Trustees, Advisory Council members, staff and key supporters of Norwood celebrated the long and illustrious career of outgoing Chief Executive, Norma Brier, at a special reception at 11 Downing Street last night. Over 100 guests, including Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne, attended the event at the official home of the Second Lord of the Treasury. During the evening, Norwood announced that in recognition of her immense contribution to the Charity, Norma has been appointed its first Patron of Adult Services and a member of its Advisory Council.
Norwood’s Chairman Bernie Myers led the praise of her 22 year leadership and, in particular, her ability to empathise with the people who use the Charity’s services and their families.
“She was already a key figure in the fight to improve the lives of people with learning disabilities, and had a keen understanding of their wants and needs. She saw for herself how profoundly the stigma of having a disabled child could affect families and how difficult it was to ask for help. As she moulded Norwood into a sector leader and a beacon of excellence, Norma never lost sight of this responsibility to the people supported by the Charity.
“Norma is held in high esteem within the Jewish community and has blazed a trail for female representation at the highest levels of communal life. She is also well-respected across the health, social care and voluntary sectors, as well as by governments both here and abroad.
“We are proud of the quality and range of services she has helped to create. These services have differences in approach and outcomes, but they have one common ingredient – a culture of excellence and empathy instilled through Norma’s inspirational leadership.”
In her own speech to gathered guests, Norma Brier thanked the Norwood staff, donors and volunteers who had supported her throughout her career.
“But my last word must go to the people who use Norwood’s services. They have been such a major influence on everything that I have done during this time. As individuals, they have taught me so much about their lives and my own. Their fortitude, when society is unfair and unkind to them and their determination to seek new avenues to achieve their aspirations in every area, has inspired and affected me for ever.
“I feel sad to be leaving a great organisation that has become so much a part of me, I seem to have lived and breathed it forever. On the other hand, I know I am leaving it in safe hands and have every confidence in my successor, Elaine Kerr, to whom I wish every success.”
Norma Brier: A Career in Brief
- Norma worked first as a social worker and later as a lecturer in sociology. Her career within the Jewish Community started in the early 1980s. She subsequently led the negotiations to bring Jewish adults with learning disabilities, often living in the most terrible conditions, out of long-stay institutions, into Jewish residential homes in London and Ravenswood Village.
- In recognition of her expertise in the field of learning disabilities, Norma was appointed Executive Director of Ravenswood in 1989, leading the organisation through a period of rapid growth and increasing its annual budget from less than £1m to nearly £7m in just five years.
- In 1996, she led Ravenswood’s merger with Norwood Child Care to create a world-class multi-faceted organisation, later renamed Norwood. Norma was appointed its Chief Executive.
- Today, Norwood is a flagship social care agency of the Anglo- Jewish Community, providing over 120 services to 7000 service users, 1,200 staff, 800 volunteers and an annual budget of £32m.
