Meet the team

Tony Gilmore – Chair of Trustees

Tony is a retired Auctioneer and Valuer with extensive experience in Company asset appraisal and disposal also specialist in Fine Art. Currently, he is a trustee and Treasurer at Knowsley and Huyton Citizens Advice Bureau also board member of 3tc Ltd.

Mandy MacDonald – Deputy Chair of Trustees

Mandy is a well established and experienced trainer in the field of adult social care.  Mandy is a qualified nurse and brings extensive knowledge of the needs of people living with a learning disability and/or experiencing mental health problems and their needs.

Janet Hardman – Trustee

Janet is a qualified Teacher working with children who have Special Educational Needs. She is also a qualified in practicing Functional Reflex Therapy and a member of the Association of Reflexologists.  Janet also has personal experience of caring for a close relative with profound learning disabilities.

Dave Eagan – Trustee

Dave has extensive experience of working in and with voluntary and community sector organisations.  He has been active in the sector for 21 years, supporting and leading charities and social enterprises across the North West, West Midlands and London.  His experience and expertise centre on Governance, organisational development and business development for numerous infrastructure organisations.  Dave has been a trustee/director of more than a dozen organisations ranging in scale from micro to multi-million pound turnover organisations.  In recent times, he has built up extensive experience of the issues and challenges faced by local organisations that are providing homes, facilities and community spaces for disadvantaged communities.

Steve McDermott – Chief Executive Officer 

Steve joined Expect on an interim basis in July 2012 prior to taking up the post on a permanent basis in December of the same year.  Steve holds BA. MSc, Dip SW, CQSW qualifications and has an extensive background in Mental Health and Children’s Social Work dating back to the 1970’s.  During his career he has held a number of senior management positions with Local Authority Social Work Departments. Prior to joining Expect he ran a successful, independent management consultancy company that advised on service and structural improvements within Local Authority Social Service Departments and Voluntary Charity and Faith Sector providers across North West England and North Wales.

Marg Ollivier – Deputy CEO

Marg has over 20 years’ experience working as a senior manager in Human Resources and Governance in the third sector.  Following living in London for over 30 years she moved back to the North West from where she hails.  Marg joined Expect as Head of HR, Governance and Compliance in June 2018, and following a successful period in this role she was appointed as Deputy CEO in 2019.  Outside of work Marg is a passionate supporter of Liverpool Football Club and enjoys reading and walking.

Colin Clarke – Head of Estates

Colin started with Expect as a volunteer in 1990 and has since held a number of jobs including working as a Support Worker with our Outreach Service, Special Projects Manager, Quality and Health and Safety Coordinator, Training and Development Manager, Head of Operations and more recently Head of Estates. Colin has an extensive array of qualifications including Occupational Health, Safety and Risk Management.

Laura O’Hare – Divisional Director, Wales

Laura joined Expect in 2014 but has worked in social care since 2000 and has experience of working with people living with a vast variety of needs across an array of service platforms, with qualification in both Health and Social Care and Business, Laura is currently tasked with leading our Wales based services.

Hiral Shah – Divisional Director, North

Hiral joined Expect as a compliance manager in 2018 having worked for over 14 years in the Health and Social Care sector.  Hiral was promoted to her current position in 2019.
During her professional career Hiral has been a support worker, a senior support worker, a home manager, a locality manager and a training facilitator.

Chris Jones -Director of Training (Your Future Training Solutions)

Chris began his Social Care career in 2004 when he became a support worker with Expect and worked for almost a decade on the Health and Social Care frontline.
Chris is now a qualified and registered Teacher and in his current role, enjoys designing and delivering bespoke training and development programmes.

Ann Mockler – Head of Care (Expect)

Ann began her career as a Care Assistant in a care home before coming to work at Expect in 2000 ago as a Support Worker.  Ann has worked throughout the charity working her way into a Service Manager position and completing her NVQ level 5 in Health and Social Care whilst Deputy Head of Operations in 2019.

Ann is now Head of Care, overseeing supported living services with the support of Senior Support workers.

Debbie Thorpe – Head of Care (Expect)

Debbie joined Expect in 1996 having previously worked in care homes, she came to Expect as a support worker and over the years was able to work her way up to a Registered Manager/Service Manager position.

Debbie completed NVQ Levels 2 and 3 in Health and Social Care, an NVQ Level 4 in Management and in 2019 she completed a Level 5 NVQ in Health and Social Care Management and currently works as a Head of Care with the support of her senior support workers and team.

In early 2020 Debbie and her team received Expect’s first Outstanding rating from CQC.

Anna Rose – Head of Care (Wales)

Anna has worked within the Health and Social Care sector for all of her working life starting as a care assistant and spending 20 years in domiciliary management.   Anna joined the Expect Group in 2020 and is based in Colwyn Bay. Anna heads both Focus Care, Wales and Rowan Care services.