Julia Ross announced as new BASW chair

BASW UK is delighted to announce the election of Julia Ross as our new chair.

Julia will take over from existing chair Gerry Nosowska at the BASW Annual General Meeting, which is being held on 17 June 2022 at the University of Birmingham.

The appointment follows an election process which closed on 23 April 2022, which included a live online hustings event with both Julia and the other candidate for the post, Diana Harris.

“I am absolutely delighted to be elected as the forthcoming BASW chair," said Julia. "It is an enormous privilege and honour."

"I’m really looking forward to working with the membership, executive team, honorary officers and people with lived experience to forge ahead as a true team.

"These are difficult and challenging times - but by working together we can, and will, thrive.”

Julia has a rich experience in social work, after first training and working as a nurse, Julia retrained in social work, and became a BASW member when Community Care was introduced with the Seebohm Report in 1972.

Recently Julia worked with Professional Social Work to publish Call the Social - a memoir of her 40 years in social work. The book, which is freely available to all members, Julia recounts her journey, the real-life stories and people she has met along the way, that make social work such a rich, complex and unique profession.

In her election statement, Julia stated: “As Chair of BASW, I promise to work tirelessly for justice within our society and diverse communities, building on the excellent work achieved already. I will continuously promote social work as a profession, together with people who have experience of social work and their families. 

"Drawing on my experience across Scotland and England, I will ensure that social work is better understood, both so that people get a better experience and so that our membership will flourish.

“I promise strong, integrated, outward-looking leadership, which takes place at all levels in BASW and engages confidently with other professions.”

BASW chief executive Ruth Allen said: “I am absolutely delighted to welcome Julia to the role of BASW chair. We have had a really positive and engaging election campaign, which included our other excellent candidate, Diana Harris. I would also like to extend my thanks to Diana for her involvement in the campaign too.

“Julia brings a wealth of knowledge and experience which will be vital in supporting the ambitions of BASW for the future - and I am looking forward to working with her leadership."

Current BASW chair, Gerry Nosowska added: "I am delighted that our members had two excellent candidates in this election and wish our new chair Julia every success.

"BASW is a remarkable organisation and I look forward to seeing its impact continue to grow."