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.

Claire Brown
Senior Consultant, Turner and Townsend

Claire joined Turner & Townsend in November 2022 as a Senior Consultant.

Claire has spent over 20 years working in client facing roles delivering bespoke projects and programmes involving business support and consultancy with a specific focus on business sustainability support, carbon management and sustainable development.

Claire has worked in a variety of sectors including housing, construction, research, third sector, higher education and the Public Sector. She is currently a Parent Board Director of a local Housing provider in the North West.

Claire is also the Co-chair of the North West IEMA Steering group. Supporting local IEMA events and ensuring suitable CPD sessions are provided to a wide group of IEMA members within the NW. Claire was also awarded a 100 Most Influential Women in Construction Award by The Construction Industry Training Board in 2024 in the Ally category.

Richard Barber
Data Services Manager, Arches Housing

Richard Barber is the Data Services Manager at Arches Housing, where he is responsible for systems, technology, data, business intelligence and cyber security. Since joining Arches as a placement student in 2018, he has progressed through the organisation, gaining a broad understanding of how technology and data support housing services. Richard has led Arches' cyber security improvement journey, helping move the organisation from a position of limited cyber controls towards greater cyber maturity and resilience. A key focus has been creating a cyber-aware culture, ensuring colleagues at all levels understand their role in cyber security and are engaged in the organisation's journey.

Anna Bishop
Chief Executive, Chair, South Liverpool Homes, Community Housing Partnership

Anna is CEO of South Liverpool Homes. She's an experienced social housing executive working in the sector for both large national and smaller local organisations. A champion of equality, diversity, inclusion and anti-racism, Anna is passionate about reducing inequalities, and has a track record of driving service improvements through ensuring that tenants’ feedback and experiences are heard and shape services. As chair of CHP she is working to highlight the significant contribution smaller HAs make to the lives of tenants, communities and the sector, and how by working together, smaller associations can continue to have an important role.

Tracy Blackwell
Director of Service Development, Rethink Mental Illness

Tracy Blackwell has been a senior leader in supported housing since 2006, beginning her career at Forest YMCA, where she focused on addressing youth homelessness. In 2009, she joined Refuge and played a key role in developing supported accommodation for women and children fleeing domestic abuse. In 2024, Tracy joined Rethink Mental Illness to lead the organisation’s Service Development Division to grow services and lead Rethink’s Supported Housing Pilot. Alongside this, Tracy serves as a government appointee to the Supported Housing Advisory Panel, providing expert advice and guidance on supported housing policy, legislation, implementation, and emerging sector challenges.

Dean Campbell
Customer Service Trainer, L&D Academy, L&Q Group

Gary Clarke
Director of Customers and Communities, Karibu

Gary Clark is a board-level housing executive with more than 25 years’ experience leading customer, housing, property and organisational transformation. He is currently Director of Customers and Communities at Karibu Community Homes, having previously served as a Chief Executive and held executive roles at small-to-medium-sized registered providers. Gary has led service redesign, regeneration, digital transformation, cultural change and development growth, while delivering strong regulatory outcomes. He holds qualifications from the Institute of Directors and the Chartered Institute of Marketing and brings a proven commitment to excellent services, inclusive leadership and achieving better outcomes for residents.

Sophie Clark
Customer Director, Portus Supported Housing

Sophie is a housing professional with 13 years’ experience spanning both supported housing and general needs.

She holds CIH Level 4 and Level 5 qualifications, as well as a CMI Level 7 Award in Strategic Management and Leadership Practice. Throughout her career, Sophie has specialised in delivering high-quality customer services, strengthening operational performance and ensuring customers receive the support they need to thrive. She is passionate about continuous improvement and building positive relationships with partners, colleagues and customers alike.

Outside of work, Sophie enjoys travelling, reading, eating out, attending gigs and exploring the great outdoors on walks with her partner and her dog, Jarvis.

Helen Collins
Head of Business Development, National Housing Federation

Helen joined the NHF in December 2009, holding several positions in the member relations and business development teams, and playing a pivotal role in the NHF’s member survey and strategy. Helen has over 20 years leadership and management experience, bringing together people and ideas. In her current role as Head of Business Development she has strategic oversight of the NHF’s business development activities, and works closely with colleagues, commercial partners, and stakeholders to provide value and benefits for NHF members. Helen previously worked as a practice manager of a private healthcare clinic and has been chair of a school charity since October 2020.

Jonathan Cox
Chief Data Officer, Housemark

Jonathan has over 15 years of experience providing data analysis and business support to the social housing sector. He previously worked for two large London Housing Associations before joining the Housemark data team in 2012. Jonathan has delivered a range of data consultancy projects, and recent clients include Catalyst Group, Trivallis, Solihull Community Housing, Stonewater Group and Aster Group.

Steve Cross
Technical Director, PIB Group

Steve Cross, Group Technical Director at PIB Group, first started in Commercial Insurance Broking more than 30 years ago, and has specialised in Tech, Media and Cyber risks for more than 20 years.

In the last few years Steve has been collaborating closely with STORM Guidance, the UK’s leading provider in Cyber incident response and risk management services for the insurance market, to develop low-cost tools with the capability to test and assess an organisation’s cyber posture and resilience to attack.

Tracy Cullen
Chief Executive, Croydon Churches Housing Association

Tracy Cullen is Chief Executive and a Board Member of Croydon Churches Housing Association (ccha), with over two decades’ experience in housing, asset management, resident services and organisational leadership. Chief Executive since 2011, she leads ccha with a focus on governance, service quality, resident trust and long-term sustainability. Her career began in civil engineering and construction consultancy, giving her strong technical and operational insight. Having joined ccha in 2008 and progressed through senior property and operations roles, Tracy now also leads on Health and Safety, Governance and New Business. At the conference, she brings the perspective of a smaller association leader delivering safe homes, trusted services and C1, G1 and V1 regulatory outcomes.

John Denore
Head of Small Providers and Notifications, Regulator of Social Housing

John is Head of the Small Provider team at the RSH, responsible for the regulation of all small non-profit landlords with less than 1000 units of Social Housing. His team analyse and review all regulatory returns from Small Landlords and undertake responsive engagement where required. John has a background in operational management and has worked for the RSH since 2021.

Tracey Downie
Chief Executive, Women’s Pioneer Housing

Tracey has worked in the social housing sector for over 30 years, primarily in London-based Housing Associations and with a significant commitment to housing services, resident engagement and challenging inequality. Over the last 15 years Tracey has held senior, executive and non-executive roles and is currently Chief Executive of Women’s Pioneer Housing. Chair of Ekaya Housing Association and Co-Chair of Women’s Housing Forum

Throughout her years in housing, Tracey has been an advocate for inclusivity and diversity. This has included championing the need for better services for single women seeking affordable, safe housing as well as supporting and mentoring BME and young housing professionals.

Helena Evans
Chief Executive Officer, Harrogate Neighbours

Susan Faridi
Chief Executive, Eldon Housing

Susan Faridi has over 30 years’ experience across social care and supported housing, having worked throughout her career with specialist and smaller housing associations, charitable organisations and local authorities. Her work has consistently focused on organisations delivering targeted, community‑based housing and support services, where strong governance, adaptability and close engagement with residents are essential. Susan brings extensive senior leadership experience across supported, sheltered and extra care housing, alongside a strong background in development, charity management and governance. She is currently Chief Executive of Eldon Housing Association and Chair of Hornsey Housing Trust.

Prior to this, Susan was Chief Executive of The Finchley Charities, a smaller registered provider and almshouse charity delivering sheltered housing and grant‑giving to community organisations and individuals experiencing hardship. Earlier in her career, she served as Director of Services at Stoll, a specialist military charity and housing association providing supported housing and services to veterans transitioning from the British Armed Forces. Susan has also held a number of non‑executive governance roles, including Group Board Member and Chair of the Care Board at Hill Homes, overseeing sheltered and extra care housing provision.

Chris Fawcett
Chief Executive, Eden Housing Association

Chris Fawcett is the Chief Executive of Eden Housing Association, a rural housing provider operating across the Eden Valley and North Cumbria. He has held the role since November 2022 and brings over 17 years’ experience in senior executive and non-executive leadership roles within the social housing sector. Chris leads Eden with a strong focus on tenant safety, service quality and long-term sustainability, while championing the vital role that housing associations play in supporting rural communities. Under his leadership, the organisation continues to invest in existing homes, deliver new affordable housing, and strengthen tenant engagement. He is actively involved in sector leadership and partnership working, chairing the Cumbria Housing Partnership, and works closely with local authorities and community organisations to improve housing outcomes across the region. Chris is passionate about good governance, listening to tenants, and ensuring Eden is a well-run, values-led organisation that delivers safe, high-quality homes and services for current and future residents. Chris is also Vice-Chair of the Rural Housing Alliance.

Rachael Fullwood
Chief Executive, Lincolnshire Rural Housing Partnership

With over 16 years’ experience at senior/executive level I am responsible for leading, shaping and developing the organisation, ensuring organisational effectiveness, resident satisfaction, and regulatory compliance . As a leader I need to ensure that we are adaptable to change, embrace innovations and are continuously improving our systems and our processes. We are building a collaborative culture bringing colleagues together to strengthen relationships across the organisation, ensuring colleagues feel aligned around our common purpose irrespective of our individual roles. We have developed a shared articulation of the outcomes and impacts we want to secure for our residents and communities. The culture we seek is kind and considerate, appreciating our own and others’ needs and seeking to bring out the best in each other; where we are each accountable and take ownership of what we do.

Cara Green
External Affairs Manager, National Housing Federation

Cara Green is External Affairs Manager at the National Housing Federation. With a background in communications, strategy and digital innovations, she works closely with members to drive meaningful change with a powerful mission: ensuring everyone has access to a safe, affordable home.

Lizzi Hearn
External Affairs Manager, National Housing Federation

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.

Katie Kelly
Chair, New Local

Katie Kelly is the chair of New Local, an independent think tank and network of public sector bodies with a mission to transform public services and unlock community power. She is an affiliate at Nurture Development Asset Based Community Development, an Executive Coach, Mentor and Strategic Advisor. She is the former Deputy Chief Executive with East Ayrshire Council and has recently retired following an incredible career of over 30 years in the public, health and communities’ sectors. Katie is passionate about working alongside people and communities, reducing inequalities, servant and collaborative leadership, coaching and helping to make a positive and lasting difference to people lives. Katie provides Executive coaching and leadership mentoring for colleagues from across the public and third sectors and acts a as critical friend and facilitator for leadership teams. Katie has been a member of a number of Expert Advisory Groups including the National Expert Advisory Group to The Health Foundation Independent Review of Health Inequalities in Scotland, the National Expert Advisory for the Independent Funding Review for Violence Against Women and Girls, Chair of the SOLACE National Gambling Harm Pilot Steering Group, a Commissioner of the Local News Commission and a Commissioner of Thames Freeport. Katie is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA).

Miles Lanham
Chief Executive, CHISEL Housing

Miles is CEO at CHISEL Housing who have homes across London and south-east England. CHISEL has over 70 self-build properties in the Walter Segal method in its portfolio and LGBTQ+ specific supported housing in Brighton. CHISEL is 40 years old in 2026 and is growing again through partnerships with and with plans to develop new homes. It received over £1.2 million retrofit allowance from HM Government in 2024.Miles is also a trustee at SW9 Community Housing in Stockwell, has just finished a stint on the board at Coin Street, whilst remaining on the board of HouseProud which he founded in 2014.

Jude Leighton
Director of Housing, United Saint Saviours Charity

Jude is Director of Housing and joined United Saint Saviour’s Charity November 2016 after an already extensive career in social housing, working in both Local Authority and Housing Association settings. She qualified as a Member of the Chartered Institute of Housing in 1996 and has a special interest in housing for older people. She believes passionately in providing exceptional, personal-centred services to the residents in each of United St Saviour’s Charity’s unique almshouses in Southwark. Jude is a trustee for the Leytonstone Festival and the Blair Academy, two charities which are based in Waltham Forest where she lives.

Naina Mandleker
Senior Commissioning Manager, NHF Gloucestershire

Naina Mandleker has 35 years’ experience in business development across the private, public, housing, charity and social care sectors. Over the last 15 years, she has focused on developing services for people with learning disabilities, autism, mental health needs and dementia, including bespoke accommodation tailored to individual needs. Naina provides consultancy to housing associations on the development of innovative specialised supported housing schemes, several of which have received industry awards. She has also worked for NHS Gloucestershire ICB as a Commissioner for services supporting people with Learning Disabilities and Autism, with a particular focus on hospital discharges and preventing hospital admissions

Bukky McGlynn
Chief Executive, Evolve Housing + Support

Bukky McGlynn is Chief Executive of Evolve Housing + Support, one of London’s leading providers of supported housing and homelessness services. With more than 20 years’ experience across housing, local government and the charity sector, Bukky has held senior leadership and chief executive roles in a range of organisations. Bukky is passionate about helping people experiencing homelessness gain independence and sustain it over the long term.

Steve McKinlay
Chief Executive, Tyne Housing

Steve is CEO at Tyne Housing, with 25 years experience of working with people experiencing homelessness in a variety of settings and organisations.  Tyne Housing is a specialist provider of housing to people with multiple and complex needs commissioned by local authorities and the NHS. The organisation also provides innovative programmes around harm reduction, health inequalities, learning and skills and works closely with residents to develop services. Now also a Non Executive Director at Northumbria NHS Foundation Trust, Steve is a passionate champion of health inclusion.  Before this, Steve worked on secondment as one of the Homelessness Specialist Advisers at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Within this role he was able to help local authorities implement the Homelessness Reduction Act and the Rough Sleeping Initiative, which stopped the rising trend of people sleeping rough in England in 2018.

Katie Miller
Research Lead, National Housing Federation

Katie joined the National Housing Federation as Research Lead in 2023 and has led on research primarily relating to EDI, supported housing, and welfare reform. Katie leads on the NHF’s EDI Data Tool, which enables housing associations to compare their workforce to the communities they serve, providing a starting point for conversations about representation and diversity. Prior to the NHF, Katie held research and analysis roles within the health and social care sectors. She has an MSc in Policy Research from Bristol University.

Julia Mixter
Interim Executive Director – People, Technology & Transformation, Saxon Weald

Julia Mixter is an FCIPD-qualified Executive Director with 25 years leading people, digital and transformation functions across various sectors including housing. She is currently Interim Executive Director, Strategy, Culture and Transformation at Saxon Weald, and Associate Director for the Disruptive Innovators Network, leading on Transformation and AI. At Raven Housing Trust she built a transformation function from scratch and delivered a multi-year digital transformation, reducing 60 legacy systems to six. At Anchor she led a re-design of the organisation's transformation programme including AI leadership. She combines neuroscience training with practical delivery experience to help housing organisations optimise their operating model to deliver their strategic ambition.

Christina Morgan-Danvers
Customer Excellence Manager,, Tuntum Housing

Christina has over 20 years’ experience in customer service, customer insight and complaints management, beginning her career in Customer Relations within the energy sector. She joined Tuntum Housing Association in 2021 and leads its Customer Services function, using insight and feedback to identify what matters most to residents and drive meaningful improvements across the organisation. She also ensures that residents’ voices shape services and that complaints are handled in line with the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code

Jess Mullins
Head of Member Relations, National Housing Federation

Jess has worked at the NHF since 2017. She has worked in our public affairs team and has been Head of Member relations since 2021 leading on equality, diversity and inclusion; general election work and larger housing association members. Prior to joining the NHF Jess worked in Parliament.

Alison Navarro
Race Equality Hub Programme Director, Chair, Liverpool City Region, Steve Biko Housing

Alison is passionate about creating spaces for communities to share their experiences and shape responses to the change required for them to live their best lives. She is passionate about racial justice and she has worked in a number of different settings where she has been able to lead and facilitate change in partnership with local people, the community and voluntary sector and public agencies. This includes working in regeneration in Liverpool 8 in the 1990's, Partnership Manager for a North West based local authority and operating freelance for many years, working with and supporting community development, equalities practice and partnership working. Over the years, Alison has contributed to the voluntary sector in Liverpool from being involved to WHISC, the John Moores Foundation and Sefton Women and Childrens Aid and has just recently rejoined become Chair of the board of Steve Biko Housing Association. After four years leading Community Action Sutton as CEO, Alison has recently worked with the Ubele Initiative, a Racial Justice organisation in London, and is currently facilitating the establishment of a Mental Health Alliance in Camden, as well as being a co-convener of a network focused on how we can bring about change by focusing on a Better Way of working. Alison took up her role as Programme Director for the Race Equality Hub in September 2023 and while not actively seeking a fresh challenge, was drawn to the role by the opportunity to return to her roots and contribute to racial equality and justice within the Liverpool City Region.

Steven Parfitt
Dispute Resolution Manager, Housing Ombudsman

Steven is a legally trained housing professional and dispute resolution leader with experience across frontline housing services, legal practice, and complaint resolution. He trained as a barrister before beginning his career with Victim Support, then moved into housing with Notting Hill Housing Trust, later NHG. Over the following decade, he developed significant operational and legal expertise as a senior housing officer and in-house housing lawyer. Steven joined the Housing Ombudsman Service as an Adjudicator in 2023 and became a manager in January 2026. He co-authored the Ombudsman’s guidance on Awaab’s Law, delivers training, and acts as a subject matter expert.

Kate Parsley
Resident Board Member, Ekaya Housing Association

Kate Parsley has been a resident Board member of Ekaya Housing Association for over 5 years, and has extensive experience of governance, currently holding a Trustee role at Advance, a criminal justice and domestic abuse charity and is a Governor of Stanmore College. Her recently completed MBA dissertation was on diversity on health Boards, and she is a passionate advocate for equity, effectiveness and efficiency in organisations. As a small business owner with a former career in the NHS and local authorities, Kate brings operational awareness, strategic understanding and a collaborative mindset to everything she does.  Kate brings a cross-sector governance perspective to Board-level oversight and is particularly interested in how smaller organisations balance compliance with limited resources.

Dominic Robson
Senior Associate, TLT

Dom is a key stakeholder in housing management disputes and property litigation, working closely with Registered Providers and Local Authorities. He brings a commercially focused, personable approach whilst maintaining his client’s public image for a wide variety of disputes including sensitive issues involving the most vulnerable. In particular, Dom has played a pivotal role in successfully resolving housing conditions claims, anti-social behaviour injunctions and high-profile possession cases with County Lines.

Rebecca Slack
Head of Housing Policy and Strategy, South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority

Alistair Smyth
Director of Policy and Research, National Housing Federation

Alistair has worked in the social housing sector for the last 16 years in a wide range of roles and organisations including a previous spell at the NHF from 2014 to 2017. Prior to that, he worked as a consultant on a range of neighbourhood and community empowerment projects. He also spent three years working in a customer-facing role as a Neighbourhood Manager and as Assistant Head of Neighbourhoods for Peabody. He is currently the Vice Chair of the Chartered Institute of Housing’s Policy Advisory Committee.

Deborah Stuart
Director of Operations, Supported Housing in Partnership (SHiP)

Emma Telka
Head of Asset Management, PCHA (Penge Churches Housing Association)

Emma Telka is Head of Assets & Property Services at Penge Churches Housing Association (PCHA), a small housing association where she leads on asset strategy, compliance and health & safety across the housing stock. With a background in business operations and process improvement, Emma has led PCHA's Awaab's Law Phase 2 preparation from the ground up — mapping hazard identification, triage and evidencing processes to make sure the association is ready for the statutory deadline. She's candid about the realities of getting ready for Phase 2 without a transformation team, and now runs an informal working group for others doing the same.

Chris Twomey
Chief Executive, Warrington Housing Association

Chris is a highly experienced, values-driven leader with over 20 years’ experience across housing, regeneration, customer services and health and wellbeing. He is passionate about the transformative role of housing in improving people’s lives and is committed to championing customer-centred, co-designed services that build stronger, more resilient communities. Chris brings significant expertise in governance, regulation and strategic leadership, developed through senior executive roles in local government and a 15-year career in the housing association sector. He has a strong track record of delivering impactful services and effective partnership working, with a particular interest in place-based approaches that connect housing, health and wider public services to deliver lasting social impact.