Meet Our Management Committee

Rahul Jagota

Essex Care Association Chair

‘I am privileged to be the Chairperson of Essex Care Association for the past 3 years, co leading our strategic aim, with our diligent committee, to deliver the best outcomes for our members.’ 
 
Previous to taking on the role of Chairperson, Rahul had been an ECA committee member for several years.  As Chairperson, he is passionate that ECA demonstrate tangible differences in each aspect of its work through the key philosophy that ‘Relationship is Everything’. It is a passion that drives him, having experienced many years of meetings frustratingly where there was mostly talk and very little action.
 
Rahul undertook this role in amidst the challenging period of Covid. This period was pivotal in his decision to accept the role, as he still perceives it as a golden opportunity to elevate respect for Social Care, on par to the deserved respect of the NHS.  Rahul firmly believes ECA are playing their part in delivering this improved perception on Social Care in the work carried out, leading to:

• Better & genuine partnership working
• A more positive customer journey
• Better strategies for our workforce to feel proud & be more respected
• Critically & most importantly, improve funding streams 

Rahul has been operating Residential Care Homes for the past 25 years within a small family business and undertook the Care Managers Award back in 2001. Through the years they have piloted numerous innovations in their homes; The Corner House, Corner Lodge & Millard House, and he is proud that the teams have been recognised/awarded for their work on many occasions. Rahul is also a Chartered Accountant, qualifying with KPMG, and has undertaken The Landmark Forum.
 
Rahul has a passion for travelling and has had a couple of long-term stints of adventure. He plays cricket for his local village side and represents Essex for his age group. He is grateful to still be playing football and spends much time with his family, including enjoying experimenting with his cooking and trying it out on them.

Rachel Van Staveren

Essex Care Association Director/Treasurer

Rachel is the Managing Director of Cloud 9 Care, providing care and support to people in their own homes.  She is an experienced Carer, although her many duties within Cloud 9 mean that she doesn't do very much direct care work nowadays.  As a regular church-goer Rachel tries to bring her Christian ethics into the workplace.  Rachel has been a Director of ECA for many years and acts as Treasurer to the Essex Care Association.
 
Outside work, Rachel enjoys walking with her dog, Brodie (a very lazy whippet), music (singing with Colchester Choral Society) and cricket (travelling the world supporting England).  Rachel is a Worship Leader at her Church and supports the wider Church organisation by overseeing its safeguarding function across three counties.

Alan Betts

Essex Care Association Committee Member

Alan is the Managing Director of Calm Futures Limited, a specialist care provider operating in Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk. Calm Futures supports individuals with learning disabilities, autism, and complex needs through both supported living and residential care services.

With over 35 years of experience in the social care sector, Alan began his career as a support worker with Essex County Council at the age of 16. He progressed through a variety of roles at ECC, eventually holding senior management positions in operational delivery, human resources, and workforce development.

In 2006, Alan transitioned to the private sector, where he has held Director-level positions with care providers specialising in support for individuals with learning disabilities.

Alan's contributions to the field were recognised in 2012 when he received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the prestigious National Care Awards. He remains deeply passionate about empowering both the individuals his organisation supports and his colleagues to achieve their goals.

In his spare time, Alan enjoys spending quality time with his family, including his nine grandchildren. He also participates in 5-a-side football and works as a mobile DJ.

Manford Ncube

Essex Care Association Committee Member

With over 14 years of progressive experience in the Health and Social Care sector, Manford has cultivated a robust expertise in running and managing services for children, young people, and adults. His career path has seen him evolve from a Team Leader to a Director, with each role enhancing his ability to support and lead diverse services on both regional and national levels.

Throughout his career, Manford has been committed to creating environments where teams can excel and deliver outstanding care.  In his current role as Regional Operations Manager, he provides strategic guidance and operational support to the Area Managers, ensuring that all services meet the highest standards of care and regulatory compliance.

Manford's passion lies in working with individuals across all age groups and abilities, driving continuous improvement, and navigating the complex challenges inherent in the health and social care industry.
He is dedicated to fostering a culture of excellence and innovation, empowering teams to deliver exceptional care, and ensuring that services not only meet but exceed industry standards. His approach is rooted in a deep commitment to enhancing the quality of life for all service users, with a focus on compassionate, person-centered care.

Manford's favourite quote - "It always seems impossible until it's done." — Nelson Mandela 

Bola Fatunwase

Essex Care Association Committee Member

Bola is a chartered accountant (FCCA) with 14 years of senior finance roles within the private and public sector including government departments. During his training to become an accountant, Bola worked in the care sector starting in a Support Worker role up to a Deputy Manager role in a supported living scheme.

Bola co-founded a care business (Pinnacle Care Support Services Ltd) in 2018 and took on the role of the Project and Contract Director on a full-time basis.

Bola is a lover of football and supports the best team in England, arguably in the world - Arsenal. Bola plays football when he can in a local FA church league. Bola enjoys traveling and spending time with his family.

Bola volunteers at his local church and community and leads in organising programmes and training to help the community to develop skills or upskill.

Andy Jarman

Essex Care Association Committee Member

Andy joined the care industry in 2015 as a Customer Relations Manager for a national provider, moved after 3 years to another national provider, and then joined Bupa in November 2021 as an Account Manager covering Kent, Essex, and London covering 41 homes and 2350 residents.

Andy manages relationships with 53 different Local Authorities and ICB. Over the past two years, he has successfully challenged fee uplifts and been awarded over an additional £2m for the business.

Recently alongside his role, Andy has studied part-time and completed a CMI Management and Leadership course with a Distinction grade.

Andy is married with two lovely children who are 7 and 5 years old. Andy has recently taken up indoor climbing, likes going on nature walks with the children, and taking advantage of the beautiful countryside in Sussex where he lives.

Michelle Cook

Essex Care Association Director

Michelle has been a member of ECA for many years and more recently a Director as part of the Committee.  She joined because she felt that it was advantageous to be part of a provider group that were raising issues, highlighting changes, holding local authority to account and representing a sector that has been facing increasing challenges for many years.

Michelle is currently the CEO of Acorn Village, a charity based in Manningtree, who support adults with learning disabilities within residential and supported living services.  Michelle has worked for Acorn Village for over 20 years, initially starting a as Student Nurse on a placement, then as a Support Worker, Care Manager, Registered Manager and for the last 7 years as CEO.  Their motto is Life is For Living and she tries hard to ensure this runs through everything they do, even nearly 50 years on from when they first opened.

Outside of work, Michelle has a partner, 2 adult children, 2 cats and an 18-month-Old English Bulldog … all of which make her life interesting in one way or another! She enjoys experiencing new things and this year climbed Scafell Pike with her partner and dog.  She also went to Porto with some friends, where she learnt that she does not enjoy climbing mountains, but she does enjoy Port!

Shani Levy

Essex Care Association Director

Shani has worked in Essex Social Care for over 30 years in various settings from registered care, supported living, day opportunities and supported employment working with a range of customer groups.   She started her career at 16 completing a Youth Training Scheme in care, soon realising that making a difference to people lives is her passion.

Shani has been a Committee Member for 3 years – Shani joined the Committee to support the mission of ECA to be the voice of local providers and work in a collaborative and respectful way with Essex County Council.
 
Shani is Associate Director of St Helena Care Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of St Helena Hospice, Colchester, who provide personalised and customer focused,  hospital discharge, admission avoidance services in North East Essex. The service also provides care and support to people who are in the last phases of life. Shani feels proud to work for St Helenas and privileged to be part of an amazing team.

In her own time, Shani enjoys yoga, shopping and weekends away in her campervan!

Tanya George

Essex Care Association Director

Tanya is the Managing Director of Caremark Chelmsford & Uttlesford. They have been providing domiciliary care and support to people living in the Uttlesford area since 2009. Tanya feels very lucky to work alongside an immensely positive team striving every day to support people to live lives that matter.
 
Tanya has been a member of ECA for many years and joined the ECA Management Committee in July 2021. She believes that we are stronger together and is proud to be part of an Association which gives a voice to local social care providers and represents members best interests on a number of issues.

Tanya has two adult children who live in Lincoln and York, and therefore spends a lot of time on the A1. She also enjoys cooking and gardening and is an avid fan of cold-water swimming which she does a least twice a week – the colder the better!!

Tom Lyons

Essex Care Association Director

Tom is the Managing Director of Black Swan Care Group who own and operate 22 care homes in the East of England, as well as providing consultancy services to care home operators.

As well as care awards, Tom has won several business awards including Large Business of the Year and was named one of the faces of Grant Thorntons vibrant economy.

Tom is passionate about supporting providers and improving care outcomes. He has supported the NHS with recruitment, having been on interview panels for key integrated roles such as Trusted Assessors.

When not at work Tom likes to spend time with his two children on their smallholding where they look after several rare breed animals.