matters, as well as compliance, risk management, strategy, corporate finance and governance. He has held senior executive positions and business roles in Royal Dutch Shell and Centrica, as well as Non-Executive roles within organisations in the energy sector. He is currently General Counsel for Mukuru Group.
Read David Isenegger’s One Page Profile
Anne Wafula-Strike MBE.
Anne joined the Dimensions Board in January 2021 as a Co-opted Member with lived experience and she is a campaigner for inclusion and disability rights.
A polio survivor, Anne became the first wheelchair racer from Sub-Sahara Africa to compete at the Paralympics in Athens 2004 and has won 19 championship and Paralympic medals. After becoming a British Citizen in 2006 Anne joined Team GB. A teacher by training, Anne is also a non-executive director of UK Athletics, the British Paralympian Association and Active Essex. Anne was awarded an MBE in 2014 for her services to charity and disability sport, and in 2022 was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Essex for her inspirational sporting career and tireless work to promote sporting equality.
Read Anne Wafula-Strike’s One Page Profile
Veran Patel
Veran joined the Dimensions Board in February 2022 as a Co-opted Member with lived experience.
Veran is the father of a young teenager with autism and learning disabilities. He has held a number of roles at Director level in risk management, internal audit, consultancy and anti-fraud management. He is Chair of the Ethics Committee for Takumi International, a non-executive director of the Camden Society (London); a Trustee of the Peel Institute; he is a Member of the City of London Police Independent Advisory Group, and a member of the Equality & Diversity sub-group.
Read Veran Patel’s One Page Profile
Rachael Dodgson, Chief Executive (@rachael_dodgson)
Rachael has worked in social care for over 30 years. She is a qualified social worker and has worked in a wide range of roles both in the voluntary and for profit sector. She began her career in social care as a support worker with people with learning disabilities and has also worked as a registered manager and as operations director in services for adults with learning disabilities and/or autism.
She worked for Birmingham People First (the self-advocacy organisation of people with learning disabilities) and then spent 13 years working for the social care regulator in a number of different posts. She began her time there as an inspector but her final post at CQC was as Head of Adult Social Care Policy leading on strategy, regulatory frameworks and policy. She joined Dimensions in 2019 as our Managing Director and in 2022 became our CEO.
Rachael is passionate about ensuring people have choice and control over their lives and delivering high quality support. She is strongly committed to involving and engaging the people we support and their families, to raising the profile of social care across government, and to enabling colleagues to have great careers at Dimensions.
Read Rachael Dodgson’s One Page Profile
Additional Governance roles
In addition to our Board and Executive roles, key roles exist at Dimensions to ensure accountability, transparency, responsiveness. The individuals who fulfil these roles are not on our Group Board but instead fulfil an independent non-executive role within the Group Governance Structure.
Alan Critchley – Independent Chair of Dimensions Safeguarding Panel
Alan is a Safeguarding specialist having chaired, managed and independently reviewed Safeguarding Boards. As a Social Worker, Alan has worked to support vulnerable people for many years but also has experience at a strategic level, including as Regional Director at Cafcass and chairing the Walsall Adult & Children’s Safeguarding Boards.
He has contributed as a Safeguarding expert to an enquiry into safeguarding failures in a national charity and works with Kent County Council as an Independent Chair and Author of Safeguarding Adult Reviews and Domestic Homicide Reviews.
Read Alan Critchley’s One Page Profile
Sandeep Das – Independent member of our Group Audit & Risk Committee
Sandeep is an independent member of our Group Audit & Risk Committee. He is a Chartered Accountant (FCA), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) that has led internal audit departments in the Pharma and Life Sciences industry and is currently Head of Internal Audit at St John Ambulance. He is also an independent member of the Audit & Risk Committee at City, University of London and is an exam author for the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA).
Read Sandeep Das’ One Page Profile
Richard Webb – Independent Member of Change Programme Governance Committee
Richard has extensive experience of delivering major IT projects and change projects with a transformational impact on organisational design, efficiency and customer service. He is an Executive Partner at Gartner working with organisations across multiple industry sectors.
Read Richard Webb’s One Page Profile
Associate Committee Members
This is a 3 year development programme to support people to become Non-Executives.
Connor Burleigh – Associate Committee Member, Finance & Resources Committee
Connor is currently studying International Relations at the University of St Andrews. He is an experienced Youth Council member, holds many voluntary roles, including as a Doncaster Young Commissioner, an #iwill Ambassador, a member of the English Football League Trusts’ Youth Forum, the NCS National Youth Forum and a Football Association Co-creation Project. He is an Ambassador of the Holocaust Educational Trust and has recently been appointed as Trustee of Into Work. Connor has lived experience of autism.
Read Connor Burleigh’s One Page Profile
Mata Ayoub – Associate Committee Member, Human Resources Committee
Mata is a Director of Learning & Teaching and Associate Professor at Kingston University. Her background has combined the creative arts and education, including as a Film, Media, and TV practitioner exploring whether collaborative filmmaking can be used to explore communities’ relationship with their environment and express their often marginalised voices. Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) are common threads that are embedded within her practice and she is the Chair of Kingston University’s Black Asian Minority Ethnic Staff Network and is a Member of the EDI Caucus of the UK Research and Innovation Councils, Innovate UK and the British Academy. Mata is also on the Representative Board of ELIA, a European Network for higher arts education. Mata is the mother of a young person with autism.
Read Mata Ayoub’s One Page Profile
Sarah Acton – Associate Committee Member, Quality & Practice Committee
Sarah has worked in HR and organisational development roles across the public, private and not-for-profit sectors for 15 years, and is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development). She is a self-employed coach and leadership development consultant.
Read Sarah Acton’s One Page Profile
Privacy notice
The Dimensions Privacy notice – Board Members and Trustees explains why and how we process your personal data.