Bruce Moore
Chief Executive, Housing 21

Bruce joined Housing 21 as Chief Executive in 2013. Before that, Bruce was Chief Executive for Hanover Housing Group and had previously been Chief Executive of Wolverhampton Homes and Deputy Chief Executive of Anchor Trust. Bruce’s early career was as an in-house lawyer and he is a qualified solicitor, but he has spent more than 20 years leading change and seeking to improve the provision of housing and care for older people. Bruce has served and continues to serve as a board member for a number of housing organisations, charities and a local authority owned care company. He completed a PhD considering the differences in attitudes and expectation of the governance role of boards of housing associations in 2017 and then undertook a further PhD on the priorities and preferences of residents of Retirement and Extra Care Housing that he completed in early 2021.

Catherine Thomas
Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Clarion Housing Group

Catherine leads the work at Clarion Housing Group to influence government policy and create positive change in the housing sector.  Prior to joining Clarion in February 2020, Catherine held senior marketing and communications roles in real estate and retail. Her skills in placemaking and destination marketing were honed at Land Securities, where she led the communications team for Victoria SW1, including Nova, the highly successful mixed-use complex. She has also worked on major European and Middle Eastern real estate projects.

Charley Gibbons
Group Chief Executive, emh group

Charmaine Simei
Chief Executive, Tuntum Housing

Charmaine has been working in social housing and related fields for some 30 years. Currently in role as CEO at Tuntum Housing based in Nottingham, a BME led organisation; Charmaine has enjoyed a varied and successful career working with some of the most marginalised and vulnerable communities within society.In April 2021, she was voted 'Professional of the Year' at the Women in Housing Awards 2021, primarily for establishing the Community Investment arm at Longhurst Housing Association which had delivered over 18,000 support interventions at the time of her departure. Charmaine became the CEO of Tuntum Housing in October 2023 and has supported the organisation to regain its G1 rating.

A keen advocate for social justice and social mobility, Charmaine has previously been a mentor with the Housing Diversity Network and sat on a number of steering Groups including HACTs Racial Equality Group. She has recently stood down as a board member for Communities that Work and currently serves as an executive member of BME national.

Heather Thomas
Chief Executive, Sapphire Independent Housing

Heather has been the Chief Executive of Sapphire Independent Housing, a smaller housing association located in North London that offers supported housing and general needs homes, since 2016. Before her current role, she worked as an executive director of operations for several registered providers. She is vice chair of the g320 group of smaller London housing associations and sits on its executive committee. Heather recently completed her tenure as the Chair of CCHA, the local housing association in Croydon, South London, where she lives. She is a corporate member of the Chartered Institute of Housing and has a Master’s degree in Organisational Behaviour.

John Ghader
Chief Executive, Prima Group

John has worked in Housing for over 35 years, both within Local Authorities and Housing Associations, and also spent some time working for the Audit Commission and the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA). John is a Fellow of the CIH and has an MBA from Bradford University. As Group CEO, John reports directly to the Prima Group Board and has overall responsibility for delivering the Group’s Corporate Strategy and is accountable for Prima Group, which includes: Pierhead Housing Association (PHA), Leasowe Community Homes (LCH) and Prima Commercial (PC). John is also an Executive Member of the Group’s Commercial Board.

Jonathan Layzell
Chief Executive, Stonewater

Jonathan Layzell was appointed Chief Executive of Stonewater in June 2025. A respected sector leader with over 20 years’ experience, Jonathan brings deep expertise in affordable housing, customer service transformation, and strategic growth. Before becoming CEO, Jonathan led Stonewater’s national housebuilding programme—delivering more than 1,000 new homes every year—and spearheaded major mergers and acquisitions. He also held interim responsibility for the Customer Directorate, supporting services for over 93,000 customers. Jonathan has led nationally significant bids, including securing over £500 million in funding for Stonewater from Homes England, and has pioneered initiatives in sustainability, public art, and community investment.

Kate Smith
Chief Executive, Connexus

Kate has a wealth of experience gained from over 15 years at executive level in the social housing sector, with organisations of scale, complexity and ambition. Before joining Connexus Kate worked for national housing and care provider Anchor, where she was group executive director of business services for five years. Kate has held executive leadership positions at Southern Housing and bpha, as well as a number of non-executive positions.

Mark Gifford
Chief Executive, First Choice Homes Oldham

Mel Barrett
Chief Executive, Metropolitan Thames Valley

Mel is Chief Executive of MTVH (Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing) one of the UK’s leading providers of affordable homes to rent and buy. He is a former local authority Chief Executive with extensive experience in the leadership of customer facing services, transformation initiatives, and large-scale regeneration and development projects. Mel became a member of the National Housing Federation Board in September 2025 and is a Trustee of the Whitehall & Industry Group, a charity focused on collaborative cross sector leadership development.

Paul Dolan
Chief Executive, Riverside

Paul Dolan took up his post as Group Chief Executive of Riverside in 2024, following seven years as Chief Executive at Accent Group. Paul has a successful track record in delivering transformational business and culture change. He is experienced in organisational turnarounds, taking businesses from positions of serious regulatory failure to full compliance. Paul has led both not for profit and commercial businesses, and managed stakeholders through complex organisational change. In 2019, he successfully led Accent to a record-breaking deal with the UK social housing sector’s lowest ever price on a long-dated public bond. Prior to his time with Accent, Paul was a former chief executive of Johnnie Johnson Housing Trust(JJHT) from February 2014 to April2017, where he steered the organisation to financial stability, regulatory compliance and through a comprehensive reform of governance. He delivered JJHT’s new vision and provided the organisation with a clear purpose and a national voice for retirement living.

Selina White
Chief Executive, Magna Housing

Selina has led Magna Housing for six years, where she has championed innovative solutions for affordable housing across the South West. As the Chief Executive, she has spearheaded initiatives that prioritise community well-being, sustainability, inclusivity and growth. Selina’s unwavering commitment to affordable housing has made her a respected voice in the industry. She actively collaborates with stakeholders to address housing challenges.

Selina is Chair of the National Housing Federation’s South West Leadership Forum and plays a pivotal role in shaping housing policies and strategies in the region. She is also a dedicated member of Homes for the South West, a collaboration of the 12 largest developing housing associations in the region, helping to shape national housing policy and driving positive change.

Amber Cooper
Pinnacle Group

Having spent five years working in social housing, I’m delighted to help influence the round of talks at the next Housing Community Summit. My experience includes working in the development team for a housing association and community engagement for a private developer, which has given me a strong understanding of the challenges faced on both sides of the sector. I’m interested in how we invest in communities and work better for residents, which has led to my current role in Social Value, Communications and Policy.

I plan to influence talks on Social Value best practice, sustainable design, and what more the sector can do to inspire young people to choose careers within the built environment, especially young women.

Andrew Cooper
Head of Funding and Social Value, SNG

Ayo Onibokun
Resident Support Lead, L&Q

Ayo Onibokun is a dedicated housing professional and Resident Support Lead at L&Q, committed to delivering exceptional services and fostering strong community engagement. She brings expertise in customer service, problem resolution, and stakeholder collaboration, ensuring residents receive timely support and positive experiences. Ayo has expanded her strategic insight as a Trainee Board Member, contributing to governance and long-term planning. She also holds a Chartered Management Institute Foundation qualification, strengthening her leadership and management skills. Passionate about creating inclusive environments, Ayo strives to empower residents and drive continuous improvement within the housing sector.

Bronagh D'Arcy
Chief Operating Officer, Tuath Housing

Bronagh D’Arcy as Chief Operations Officer & Deputy CEO of Tuath, has overall responsibility for the organisation’s Housing, Property & Sustainability Departments. Having graduated with a degree in Housing and a Diploma in Management from the University of Ulster, along with post gradate Diplomas in Business and in Leadership. Bronagh is also a Member of the Charted Institute of Housing. She has worked both in the north and south of the Ireland and has extensive development and management experience in the voluntary housing sector, mainly in the delivery of new homes; working in partnership with a range of stakeholders and through various procurement options. Bronagh has worked with Tuath for over 15 years and during this time has seen the Association grow to become Ireland’s largest Approved Housing Body.

Caritas Charles
Senior Policy and Insight and Innovation Manager, Tpas

Caritas has worked in the sector for 24 years in numerous roles at a frontline and strategic level . In his current role he works with Tpas members in informing on and helping to shape national housing policy and ensuring that people who live in social housing have their voices heard. A scrutiny geek he also facilitates the National Scrutiny Club. Keen to bring new ideas in engagement to the sector Caritas has written a guide to using deliberative engagement methods and is currently looking at global engagement best practice.

Craig Sanderson
Former Chief Executive, Housing LINC and Member, Edinburgh Poverty Commission

Craig Sanderson spent his entire housing career at Link Group, having joined Link Housing Association as Administrative Assistant in 1975. He became CEO for 31 years until 'retiring' in 2019.

He served on the boards of Scottish Council for Single Homeless, Social Enterprise Scotland and the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations. His proudest moment was when Link was awarded UK Social Enterprise of the Year in 2013. He is currently a CIoH Scotland Board member and an Edinburgh Poverty Commissioner. Maximising the supply of new social housing remains his prime objective.

Elaine Middleton
Head of Partnerships, The Social Housing Roundtable

Elaine has spent the last 18 years working in the housing sector in a range of roles, regulators, and senior leadership teams, and understands the complexities, challenges and opportunities social housings brings. A key champion for change, improvement and innovation, she works with social housing organisations and sector partners to use customer feedback, insights and technologies to build strategies and action plans that stay true to an organisation's vision and purpose, while balancing the changing needs of both residents and regulators.

Emma Gilbank
Service Manager for Sustainability and Climate Change, Connect Housing

Emma joined the sector three years ago after graduating from the University of Leeds, and currently works for Connect Housing. She is passionate about driving positive change through collaboration, with a particular focus on justice and inclusion. She was a finalist for Young Achiever at the Women in Housing Awards and was named in the Climate Champions Power List by Unlock Net Zero. Emma is also a board member at CIH Futures, representing young housing professionals at a national level.

Eve Hazlett
Business Manager Housing, Gravitas Group

Jesse Fajemasin
Surescope

Joanne Oak
Group Chief Executive, Valleys 2 Coast

Jonathan Blease
Northern Irish Housing Executive

Jonathan Blease has been working in public sector communications for over 25 years. He has spent most of his career in the Housing Executive, the strategic housing authority for Northern Ireland, as well as one of the largest social landlords in the UK, with over 80,000 homes. Jonathan has been the organisation’s head of communications for over a decade and is responsible for public relations, digital communication, public affairs, marketing and design and internal communications. He has also set up a campaigns team to focus on engagement with tenants and other customers.

Karen Gregory
Training Officer, Tenant, and Panel Member, Tenant and Trainer at Aster, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Karen is a tenant and training officer at Aster and is a member of the Social Housing Resident Panel for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and The 4Million Homes Panel. She is a Board Member for Transform Housing & Support where she is also the Safeguarding Lead.

Kelda Henderson
Founder

Liliana Vetter
EDI Specialist, Wythenshawe Community Homes Group

Matt Baird
Founder and Recruitment Partner, The Social Housing Roundtable and Avalon

Matt has over 13 years of experience supporting the social housing sector. He has served as Board Co-Chair for Spring Housing and St Annes Hostel and founded The Social Housing Round Table, a platform connecting thousands of sector stakeholders. On a day-to-day basis he recruits staff for the sector nationally in partnership with Avalon Recruitment with his clients nicknaming him “the ethical recruiter”. As an advocate for change and authentic dialogue, Matt champions the needs of tenants and professionals within the social housing space, believing that it’s only through open discussion that true change can occur.

"With the incredible success of last year’s conference, it’s fantastic to be involved with putting together a programme that is focused on what the sector has requested and needs. Being a part of this panel provides the opportunity to share ideas of those that we work with to create a conference that those who truly care about making things better can be proud of."

Morris Williams
Procurement Manager, L&Q

Neil Goodrich
Head of Customer Performance and Improvement, SNG

Neil has studied and/or worked in the social housing sector for the best part of 15 years, primarily working in positions that focused on performance, analysis and report development. A chartered member of the CIH, he was one of the founding members, and a former chair, of the CIH Futures Board. An experienced housing professional, Neil has worked in a number of organisations across England and has recently joining Sovereign Network Group to be their new Head of Customer Performance and Improvement. Prior to that he spent just under 10 years at Orbit in various roles having started his career at Family Housing Association (Birmingham) Ltd (now part of Citizen Housing).

Ryan Barclay
Vice Chair, CIH Futures

I am a housing options broker at Housing Options Scotland , where my role involves providing housing options information and advice to older adults, disabled people and members of the armed forces community across Scotland.

I started my career as an equality diversity and inclusion intern at Clyde Valley Housing Association in January 2023. I then began my current role at Housing Options Scotland as a Housing Options Broker in April 2023.

I have had the privilege of being a board member of Cassiltoun Housing Association in Glasgow , which I joined in August 2024, and also a board member of the CIH Futures board, which I joined in February 2023. Since October 2025 I have been Vice Chair of the UK CIH Futures Board

CIH Futures advises the Chartered Institute of Housing about how we can create a more diverse and inclusive housing sector and promote housing as a career of choice. In 2025 I was a finalist in the HQN Housing Next Generation 2025 awards and was named as a Top 30 Housing Champion by Housing Today

Sem Lee
Director and Founder, OURI Labs

Sem Lee is an urban strategist and social entrepreneur with over 11 years programme managing sustainability, communication and design projects. Deeply affected by our housing crisis founded OURI Labs, a practice specialising in participatory research and design working between urban planning policy and practice to help reduce the problem of the approximate £1.4bn cost to the NHS due to poor housing in the UK. Collaborators include Health Innovation North East North Cumbria, Greater London Authority, Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and UK Office for Health Improvement and Disparities.

"With the current challenges facing social housing delivery, this collaborative platform comes at a crucial time. I'm particularly passionate about social housing's vital role in addressing health inequalities, and I believe this summit will allow us to collectively explore creative solutions to meet ambitious housebuilding targets while ensuring we create homes that truly serve our communities' needs. The prospect of engaging with diverse perspectives and facilitating crucial, challenging discussions that will help shape the future of social housing makes this panel particularly exciting."

Shelley Hutton
Head of Public Affairs, Places for People

Shelley Hutton is a housing professional and long‑standing Chartered Institute of Housing member of 35 years. She currently serves as Head of Public Affairs at Places for People, bringing over 30 years of experience, predominantly in Scotland, across customer‑focused, communications and stakeholder‑relations roles. She is also a CIH Scotland Board member and volunteers with The Simon Community’s Edinburgh Street Team, contributing to frontline support for people experiencing homelessness.”

Sophie Hayward
Customer Director, Portus Supported Housing

Sophie is a housing professional at the newly merged Portus Supported Housing, with extensive experience in supported housing, general needs, customer engagement, and safeguarding. She is passionate about putting customers at the heart of service design and ensuring their voices shape policy and practice. She has a track record of bringing teams together to drive engagement, promote innovation, and embed best practice across housing services.

Stacey Thwaites
Building Safety Project Lead – Customer & Stakeholder Engagement, Gentoo Group

Stacey Thwaites is the Building Safety Project Lead for Customer and Stakeholder Engagement at Gentoo Group. Since joining in 2013, she has worked across Brand and Communications, the Customer Voice Team and, since 2023, the Fire and Building Safety Team. Her communications expertise shapes Gentoo’s resident engagement approach. Stacey founded and chairs Let’s Talk: Engaging with Residents on Building Safety, supporting sector colleagues with the Building Safety Act 2022. Nationally recognised, she has been named in Inside Housing’s 40 Under 40 and Housing Today’s Top 30 Housing Champions. She champions authentic, accessible engagement and meaningful knowledge-sharing.

Sue Hodgson
Tenant Board Member and Activist, Thurrock Council Resident Scrutiny Board & Mears Scrutiny Panel

Sue is a retired Civil Servant, having given up work to look after her husband, who was suffering from cancer. She is a member of Mears Scrutiny Board and the Chair of Thurrock Resident Improvement Board. She is the Tenant representative on overview and Scrutiny for place at Thurrock Council, and is the Thurrock Council elected representative on the Tenants Board of the Association of Retained Council Housing. Sue is also Vice Chair of Thurrock Sea Cadets.

“I am very interested in the subject of repairs, especially for vulnerable tenants and young tenants. I also am interested in the subject of Damp and mould at the Housing Community Summit.”