Kirsty Wark
Journalist

Kirsty Wark is one of the UK’s trailblazing female news journalists. She presented BBC’s Newsnight for 30 years, stepping down after the 2024 General Election. Her long career on Newsnight has seen her holding politicians and public figures to account with her formidable interviewing skills. She made her reputation as a journalist and producer on BBC Scotland, memorably reporting from the scene of the Lockerbie bombing, before joining BBC 2’s arts strand The Late Show as a presenter, moving on to Newsnight in 1993. Kirsty continued to span both arts and news/current affairs, hosting The Review Show for over a decade, as well as a range of BBC Arts series and documentaries. Over the years she has had memorable encounters with everyone from Margaret Thatcher to Madonna, Harold Pinter to Pete Doherty, Damian Hirst to George Clooney and the likes of Toni Morrison, Donna Tartt and Philip Roth. Kirsty hosts Radio 4’s long-running flagship series The Reunion, and regularly presents of Start the Week. She continues to present arts programmes on TV and Radio, cultural history series such as The Women Who Changed Modern Scotland and Panorama specials. Kirsty has won several major awards for her work including BAFTA Awards for Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting, Journalist of the Year and Best Television Presenter. In 2024 she was honoured with a lifetime achievement award at the RTS Journalism Awards.

Ali Akbor OBE
Panel Member, Grenfell Tower Enquiry

Ali Akbor OBE has been appointed by the Prime Minister to serve as a panel member. For over 20 years he has been the CEO of Unity Homes and Enterprise, a leading housing association supporting the BAME communities. He has extensive experience of the housing sector, having served at board level and in non-executive roles in a number of organisations, as well as a background in local government.

Daisy Armstrong
Resident and Chair, Southern Housing and G15 Residents’ Group

Daisy has lifelong experience of living in social housing and knows the benefits it can bring from her great-grandfathers housed in ‘Homes for Heroes’ in West London. She is a qualified teacher, specialising in IT and design and technology, with 17 years’ experience of school governance; eight years as Chair of Governors. Daisy is involved in raising the resident and disabled person’s voice as resident board member with Southern Housing, and additional roles as EDI lead, Residents Services Committee member and link board member on a regional resident’s panel. As Chair of the G15 Residents’ Group, Daisy leads the forum in informing, influencing, and celebrating the socially housed residents voice at leadership policy level.

Nick Apps
Resident, BCHA

Camron Aref-Adib
Economist, Resolution Foundation

Camron joined the Resolution Foundation in 2023. Previously, he was Head of Office and Senior Parliamentary Researcher for Rushanara Ali MP. Prior to this, he worked in Nigeria’s Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment as an Overseas Development Institute fellow, focusing on trade policy and the diversification of the Nigerian economy away from crude oil. Camron has served as a councillor in the London Borough of Camden, since being elected in 2022, and as Cabinet Member for Finance and Cost of Living since 2024. He holds a BSc in Government and Economics from LSE, and a Master’s in International and Development Economics from Yale University.

Tom Arey
Director, PfP Thrive, Places for People

Tom serves as the Director of PfP Thrive, the new training initiative by Places for People. With 15 years of experience in Learning & Development, Talent, and HR roles across the housing and hospitality sectors, Tom is dedicated to supporting individuals and creating environments where everyone, especially those furthest from the job market, can flourish. "I believe that everyone should have the opportunity to thrive in their chosen career. My passion is straightforward: supporting individuals and creating an environment where anyone, especially those furthest from the job market, can flourish." As the Director at PfP Thrive, my role is to ensure that our strategic mission of providing world-class learning, while developing, supporting, and encouraging every learner, is fulfilled."

Nick Atkin
Chief Executive, Yorkshire Housing

Nick has a track record of leading organisations through transformational change, driving performance improvement, with a focus on maximising the untapped potential from businesses and people. Born and brought up in Doncaster he joined Yorkshire Housing in 2019. Since this time, he’s delivered transformational change throughout the business to meet the future opportunities and challenges. Nick has previously introduced a fully flexible/ remote working approach. He also led the move to 90% of customer led transactions to be delivered through online self-service channels. He is a keen advocate of innovation and uses digital as an enabler to drive fundamental change in how businesses operate. He is also a disruptor in the ‘future of work’ debate and has been paperless for 19 years.

Peter Baffoe
Resident Board Member, Peabody

With a background firmly rooted in the community, Peter has been a resident member of the Peabody Board since May 2018. He currently works as a Faith and Community Development Officer for the Methodist South London Mission. In his role as a school governor, Peter acts as the link governor for disadvantaged pupils.

Mel Barrett
Chief Executive, Metropolitan Thames Valley

Mel is responsible for providing policy advice to elected councillors and providing visible leadership to the council’s 7,000 staff delivering vital public services, securing economic growth and improving life chances. He was previously Chief Executive of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and has a successful track record in the management of large scale customer facing services, organisational change and transformation initiatives, and the delivery of large scale regeneration and development projects. Mel is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and an alumnus of the City University, London MBA Programme, as well as a Commissioner for the Commission for Creating Healthy Cities.

Louise Bassett
Chief Executive, Gentoo

Louise Bassett has been Chief Executive Officer at Gentoo Group since 2023, having formerly been Gentoo’s Executive Director of Corporate Services. Prior to joining Gentoo, Louise spent over 20 years’ in the pharmaceutical and consumer health sector where she worked in senior HR leadership roles across Europe on business transformation, organisation development, talent management and mergers and acquisitions. Louise is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and is passionate about business and the difference people and culture make to organisation performance and customer service.

Rose Bean
Director of Assets and Sustainability, Abri

With more than 20 years of experience in housing, Rose leads Abri’s strategic priorities across asset management, sustainability, regeneration, and building safety, overseeing 58,000 homes and assets. She has driven major improvements in energy efficiency, piloted renewable technologies, and leads Abri’s regeneration programmes, including Abri’s flagship regeneration scheme in Windsor. A strong advocate for climate action, Rose has led Abri’s net zero strategy and played a key role in establishing the Greener Futures Partnership (GFP), securing significant funding for large-scale retrofit programmes. A forward-thinking leader, she continuously explores new approaches to improving homes and communities for the future.

Richard Blakeway
Housing Ombudsman

Richard was appointed as Housing Ombudsman from 1 September 2019. He has extensive experience in the housing sector, with previous roles including Deputy Mayor of London for Housing, chair of the Homes for London board, and a non-executive director of Homes England. During his eight years at the Greater London Authority, Richard was responsible for housing investment and land regeneration programmes. He also led the creation of the first team at City Hall to address rough sleeping, commissioning around £10 million of services each year, as well as the first Social Impact Bond on homelessness. Richard is a former board member of the Chartered Institute of Housing and has been an election observer in Somaliland and the Ukraine. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and sits on the Administrative Justice Council. Richard also chairs the Ombudsman Association and is a board member of the British Library.

Joanna Bonnett
Chief Sustainability Officer and Board Member, Riverside, Intelligence Forums

Joanna is an independent Chief Sustainability Officer advising the board and C-Suite, striving for a pragmatic, sustainable, and prosperous future by partnering with shareholders, customers, suppliers, and employees on ESG. Until recently, Joanna spent seven years at PageGroup plc a multinational operating in 40 countries as their Head of Sustainability (CSO) and Group Treasurer and sat on the board-appointed Sustainability Committee. Outside of her Executive career, Joanna is the Chair of the board of the Association of Corporate Treasurers, sits on their Audit and Risk Committee, and started a global charity called the Green Jobs Foundation creating employment opportunities through the net zero transition. Joanna has over 25 years of industry experience and previously held senior leadership roles in finance, including treasury, risk management, insurance, and investor relations.

Dr Louise Brooke-Smith OBE
International Development and Strategic Planning Advisor and Board Member, L&Q

Louise is a Chartered Surveyor and Chartered Town Planner with more than 35 years of experience, from the UK and overseas. She provides strategic development advice for national and international clients from the public and private sectors. Formerly a Partner of Arcadis LLP, a Global Consultancy for the Built Environment, she was UK Head of Development & Strategic Planning, Head of Social Value, and continues to advise as a Strategic Consultant. Louise is an experienced non-executive director holding positions on many boards, including Board Member and Employee Engagement Lead for Genuit Group plc, Board Trustee of The Land Trust and Board Member of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP. She is also a Board member at Enterprise Zone (Birmingham City Council), Birmingham City University, Birmingham Museums Trust, and Stockport Mayoral Development Company.

Brenda Canham
Resident and Former Thetford Mayor, Flagship

Deborah Casey
Head of Growth, Midlands, Homes England

Deborah is Head of Affordable Housing Growth for Homes England and leads a team who support and advise partners on funding bids into the Affordable Homes Programme. The AHP provides grant funding for new build affordable housing and regeneration activity. Deborah has an extensive career in affordable housing and is passionate about enabling quality affordable homes that meet the needs of local communities.

Felicity Cox
Chief Executive and Co-Chair, BLMK Integrated Care Board and Regional Population Health Equity Board

Felicity was appointed as Executive Lead for the BLMK Integrated Care System in September 2020, Accountable Officer for the BLMK Clinical Commissioning Group in February 2021 and in November 2021 was appointed Chief Executive (Designate) for the new BLMK Integrated Care Board. Felicity is a qualified and registered Pharmacist and maintains her clinical roots through her continuing professional development. Previously she was the Director of Quality, Transformation and Delivery in the National Specialised Commissioning Team of NHS England and NHS Improvement. She has held senior leadership positions in the NHS over many years, including other Chief Executive Officer CEO roles and Director of Commissioning Operations for NHS England.

Martyn Craddock
Chief Executive, United St Saviour’s Charity Southwark

Martyn Craddock is the Chief Executive of United St. Saviour’s Charity, an historic organisation in the London Borough of Southwark which is at the forefront of reimagining what later life living looks like in the social housing sector. With a career rooted in the food industry, Martyn has robust experience seeing community charities through transformation. Martyn has steered United St. Saviour’s through significant change, bringing improvements to its community grant making programmes, the governance and leadership, and its financial strength. Most recently, he has been instrumental in the high-profile and pioneering development of Appleby Blue Almshouse in Bermondsey. The widely acclaimed Appleby Blue exemplifies Martyn's commitment to modernising social housing for older people in cities through good design, community engagement, research and the power of food. Martyn holds an MSc in Charity Accounting and Financial Management and chairs both TreeHouse School and Dulwich Almshouse Charity.

Councillor Bev Craig
Labour Councillor for Burnage Ward and Leader, Manchester City Council

Bev became Leader of Manchester City Council on 1 December 2021. First elected in 2011 as a Burnage Councillor she held a range of responsibilities on Manchester City Council including as Executive Member for Adult Social Care and Health and Deputy Leader. Since becoming Leader her focus has been on Manchester’s ambitious plans to build a more inclusive and sustainable economy, increasing investment into neighbourhoods across the city, better outcomes for children and young people, tackling inequalities, building more housing and working to meet Manchester’s net zero ambitions. Bev is a Deputy Chair of the Local Government Association and Chair of Core Cities UK. In Greater Manchester she holds a range of responsibilities on behalf of the city including leading on the Economy, Business, and International Portfolio for the Combined Authority. Originally from Belfast, she moved to Manchester in 2003 for university. After graduating from the University of Manchester she began her career in Local Government, before working in higher education and then a national trade union leading on social care. She holds postgraduate degrees from Warwick Business School and the University of Manchester.

Paul Crawford
Chief Executive, LiveWest

Paul has worked in property management and residential development for over 30 years. Prior to being appointed as CEO of LiveWest he held the position of Group Chief Executive at DCH for nine years and Managing Director at Sovereign HA for five years. He is also a member of Homes for the South West (formerly HAILO), an influencing and lobby group focusing on investment to address the various housing challenges in the South West.

Ruth Curtice
Chief Executive, Resolution Foundation

Ruth is the Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation. She was previously director of fiscal policy at HM Treasury (HMT) where she worked for over 15 years. Her career has focused on domestic economic policy including labour markets, tax, fiscal policy and financial regulation. Ruth has held a wide range of roles in HMT, including working in the Chancellor’s private office, supporting the Independent Commission on Banking, and leading the Treasury’s distributional analysis.

Rachael Dennis
Group Chief Executive, Incommunities Group

Rachael has been the Chief Executive of Incommunities since early 2021, overseeing more than 22,000 homes primarily in Bradford, with a significant presence across West Yorkshire. With over 20 years of leadership experience in social housing, Rachael is an expert in strategy, change management, and improving business operations. Having started out in finance as an accountant, her career has spanned various roles, covering both operations and strategy. Rachael has also held non-executive roles in housing, the NHS, and with arts charities. Rachael’s leadership at Incommunities has been focused on driving positive change in diverse communities. She’s led the organisation through a major transformation, addressing key challenges and setting up a strong foundation for growth. As a board member for the Northern Housing Consortium and Chair of the West Yorkshire Housing Partnership, Rachael is committed to bringing people together across the region to tackle housing issues and support the development of strong, sustainable communities.

Carole Easton
Chief Executive, Centre for Ageing Better

Carole is Ageing Better’s Chief Executive, leading their vision of creating a society where everyone enjoys later life. Carole has had an extensive career in the voluntary sector having initially worked as mental health practitioner. Her previous roles include Interim Chief Executive at Refuge and the British Lung Foundation and Chief Executive at the Young Women’s Trust and ChildLine. Her PhD concerned violence against children. Carole is also an experienced non-executive director, Trustee and Chair. She currently sits on the Board of New Horizon Youth Centre.

Paul Fiddaman
Group Chief Executive, Karbon Homes

Paul is the Group Chief Executive of Karbon Homes, an organisation with close to 30,000 homes and 800 staff in the north east of England and Yorkshire. Paul qualified as a chartered accountant with Price Waterhouse (now PwC) before joining Sunderland Football Club as Financial Controller and then Secretary and General Manager in 1992. He became involved in housing as a board member and moved into the sector to become Director of Finance and Development with Enterprise 5 Housing Association in 1996. He has been involved in housing ever since in various senior roles, becoming Chief Executive of Isos Housing before it merged to become Karbon Homes in April 2017.

Rt Revd Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani
Bishop for Housing and Bishop of Chelmsford

The Rt Revd Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani is the national Lead Bishop for housing. In this role, Bishop Guli leads efforts to implement the recommendations of the Coming Home Report, the report of the Archbishops’ Commission on Housing, Church and Community.

Mark Gifford
Director, Ark Consultancy

Kim Hayman
Resident and Chair, Community Panel, Poplar HARCA

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.

Dr Kelly Henderson
Founder and Managing Director, Addressing Domestic Abuse

Kelly is the founder and Managing Director of Addressing Domestic Abuse who undertakes research, evaluation and training on domestic abuse and works with housing providers to support them to improve their response to domestic abuse. Kelly co-founded the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance and has a range of housing experience including Director of Housing, roles in asylum, Supporting People Programme and housing policy and research. She has a Masters in Housing Policy and Management and a PhD on the role of housing in a co-ordinated community response to domestic abuse. Kelly is also a Non-executive Director of Believe Housing.

Victoria Hills
Chief Executive, Royal Town Planning Institute

Victoria Hills is Chief Executive of the Royal Town Planning Institute with over 26 years experience, in senior leadership roles, most latterly in the membership sector, and in planning, transport, regeneration and regional government. Working for all three Mayors of London, she latterly led establishment of the UK’s largest regeneration project at Old Oak, setting up the Old Oak and Park Royal Mayoral Development Corporation. Using the convening role of the Royal Town Planning Institute, she advocates for resourcing planning and putting planning at the heart of delivery for quality places. She is driving forward delivery of the RTPI’s Strategic Plan for the 27,000 members both domestically and globally, focussing on raising the profile of the work of planners, reaffirming the respect for, and value of, the profession, and attracting a diverse and inclusive profession. Victoria has overseen an 8% growth in membership since joining the RTPI 2018. Up until very recently, Victoria was a Board Member of the Government’s Office for Place Advisory Board and currently sits on the Advisory Board of Black Professionals In Construction (BPIC), and the Advisory Board of the Greener Transport Council. Victoria also is a Commissioner on the Essex Climate Action Commission and chairs its Net Zero Innovation Network. Victoria was recently welcomed into the Worshipful Company of Paviors. In September 2024, Victoria was awarded an Honorary Degree Doctor of Technology.

Elly Hoult
Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Chief Executive and President, Peabody and CIH

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 is a Board Member of the Chartered Institute of Housing, sits on the National Housing Federation’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Group and is a member of the Green Spaces Advisory Board.

Shahi Islam
Director of Affordable Housing, Homes England

Shahi Islam is Homes England’s Director of Affordable Housing responsible for delivering the Affordable Homes Programme. Shahi has been at Homes England since 2013, serving in various leadership positions to support the management and delivery of a number of capital and revenue programmes. With close to 20 years in the sector, Shahi has extensive experience in housing working in roles covering policy, strategy and programmes. Prior to the Agency he worked at the Greater London Authority working in the housing investments and policy team.

Dame Nicole Jacobs
Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales

Nicole Jacobs was appointed in 2019 as the first Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales. Her powers came into force in 2021, and in 2022 she was reappointed for a further three years. Nicole has dedicated her career to supporting victims and survivors and has nearly 30 years’ experience in domestic abuse services, policy and intervention.

Kai Jackson
Chair of Residents Scrutiny Voice Panel, Black Country Housing Group

Kai completed her BSc (Honours) Psychology and Counselling degree and achieved a British Psychological Society (BPS) accreditation. She has been the chair for her tenant's scrutiny panel for over two years. In that time, Kai has carried out three reviews, been involved in stage 2 complaints, assisted shaping policies, interviewed potential staff members, panel members and been a part of the wider reshaping of the culture of her housing association. Kai has been very vocal in her support for tenants to be more involved with their housing provider and working together to accomplish change, which can be achieved. She has spoken at two conferences with the National Housing Federation (NHF) and most recently became a Tpas Associate and speaking at their customer conference. Kai is very dedicated to tenant involvement, being diverse, without stigma, and heard.

Colin Leggett
Resident, The Guinness Partnership

Dave Lockerman
Director of Housing Operations, Stonewater

Dave grew up on a Council estate in deepest Essex and recognised early on the impact that good, quality affordable housing can have as a foundation to thrive from. Dave is massively driven by social purpose and in trying to make life better for people facing challenges and barriers. Having worked in the social housing sector for more than two decades, Dave has accumulated a wealth of experience from working in both local authority and housing association environments across frontline, operational management and senior leadership roles. Dave joined Stonewater in 2018 and is the organisation’s Director of Housing Operations. Responsible for the direction, delivery and customer experience across Stonewater’s housing services. At Stonewater and throughout his career, Dave is super proud to have worked with amazing customers and colleagues to achieve demonstrable improvements in customer experience, performance and efficiency ensuring that services genuinely have customers at their heart.

Fiona MacGregor
Chief Executive, Regulator of Social Housing

Fiona became Chief Executive of the standalone Regulator of Social Housing in October 2018 having been Director of Regulation at the Homes and Communities Agency from November 2015. The Regulator is responsible for the regulation of registered social housing providers. Previously, as Director of Programmes, she was responsible for HCA’s Affordable Housing and Help to Buy programmes. Fiona has over 25 years housing experience, covering development investment, programme delivery and policy development. She has worked at the HCA since it launched in 2008, before which she was Deputy Director of Investment at the Housing Corporation, and prior to that, Head of Development at London & Quadrant.

Dr Guy Marshall
Chief Technology Officer, Fuza

Guy is a seasoned technology leader and AI specialist with over 15 years of experience driving digital transformation across diverse industries including retail, defence, gaming, logistics, and the built environment. In addition to his role as fractional Chief Technology Officer of PorthouseDean Structural Engineers, he serves on the board of One Manchester. A Chartered Mathematician and active Council Member at the Manchester Statistical Society, Guy is dedicated to advancing the application of data and fostering collaborative innovation. He holds a PhD in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Manchester, an MSc in Theoretical Physics from King’s College London, and an MA in Mathematics from the University of Cambridge. Guy's blend of strategic leadership experience and deep technical knowledge makes him a trusted advisor for organisations seeking to leverage AI and NLP technologies to drive transformative change.

Michelle Meldrum
Chief Executive, Berwickshire Housing Association

Michelle has nearly 28 years of experience working in the social housing sector in both England and Scotland and commenced her current role as Chief Executive at Berwickshire Housing Association in 2020. Throughout her career Michelle has worked in a variety of front line and leadership roles relating to homelessness, housing management, customer experience and those including broader executive responsibilities. Michelle is a Board Member at believe housing in the Northeast of England and has recently joined the Board of Wheatley Homes (East) in Scotland. Michelle is also involved with the Board of “Addressing Domestic Abuse” (ADA), an organisation that supports others to develop their response to this issue. Michelle is actively engaged in a number of national and local partnerships involving organisations such as Scottish Government, CIH Scotland, Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA), Scottish Housing Regulator and other social landlords across Scotland and the Scottish Borders.

Prof David Miles CBE
Member, Budget Responsibility Committee, OBR and Professor of Financial Economics, Imperial College, London

David Miles is Professor of Financial Economics at Imperial College, London. He has had previous academic positions at Birkbeck College, London and at Oxford University. He has undergraduate and masters degrees from Oxford University and a PhD from the University of London.
He is a member of the Budget Responsibility Committee of the Office for Budget Responsibility, where he takes the lead on economic analysis. He is a member of the Commission of the Central Bank of Ireland. He was a member of the Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of England between May 2009 and September 2015. As an economist he has focused on the interaction between financial markets and the wider economy. He was Chief UK Economist at Morgan Stanley from October 2004 to May 2009. In 2004 he led a government review of the UK mortgage market. In 2018 he completed a review for the UK Treasury on reference prices of UK government bonds. He has been an advisor to the IMF and to the reserve Bank of New Zealand. He is a research fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research and at the CESIFO research institute in Munich.

Rhys Moore
Executive Director of Public Impact, National Housing Federation

Rhys started with the NHF in October 2018, as Executive Director of Public Impact. Rhys oversees our policy, external affairs and communications work. Previously he was Director of the Living Wage Foundation where he worked with government, business and civil society to build a national movement of responsible employers. Before that, he helped to establish the London Community Foundation, which supports grassroots community groups in the capital. Rhys is a board member of the Carers Trust.

Dr Laura Neilson
Chief Executive, Shared Health Foundation

At the helm of Shared Health Foundation (as well as Hope Citadel and Focused Care) and as a practicing A&E doctor, Laura strives to improve the lives of her community and colleagues through tackling inequality in health.

Amy Nettleton
Assistant Development Director of Sales and Marketing, Aster Group

Amy's been with Aster as Head of Sales since January 2010. When not pushing for sales completions and immersed in anything property related with her fabulous team she pretends she's an equestrian star with her 16'2 Irish Draught, Prince, attempts to train for events such as the Great North Run, and enjoy as much time in Cornwall as possible.

Josh Nicholson
Senior Researcher, The Centre for Social Justice

Josh is a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Social Justice, an independent think-tank set up to tackle the root causes of poverty. Josh is leading the CSJ’s work related to housing and communities, in particular a programme of research looking at the construction skills shortage. Before this, Josh led a year-long project on tackling loneliness and worked on the CSJ’s landmark Two Nations report in 2023. Before joining the CSJ, Josh worked for a Labour MP in Parliament.

Charlotte Norman
Group Chief Executive and Chair, Mosscare St Vincent's Housing Group and Northen Housing Consortium

Charlie has worked in the sector for over 30 years, across the North West and in Vancouver, Canada, with a background in community and co-operative development, neighbourhood management and regeneration. She is honoured to be Group CEO of Mosscare St Vincent’s Housing Group and committed to helping create more homes people can afford, more opportunity and better life chances for all. Charlie is on the Board of Directors at Bolton Community Homes and Vice Chair of the Manchester Housing Partnership. Working with a wide range of partners, including the GM Housing Providers, she is a passionate campaigner for issues affecting housing, wealth and health inequality, supported housing, independent living and homelessness. Charlie is also a firm believer in building a great work environment where people can flourish with a focus on flexibility, agility and creativity.

Charlaine Nkum
Tenant, Southern Housing

Charlaine currently serves as the Vice Chair for Southern Housing’s Resident Strategy Group. She is dedicated to amplifying the voices of residents and fostering inclusive communities. In addition, she holds the position of Interim Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Workforce Lead for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, where she works to promote equitable practices within the workforce. As a passionate social housing and community advocate, she strives to empower residents by providing essential knowledge and support in areas such as welfare benefits, disability application assistance, and human rights. Her commitment to social justice drives her efforts to ensure that every resident has access to the resources and information they need to thrive. Through collaboration and advocacy, she aims to create a more inclusive and supportive environment for all members of the community.

Akash Paun
Programme Director Devolution, Institute for Government

Akash is a programme director at the Institute. He leads the Institute’s devolution programme, overseeing work on the state of the union, and devolution to Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and to English cities and regions. He has previously conducted research on subjects including civil service accountability, parliamentary reform, coalition and minority government. Akash studied politics and political economy and joined the Institute in 2008 after completing a master’s degree. He has worked at the UCL Constitution Unit, the British Academy, the London School of Economics, and as an English teacher in Prague and Paris. In May 2022 Akash was also appointed by the Welsh Government to the expert panel advising the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales.

Chris Pitt
Chief Executive and Board Member, First Direct and Shelter

Chris is responsible for the delivery of the people, customer and business outcomes. Prior to starting this role in 2020, he was the Chief Marketing Officer of HSBC UK, having spent the bulk of his career at the TSB, Marks and Spencer Financial Services and Tesco Bank in marketing or product development roles. Chris is a Fellow of the Marketing Society having previously served as the President of the Marketing Society in Scotland.

Heena Prajapat
Board Member, Platform Housing Group

Heena is a FTSE 100 CIO and digital transformation leader with over 20 years of leadership in digital transformation and innovation. Heena has worked in various industries, such as defence, aerospace, logistics and utilities and has helped deliver IT transformation at companies such as Rolls-Royce, G4S and United Utilities.

Serving as the Digital Non-Executive Director at Platform Housing Group since 2020, Heena is passionate about leveraging emerging technologies to enhance service delivery, improve operational efficiencies, and create impactful solutions for tenants and communities. Heena is dedicated to sharing her insights on innovation and digital transformation within the housing sector, aiming to inspire, influence, and deliver positive change.

Jimm Reed
Chief Executive, Leeds Community Homes

Jimm Reed is the CEO of Leeds Community Homes, Community Land Trust for Yorkshire; and Director of People Powered Homes which is an enabling service for community led housing in Yorkshire and across the UK. He has been involved with affordable housing development since 2000 as a project manager and a housing consultant and has built over 1000 affordable homes as a project lead. Jimm’s specialism is in the field of community led homes, where he has facilitated notable projects including LILAC & Chaco in Leeds and Lowfield Green in York.

Cllr Liam Robinson
Leader and Cabinet Member for Innovation, Liverpool City Council

Cllr Liam Robinson is Leader of Liverpool City Council and has been a Councillor since 2008, representing the Kensington & Fairfield ward. He became Leader in May 2023, having previously held the position of Cabinet Member for Finance, responsible for setting the Council’s budget. He is also the Liverpool City Region Cabinet Member for Innovation. His priority is to lead an administration that puts Liverpool at the heart of a mission-driven government. He is committed to making Liverpool greener, using sustainable growth to create high-quality jobs, as well as supporting citizens to make sure their hard work pays, and embracing innovation to improve Council services. He previously worked in public transport, holding management positions in the rail, bus and coach industries, including responsibility for three of Britain’s largest railway stations: Liverpool Lime Street, London Liverpool Street and Sheffield.

Steve Rotheram
Metro Mayor, Liverpool City Region

Steve served as a Liverpool City Councillor in 2002 to represent the Fazakerley ward and as Lord Mayor of Liverpool during the city’s European Capital of Culture year of 2008-2009. In 2010, Steve was elected as the Member of Parliament for the Liverpool Walton constituency. A bricklayer by trade, he’d set up his own company by the age of 22 and later went on to work in various capacities in the construction industry. In May 2017, Steve was elected to become the first ever Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region – securing 59% of the vote – on a manifesto that is ambitious, fair, green, connected and that works together. Steve represents the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority on the LEP Board and is Combined Authority lead on Policy, Reform and Resources.

Catherine Ryder
Chief Executive, PlaceShapers

Catherine previously led the Federation’s work on the Social Housing Green Paper. Catherine has also worked as Advisor to the Chief Executive at the Federation and has spent some time working on economic development and housing at Coast to Capital – a Local Enterprise Partnership in Surrey and Sussex. Before joining the Federation Catherine worked at the Audit Commission as a Strategy Manager, leading the development of assessment frameworks for local government.

Laura Seebohm
Chief Executive, Wearside Women In Need

Kanika Selvan
Non Executive Director, Incommunities

Kanika is a motivated non-executive director, with a passion to ensure that communities in the are well equipped with homes, neighbourhoods and support that builds resilience to future challenges. She is Senior Independent Director and Chair of The EDI Working Group and member of the campaigning group NED Disruptors. Kanika is Managing Director of Beetroot Consulting. Her organisation empowers clients to make decisions that unlock the benefits of technology for their organisation. She has worked across multiple sectors, from energy retail and telecoms to higher education, housing associations, social enterprises, tech start-ups and small charities. She is also a professional speaker, creating challenging thought leadership and championing diversity and inclusion on topics specifically in the areas of change management, technology, leadership, and innovation.

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.

Paul Smith
Chief Executive, Elim Housing

Paul has worked in housing for over 30 years, both supported and general needs. He has been the Chief Executive of two organisations, Housing Potential UK (the housing skills body) and the Furniture Re-use Network. He has worked at a senior level for two housing associations and prior to joining Elim was the Cabinet Member for Housing at Bristol city Council. Paul believes his priorities are excellent customer service, sustainable growth of the business and ensuring good governance informed by the views and needs of our residents. Paul has overall responsibility for the delivery of our corporate plan and the delivery of services to all our customers.

Rory Stewart
Writer and Broadcaster

Rory Stewart has had a distinguished career in politics, foreign affairs, and academia. He served as the Member of Parliament for Penrith and The Border from 2010 to 2019, representing the Conservative Party. During his time in Parliament, he held various ministerial roles, including Secretary of State for International Development in 2019, Minister of State for Prisons from 2018 to 2019, Minister of State for Africa from 2017 to 2018, and Minister of State for International Development from 2016 to 2018. He also served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Water, Forestry, Rural Affairs and Resource Management from 2015 to 2016. In addition to his ministerial roles, Rory Stewart was elected Chair of the Defence Select Committee in 2014, becoming the youngest ever Select Committee chair. He was also appointed by the Prime Minister as Flood Envoy for Cumbria and Lancashire following the devastating floods of 2015/16. Rory Stewart's political career was marked by his independent candidacy for the Mayor of London and his bid for the leadership of the Conservative Party in 2019[^i^]. He has been recognized for his contributions with numerous awards, including the Order of the British Empire.

Prof Nadia Svirydzenka
Professor of Cultural Identities, De Montfort University

Nadzeya Svirydzenka is Professor of Cultural Identities at De Montfort University. In her research, she explores issues of health and mental health within vulnerable and/or marginalised populations through culturally framed identities. As culture reflects sociocultural and economic factors underpinning power dynamics in any given society, in her research she uses emancipatory and critical research paradigms employing inclusive participatory methodologies embracing the principles of co-creation. She blends the use of creative methodology (theatre, photo elicitation, digital storytelling) with traditional mixed methods (qualitative interviews and quantitative survey methods) to elicit new stories and lived experiences and catalyse fresh thinking about possible solutions. A central theme of her research lies within the CHAMPIONS research programme, focusing on three key concerns: (i) how health and resilience can be developed in response to social challenges like poverty and homelessness; (ii) what factors mitigate the adverse effects of resource poor environments on health and mental health of children; and (iii) how they can be mobilized from within communities for effective interventions.

Gail Teasdale
Chief Executive, Broadacres

Gail Teasdale is CEO of Broadacres, a 6,500 home rural association based in North Yorkshire. She has been there for two years having previously been resources director at Accent. Broadacres’ corporate strategy focusses on affordable warmth after feedback from customers about the challenges of staying warm. The approach is where possible to adopt sustainable solutions that future proof both existing and new homes. This approach has delivered high levels of customer satisfaction. Gail has previously been a board member of two associations so appreciates the challenges board members face in making investment decisions.

Nick Walkley
Principal and UK President, Strategic Consulting, Avison Young

Nick Walkley is Principal and UK President at global real estate advisory firm Avison Young. Prior to joining Avison Young in 2021, Nick was Chief Executive of Homes England, the UK Government’s land, development, and housing investor. He led the creation and growth of the new Agency, responsible for the management/delivery of a diverse portfolio including the affordable homes programme, new towns, urban brownfield schemes, support to SMEs and infrastructure funding. He has served as Chief Executive of two London local authorities, with a focus on building high performing teams during periods of adversity and austerity, and as a seasoned leader, is passionate about fostering strong organisational culture driven by clear values. In all his roles, Nick has championed the power of urban regeneration and public-private partnership to improve peoples’ everyday lives. An advocate for the dynamism and vitality of cities, Nick is a firm believer that the best way to get to know a city is through its restaurants, bars, and record stores.

Jonathan Walters
Deputy Chief Executive, Regulator of Social Housing

Having previously been at Ernst and Young working in social housing consultancy, Jonathan has been at the Regulator since 2004. He has worked across the organisation and has extensive experience in dealing with funders, government and housing associations.

Caroline Withey
Programme Director, Warm Homes: Social Housing [Decarbonisation] Fund, Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Caroline delivered many projects across multiple government departments for over two decades, before joining BEIS/DESNZ in 2020 to work on Domestic Retrofit delivery, becoming Programme Director on SHDF (now Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund) in 2022.

Allister Young
Chief Executive, Coastline Housing

Allister originally joined Coastline as Director of Finance in 2012, before becoming CEO in 2014. After studying Physics at the University of Edinburgh he qualified as a chartered accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers in London. His previous roles include Assistant Director of Finance at the Peabody Trust, and Director of Finance & Resources at Tree Aid (an African development charity). He is a board member of PlaceShapers (a national family of placed based social housing organisations), and a member of the Cornwall Strategic Housing Group and the National Housing Federation’s Sustainability Strategy Group.