Ashley Dunne
Relationship Manager for Merseyside, Aico

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.

Cerys Clark
Policy and Public Affairs Manager, CIH Cymru

Danny Pardoe
Apprenticeships Growth Manager, Birmingham City University

Dr Kelly Henderson
Founder and Managing Director, Addressing Domestic Abuse

Kelly is a highly respected housing and domestic abuse specialist with extensive experience across the housing sector, public policy and multiagency partnership work. Her career spans senior roles including Interim Director of Housing for a London based organisation, alongside earlier experience in asylum services, local authority Supporting People Programmes, policy development and applied research. She holds a Master’s in Housing Policy and a PhD from Durham University, where her research examined the pivotal role of housing within a coordinated community response to domestic abuse.

A sector innovator, Kelly cofounded the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance (DAHA), leading national accreditation work and supporting housing providers to strengthen their organisational responses to domestic abuse. She has partnered with a major national property repairs organisation to embed domestic abuse awareness into frontline operative roles and played a key role in developing an industry standard for identifying signs of abuse during repairs visits.

Kelly has been widely recognised for her leadership, named 24 Housing’s ‘Housing Professional of the Year’ and one of the Top 20 Women Leaders in Housing (2020). She is coauthor of Housing and Domestic Abuse – Policy into Practice (Routledge), and has delivered complex partnership programmes, including leading the Home Office funded DAWSA project across multiple police forces and overseeing national research into perpetrator interventions. Her experience also includes serving as a local authority domestic abuse lead, coordinating citywide multiagency responses.

Kelly is a qualified Domestic Abuse Related Death Review Chair, a Non-Executive Director at Believe Housing, leading the Performance and Standards Committee and authored the national domestic abuse toolkit for housing professionals, commissioned by the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations. She is recognised for her thoughtful, evidence driven leadership and her ability to translate research, practice and policy into meaningful, system wide change.

Elaine Johnson
Director of People, Great Places

Elly Hoult
Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Chief Executive, Peabody Trust

Elly has over 22 years' experience in the housing sector, working her way up from supported housing officer to executive level roles. Elly was previously the Group Director, Assets and Sustainability at Notting Hill Genesis.  Her earlier roles were Programme Director, leading the integration programme for Notting Hill and Genesis, and Director of Business Improvement as well as a range of roles at Orbit and A2 Dominion.  Elly sits on the National Housing Federation’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Group and is a member of the Green Spaces Advisory Board.

Evie Copland
Head of Customer and Neighbourhoods, Berwickshire Housing Association

Gavin Smart
Chief Executive, Chartered Institute of Housing

Prior to becoming CEO Gavin served as both Deputy CEO and, before that, Director of Policy and Practice at the CIH. Before joining CIH Gavin worked at the National Housing Federation (NHF), latterly as Assistant Director for Research and Futures where he led the NHF’s research and analysis function, it’s future facing thinking and it’s policy work on finance and government investment. Gavin joined the NHF from a spell working for the UK civil service commissioning research and analysis into a variety of housing policy areas. He began his career as an academic researcher at the School for Policy Studies at the University of Bristol.

Gavin Smith
Housing Services Manager, Fife Council

Ian Swift
Deputy Corporate Director and Director of Housing Operations, Islington Council

Jaz Pugh
Housing Officer, Barcud

Jaz Pugh is the Housing Officer at Barcud and a member of CIH Futures Cymru. She specialises in managing complex cases, including anti-social behaviour, safeguarding concerns, domestic abuse, addiction, and tenancy sustainment. I’m passionate about frontline housing management, tenant relationships, and improving the sustainability of housing officer roles across Wales.

Jaz's work focuses on supporting communities and advocating for housing services that are proactive, person-centred, and built around meaningful relationships rather than constant crisis management.

John Hannigan
Chief Executive and Chair, Circle Voluntary Housing Association and CIH Governing Board

Julie Hydon
President, CIH and Director of Corporate Services, Wolverhampton Homes

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

Karen has been a resident in social housing for the last 12 years, and before that, she was in military housing.

She has worked in Social Housing for Aster Group since 2015.

Since working for Aster and being in Social Housing, Karen has become more involved as a tenant and colleague. A member of the Social Housing Residents Panel for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and a Board Member at Transform Housing and Support.

Kate Henderson
Chief Executive, National Housing Federation

Kate is Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation (NHF), the voice of housing associations in England. Kate is passionate about tackling the housing crisis, inequality and climate change. She is a member of several government panels including the Rough Sleeping Advisory Panel and the Social Housing White Paper Expert Challenge Panel. Kate become a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in 2021. Prior to joining the NHF in 2018, Kate was Chief Executive of the Town and Country Planning Association.

Mary Gibbons
Chief Operating Officer, Abri

Nicki Clarke
Head of Service – Housing and Criminal Justice, Standing Together Against Domestic Abuse

Nicki is the Head of Housing with Standing Together Against Domestic Abuse, working with local authorities and housing providers to implement the Whole Housing Approach and achieve DAHA accreditation to ensure that domestic abuse survivors can access safe and secure housing. Nicki also sits on the National Domestic Abuse and Housing Policy and Practice Group, working with partners across the sector to influence national policy.

Prior to this Nicki spent more than 13 years working frontline in various roles within social housing and as the Domestic Abuse lead for Westward Housing she successfully guided them to achieve DAHA Accreditation in 2022. In 2020 Nicki wrote and presented a Domestic Abuse training video for repairs and maintenance contractors working in social housing to recognise and report the signs of domestic abuse.

In her personal life Nicki has been a member of the Experts by Experience Group working with Surviving Economic Abuse since 2017. As a survivor of domestic abuse Nicki now uses her personal knowledge and understanding to raise awareness of domestic abuse and ensure that the housing response for survivors is always informed by the survivor voice.

Niamh Quinn
Housing Services Co-ordinator, Tuath Housing

Paul Cartwright
National Specification Manager, Aico

Paul has worked in various roles within Aico since joining the company in February 2001, including Relationship Manager, National Account Manager, Head of National Accounts, and currently National Specification Manager.

Paul’s role forms part of the sales and specification team within the company, supporting and mentoring the regional specification managers at national level, whilst maintaining and building relationships with our national clients and contractors.

Paul represents Aico on the FIA FIRESA Council, which provides vital communication between the Fire and Rescue Services and their suppliers, as well as liaising directly with the government and other external bodies.

Professor Vikki McCall
Professor of Social Policy, University of Stirling

Vikki is Professor of Social Policy at the University of Stirling, teaching on the MSc/Diploma in Housing Studies. She brings expertise in reflective practice, co-production, and values-led professional development. Vikki leads major UK-wide projects that focus on embedding reflective approaches in housing organisations to tackle systemic challenges, including inequality and stigma. Her work bridges academic insight and frontline practice, championing inclusive and empathetic housing services that 'future-proof' housing.

She has worked in partnership with housing providers, national bodies and community researchers to influence practice and policy. As co-founder of Socialudo, she uses innovative methods, like serious games, to make research and learning more engaging and accessible. Vikki is a member of the Professional Standards Committee for the CIH and is committed to supporting housing practice that is grounded in reflection, empathy, and real-world impact.

Ryan Chivers
Housing Officer, Ipswich Council

Sam Lister
Policy Manager, Chartered Institute of Housing

Sarah Davis
Policy Manager, Chartered Institute of Housing

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.