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.

Dr Fiona Holland
Senior lecturer in psychology, Derby University

Jayne Cornes
Customer experience manager, whg

Michelle Hallmark
Behavioural scientist and managing director, Creative Bridge

Oliver Mooney
Head of Category, Fusion21

Oliver has worked in the wider construction and built environment sector for over 15 years. Originally from a construction project management background, he has spent the past 9 years working in public procurement.

In his current role he leads a team focussed on the procurement of capital works contracts across a range of sectors, scale and complexity. Oliver is responsible for the development and implementation of Fusion21's framework products and ensuring that services meet the needs of members and supply chains.

He has been a chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) since 2018 and is currently completing a Masters in Public Procurement Law and Policy.

Sandy Livingstone
Executive Director of Property, Onward Homes

Sandy is the Executive Director of Property for Onward Homes, a developing housing association that owns and manages 35,000 homes across the North West. Sandy is responsible for the delivery of Onward’s development programme of 5,000 new homes by 2030, a £100m retrofit programme addressing some of Onward’s least energy-efficient properties, maintenance, and its strategic approach to asset management.

Jon Daley
Head of ESG, G2M Group

Matthew Scott
Policy Officer, Chartered Institute of Housing

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.

Nicki Clarke
Head of Housing, Standing Together Against Domestic Violence

Nicki is the Head of Housing at Standing Together Against Domestic Abuse, leading the Housing team to ensure that survivors of domestic abuse 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 around this area. 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.

"The Housing Community Summit is an event that really delivers for housing providers, offering a wide range of subject matter from engaging and interesting speakers. It is fantastic to be part of helping to shape this!"

Sonny Cook
associate partner, Baily Garner

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.

Karen Halford
Chief people officer, Places for People

Jacque Allen
Chief executive officer, Your Housing Group

Oona Goldsworthy
Chief Executive, Brunelcare

Oona became Chief Executive of Brunelcare, a Bristol based housing association providing homes and care, in late 2109. She was previously the CEO of United Communities housing association where she remained at the helm for 16 years, growing the organisation from its inception to become one of the leading providers of affordable homes in the City. Oona is a Board member of the National Care Forum, Care and Support West and Trustee of Second Step housing association. She is also Co-Chair of the Bristol Homes and Communities Board.

Julie Robinson
Executive director, Greatwell Homes

Paul Smith
Director, Foundations

With over 30 years’ experience in housing, Paul works with local authorities, housing associations and central government to improve how home adaptations are delivered. He was part of the independent review of DFGs in 2018 and co-authored the national guidance published in 2022.

Paul leads several national initiatives to improve delivery and standards across the sector—including the Trusted Assessor programme, the DFG Quality Mark, and the Home Adaptations Installer Network.

He brings a practical, person-centred approach to system design, focused on speeding up delivery, reducing complexity, and supporting people to live well at home.

Laura Wood
Group Lead for PR and Communications, North Star

Mark Lawrence
Communications Manager, Housing Ombudsman Service

Mark Lawrence has worked in social housing for over 10 years and is the Communications Manager at the Housing Ombudsman, with responsibility for external publications, reports and sharing learning across the sector. Mark was previously Editor at 24housing magazine and also Senior Content Editor at HQN.

Jeffery Joseph
Head of social value UK, Bouyges Construction

John Wallace
Director of Procurement, Clarion Housing Group

John began his career in the brewing industry becoming a qualified Master Brewer. Having spent 10 years in brewing production, John moved onto various brewing procurement roles prior to spending 2 years in the food sector working for one of the country’s leading chilled food producers. In 2006, he joined the NHS being involved in the growth and development of two regional procurement organisations before moving to Housing with senior procurement roles at Anchor, MTVH and now Clarion Housing Group.

Faith Abudu
Founder and director, Diversity and Inclusion in Construction

Jan Taranczuk
Independent Consultant, National Social Housing Fire Strategy Group

Stewart Davison
Founder and Vice Chair, Elehan Consulting and Elim Housing

Stewart has had a diverse career including nearly 10 years in the British Army. Stewart has worked in the field of Social Housing and Proptech for over 25 years and is passionate about how technology can be a force for positive change, having worked in both front line social housing and for technology companies he strives to inform, educate and implement new technologies to improve the lives of tenants and residents across the UK.

Debansu Das
Business Development Director, ZED Pods

Mark London
Senior partner, Devonshires

Naz Ahmend
Deputy Director of Strategy, Poplar HARCA

Scott Bache
Product manager, HouseMark

Sam Lister
Policy and Practice Officer, Chartered Institute of Housing

Natalie Tate
Project Lead for Talking About Homes, Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Natalie supports communicators in the housing sector to frame their communications so they build public understanding of why our homes matter. Natalie leads on the Talking about Homes project, which is co-funded by the Nationwide Foundation and Joseph Rowntree Foundation. She has over 20 years’ experience working in housing communications, across internal and external communications, policy and campaigns.

Anthea Chilton
Sector Development Lead, Housing Ombudsman Service

Anthea Chilton is a Sector Learning and Development Lead at the Housing Ombudsman Service. Anthea is part of the Quality, Engagement and Development (QED) department and the team delivering the Housing Ombudsman Service’ Centre for Learning (CfL). The CfL provides landlords with access to a wide variety of learning resources to enhance their complaints management and drive a positive complaint handling culture.

Bronagh D'Arcy
Chief operating officer, Tuath Housing

Caroline Moloney
National director, Chartered Institute of Housing

Jez Sweetland
Project Director, Housing Festival and Bristol City Council

Jez has initiated and managed strategic development in a variety of settings. His previous positions include CEO of Guildhall Barrister’s Chambers, and CEO of a charitable national skills training organisation. He founded the Bristol Housing Festival in 2018 and believes collaboration is the key to lasting social development. Jez lives in Bristol with his wife, Joanna and his three children.

David Ball
Co-founder, Cornerstone Place

David is co-Founder of Cornerstone Place, a Social Enterprise property development consultancy working with councils and charities to help fix the UKs broken housing system. David has over 20 years experience in property development and investment as well as having his own version of lived experience of homelessness supporting his late father who spent time on the streets. Cornerstone Place exclusively delivers Impact First Social Housing which puts the assets in the hands of the impact makers for long-term societal benefit.

Diane Carney
Director of Property, Gentoo Group

Nigel Finney
Chair, CIH Professional Standards Committee and Board Member, Watmos Community Homes and Grŵp Cynefin

Akshita Lakhiwal
Net Zero Engagement, TPAS Cymru

As Net Zero Engagement Officer at TPAS Cymru, Akshita drives sustainable transformation in the housing sector. Drawing on her broadcast journalism background, she combines creative storytelling with strategic communication to promote net zero initiatives. Akshita is an expert in community engagement and innovation, focusing on creating meaningful impact through effective communication strategies that inspire sustainable action and positive change.

Stephen Welton
Chair, British Business Bank

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.

“I am delighted to be asked again to be on the Advisory Panel for the Housing Community Summit. The inaugural event was a huge success demonstrating the passion, commitment and dedication that is out there in our sector and the amazing work we do when we all come together. 2024 set the bar high, I cant wait to see what we can put together for 2025.”

Dee Kanco-Hammond
Head of risk, governance and reporting, St Mungos

Damaris Kanco-Hammond is a governance expert with extensive experience in tenant participation, regulatory compliance, and successful governance in the social housing sector.

Dr. Mercy Denedo
Associate Professor in Accounting, Durham University Business School

Dr. Mercy Denedo is an Associate Professor of Accounting at Durham University Business School. Her research focuses on social and environmental issues from a critical perspective. She has researched stigma in social housing, explored the intersectionality of stigma and its impact on the quality of life and the life chances of those living in social housing. In collaboration with the Stop Social Housing Stigma Campaign, Professor Amanze Ejiogu from Sheffield Hallam University, The Chartered Institute of Housing, TPAS, and YDC Consultants, have developed the Tackling the Stigma Journey Planner. This framework aims to assist housing providers in tackling the stigma in social housing.

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.

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.

Hazel Edwards
Head of Customer Voice and Value, The Wrekin Housing Group

John Milner
Specialist consultant, Baily Garner

Kevin Morgan
Tenant and chair of the service, performance, and customer experience committee, Wrekin Housing Group

Nick Griffiths
Programme Manager (Leasehold Management), Leicester City Council

Jonathan Tan
Chief executive and founder, Greater Change

Trina Chakravarti
Director & member lead, Building Better & Healthy Homes Hub

Trina co-founded Building Better with four housing association colleagues during the National Housing Federation's Greenhouse programme in 2018. Building Better has since grown to become an alliance of 30 social housing providers committed to delivering the highest quality housing through MMC with aggregation and collaboration at its heart. Over 1,500 units have been assessed for viability under the Category 1 / modular framework and Category 2 / panelised DPS.

Jenny Danson
Chief executive, Healthy Homes Hub

With over 30 years of leadership experience, Jenny has held prominent roles including CEO, COO, Executive Director, and Programme Manager.

Jenny Danson’s impressive career spans various sectors, working with giants like BAA plc, Boots Opticians, Lovell, Ilke Homes, Kier, and Fortem, as well as numerous Councils and Housing Associations. Her strategic and operational prowess has consistently driven growth and innovation in every organisation she’s touched.

In 2017, Jenny founded Danery to provide executive coaching and consultancy to the housing sector and tech start-ups. Her passion for property innovation led to the launch of the Proptech Innovation Network in 2021, a groundbreaking initiative in social housing. Jenny has worked with and supported over 130 housing associations, local authorities and combined authorities over the last 20 years. Now, with the establishment of Healthy Homes Hub in 2024, Jenny aims to create a collaborative platform to promote healthier, more sustainable living environments. With her extensive expertise and industry connections, Jenny is set to make Healthy Homes Hub a beacon of change in social housing.

Chris Fleck
Chief technology & product officer, Mobysoft

Adam Knight-Markiegi
Director of Housing Evaluation, Verian

Michael Verrier
Vice-Chair, G15 Resident Group, G15

Rachael Williamson
Director of Policy, Communications and External Affairs, Chartered Institute of Housing

Rachael Williamson interim Director of Policy, Communications and External Affairs at the Chartered Institute of Housing, where she’s worked since 2021. Prior to this she worked for the civil service for over 10 years in a number of government departments (Ministry of Housing, Cabinet Office, Defra), as well as for Citizens Advice.

Megan Hinch
Senior Policy Officer, Chartered Institute of Housing

Megan is a senior policy officer at the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), where she leads CIH’s work on supply, planning and finance policy. Megan holds a Masters degree in Global Public Policy, and has completed the CIH Level 4 Qualification in Housing. Megan has previously worked at a housing association, largely focusing on operational and strategy work in asset and housing management.

Nic Bliss
Campaign Director, Stop Social Housing Stigma Campaign

Nic Bliss recently became the Campaign Director for the Stop Social Housing Stigma campaign. A former tenant of a Registered Provider housing co-op in Birmingham, Nic retired from the Confederation of Co-operative Housing after nearly 30 years. He has led various national tenant organisation projects working with Government and others, including helping to shape the post Grenfell Ministerial roadshows, the National Tenant Voice programmes and research reports into the business benefits of tenant involvement and other tenant related matters. Nic has worked with numerous tenants and landlords across the country.

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

Jacque Allen
Chief Executive, Your Housing Group

Jacque’s 30-year housing sector career commenced as a Housing Assistant, then Housing Officer through to senior roles of Executive Director and now CEO of Your Housing Group. Jacque joined YHG in 2020 as Chief Operating Officer and was appointed CEO in August 2022. Jacque is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Housing, initially trained in homelessness and studied Strategic Leadership with the Chartered Institute of Management. Jacque has been directly involved in lots of change, none more important than ensuring inclusivity continues to be woven into the DNA of everything we do.

Ed Greig
Chief disruptor, Deloitte Digital

Rev James Olanipekun

Reverend James Olanipekun has lived in Poplar since 1991. He has been a member of Tower Hamlets Council’s overview and scrutiny committee; Chair of London Borough of Tower Hamlets’ Safer Neighbourhood Board (Mile End Ward); is a trustee of Tower Hamlets Street Pastors, Raine’s Foundation Trust, and Christ Apostolic Church.

He is also the immediate past vice-chair of Poplar housing and regeneration community association board in East London and is the current chair of one of the estate boards in Poplar Harca stock. Reverend James Olanipekun was a pioneer member of the Housing and Diversity Network London Region steering board.

Reverend James Olanipekun is a trained teacher, author of six published books on Christian topics. He has been a volunteer Pastor for over twenty years for a diverse congregation and was a recipient of the 2015 LBTH Civic Award for Outstanding Services to the community. Reverend James Olanipekun is happily married to Jummy and blessed with children who are also involved in the community positively.