Meet Our Senior Team

Meet Our Senior Team

Just Imagine the rewards
of fostering a child

Find out more about fostering here

With years of experience both at Progress and in the wider Care Industry they really are an interesting bunch. If you would like to know more about our team you can get in touch with us here.

Bal Dhanoa

Chief Executive Officer

Bal is the heart of Progress Solutions as the CEO and Founder. She has dedicated 35 years to working within Health and Social Care, managing front-line services for Local Authorities and both the Voluntary and Private sectors. Her exceptional entrepreneurial career has helped shape standards of care.

Sparked by treatment towards a family member, she has achieved outstanding outcomes for the most vulnerable within communities, creating Progress; an industry leader in the Midlands.

Having passed day-to-day operations over to MD Claire, Bal’s responsibilities now lie in overseeing investments, project management and delivery of new services. She is passionate about researching and investing in cutting edge technologies that transform the quality of lives of vulnerable young people. She has a crystal clear vision of where she would like to take Progress and she leads her management team to ensure this happens to the best of their abilities.

As a family woman, outside of running the business, Bal enjoys spending time with her children and grandchildren. She is an avid gardener who loves to explore the world when she can, trying new delicious delicacies on the way.

Raj Dhanoa

Chief Financial Officer

After establishing Progress in June 2000 with Bal, Rajinder handled Finance, Payroll and HR. Thanks to having a competent team in place and excellent growth, Raj has been able to step back from operational work. He now sits on the Progress board and focuses on project management of the new properties. He handles all aspects of development pre-completion. As well as asset management, he manages the overall company finance and legal compliance.

Since a young boy, Rajinder has loved playing percussion music everywhere he could; on doors, the school desk and even on metal dustbins. He had the opportunity to join a band with some older locals and was able to travel; playing at a variety of locations, from temples in the Midlands to cultural shows all over the world. Meeting his old band mates is his favourite way to let off steam.

 

Claire Rogers

Managing Director

Claire’s career began as a trainer in the fitness industry before going on to compete as a bodybuilder. After a painful back injury, Claire moved into various retail management roles. Feeling unsatisfied, she took a career leap into care and started working at a school for children with special needs. She found the industry to be the right fit for her; somewhere she could make a difference.

In 2002 Claire applied for a Senior Support Worker role at Progress and quickly progressed to Deputy Manager and subsequently a Registered Manager over two services. Having progressed throughout the company and then grown into Interim MD role, Claire became Managing Director in 2015; leading day-to-day operations and helping shape Progress into the business it is today.

Her responsibilities include upholding the values of the company; care, trust, respect and progress. Claire ensures Progress as an organisation doesn’t drift from its original purpose; to never compromise on the quality of care and always be a listening and evolving business, that keeps people at the heart of everything it does.

Claire is very family orientated, is married with a teenage daughter to whom she devotes her time outside of work. She has two large dogs which she enjoys walking and when not doing that, can be found wild swimming, in lakes and rivers around the UK. As a family, they enjoy pulse-raising experiences on holidays, such as zip wiring, quad biking or braving a hot air balloon.

Phil Owen

Head of Safeguarding and Agency Decision Maker

After a lifetime of social work experience working alongside individuals with disabilities, mental health and complex care needs, Phil has held posts at a senior level in both Local Authorities and the private sector. He is passionate about the rights of young people who are vulnerable or have additional needs and is equally as passionate about the high aspirations Progress has for them.

Phil joined the Progress team in 2013 and as Head of Operations, led with complete dedication to quality, compliance, safeguarding, exemplary service delivery and high outcomes for young people. Now part-time, Phil retains overall safeguarding responsibility for the organisation and is the Agency Decision Maker for our fostering service.

Outside of work, Phil, who is married with a daughter, is a huge rugby fan. When not at his old rugby club supporting the team, he enjoys gardening and walking with his wife and dog. Phil is incredibly musically gifted with an eclectic taste; he plays the piano, double bass, drums, and the church organ.

Angeline Freer

Head of Corporate and Commercial Services

Angeline’s business career spans over more than 30 years, across the financial services, education, health and social care sectors. This has included every size and stage of organisation, from start-up (including her own) through to global corporations.

She moved into the social care sector in 2011 and was thrilled to take the opportunity to join Progress in 2015, leading on business development, marketing, contracts and building capacity of foster carers and staff. Angeline was delighted to widen her remit to lead on all corporate and commercial functions in 2019, bringing top class support to our operational colleagues and therefore the young people we support. She then joined the Progress Board in 2021.

Angeline’s qualifications include an MBA from the University of Leicester, CMI Level 7 Strategic Management and Leadership, Change Management Certificate, CIPD Training Practice, Prince2 Project Management. She completed the IoD Role of the Director and the Board training to support her in undertaking her Board responsibilities.

Outside of work, Angeline enjoys cooking, walking her dog and spending time with her daughter.

Tina Bhardwaj

Head of Children’s Services

With over a decade’s worth of fostering experience, Tina is the Fostering Manager here at Progress. Her overall responsibilities are to ensure the smooth running of the Fostering service. By providing her team ongoing training and support, she enables them to operate to the best of their abilities. Her hard work ensures children and young people are kept safe within their foster placements. She does this by being an integral part of the entire process. She monitors the inbound referrals of children and matches them to suitable Foster Carers, as well as collaborating with the Business Development Team to recruit the right people.

To wind down, Tina enjoys cooking, going to the theatre and working out at the gym. She loves experiencing new cultures, making an effort to travel when she can.

Phil Mcdonald

Head of Adult Services

Phil started out in his working life as a tax man. Unfulfilled, on the recommendation of his sister already working in the care sector, he took a leap of faith to do the same and never looked back. He began in children’s services working alongside young people with Autism and behavioural support needs. Wanting to make more of a difference, he took a progressive step towards a senior role and transitioned into adult services.

Phil joined Progress, as a Senior Residential Support Worker at Oak Cottage before moving into his first managerial role at Regis House. This exposure to the fast-paced and varied short breaks care model further caught Phil’s passion, and he took on the development of the Hub Services in the Service Development Manager role. More recently, Phil has moved into the role of Head of Adult Services, bringing with him the ethos of helping the people we support to achieve their life choices and independence.

Outside of work, Phil has three children and enjoys spending time with them.  He is a self-confessed ‘nerd’ and enjoys reading, movies, gadgets and football. Phil is a child at heart and can often be found playing at home with his kids, building Lego, or enjoying a relaxing break in Wales to get away with his family. Days on the beach and walks by the river are his favourite.

Harjinder Deo

Finance Manager

After completing a Management Degree covering aspects of IT, Finance and HR, Harjinder, who likes to be known as Harry, decided to pursue a Finance career. Setting his eye on working for a big corporate company, he was fortunate in securing a role at Barclays Bank. After ten years in banking, he spent four years in insurance before he and his family decided to relocate above the M25 corridor to Wolverhampton. It was then in 2012 that Progress came onto his radar.

Harry took a step away from the corporate world where he was just another number, transferring his knowledge and experience to an organisation he could grow with and develop as an individual. As Finance Manager, Harry is responsible for money in and out of the organisation.

As a dad of two very active boys, Harry finds himself spending a lot of time bouncing between various clubs and activities, as well as being an avid football supporter himself. He is a dedicated Liverpool fan who likes to try and make the games when he can.