Annual Conference Housing Scotland 22
Radisson Blu Hotel Glasgow

Lesley is skilled in developing partnerships between landlords and tenants, ensuring tenants voices are strong, are heard and are taken into account in decisions.

Although Lesley has stood down her role as CEO of TPAS she will continue to work alongside TPAS as an associate as well as undertaking her own projects.

Dr McCall teaches on the CIH Accredited Housing Studies MSc/postgraduate programme at the University of Stirling teaching over 100 housing professionals throughout the UK. Vikki was part of the team that won the Sociological Review Prize for Outstanding Scholarship (2017) for work on tackling urban stigmatisation in disadvantaged communities. Dr McCall led the development of the www.asume.co.uk website, a resource for researchers as well as health and housing practitioners to access the findings of a comprehensive UK study on dementia and volunteering. McCall is an expert in co-production and also part of the team that worked with the Scottish Government to inform the development of Scotland's Volunteering Outcomes Framework. Dr McCall is member of the Social Policy Association Executive Committee and Editorial Board member of Social Policy & Society.

She is experienced in housing and community care strategic planning and operational management, as well as in health and social care strategic planning and commissioning. Lorna's passion is equality and fairness, social justice and empowering people to manage and make choices about their lives. Housing is a human right, and we should all be able to live in safe, accessible, inclusive and supportive homes and communities. achieving our full potential as active citizens.

He has also previously worked as: a Senior Researcher in the Scottish Parliament; as Deputy Manager of Pilton Community Health Project; as Director of Lothian Anti-Poverty Alliance; as a Racial Equality Officer and as an Employment and Welfare Rights Worker. He also serves on a number of Scottish Government advisory groups (e.g. Disability and Carers Benefits Expert Advisory Group and Minimum Income Guarantee Expert Group).

Prior to working at NHF Kevin worked in policy development for the homelessness charity Shelter, managed a housing options team in local government in England, and has worked in number of public affairs roles both in and around the UK Parliament.

Stephen has recently led on the Scottish Government’s Local heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies (LHEES) for 20 local authorities across Scotland, as well as research projects into deep-retrofit and decarbonisation of heat for the Scottish Government. Stephen is also a CIBSE certified Heat Networks Consultant and uses this detailed knowledge to support RSL’s to optimise existing heat networks, then plan and deliver future developments.

She has previously worked for National Energy Action Cymru, where, as a policy officer, she looked to tackle the blight of fuel poverty. She also has experience in politics having worked in the National Assembly for Wales, and in the social sector while working for Children’s Services. 

Prior to joining  Southside Housing Association, Patrick was Senior Housing Consultant with DTZ Pieda and worked on a range of consultancy assignments throughout the UK.  Patrick has held various Board positions within the voluntary housing movement and was also a board member at Homeless Network Scotland.

Tony is a qualified electrical engineer and a member of the institute of engineering and technology as well as the chartered institute of housing.

Tony’s role as national sales manager is one which involves developing strategic partnerships within the sector and overseeing the specification sales of Aico products U.K wide.

His 38-year career includes leading substance misuse services, implementing national suicide prevention strategies, pioneering overseas development programmes and conducting a diverse range research projects as an independent consultant. He has lived and worked in the Scottish Borders for 10 years and still marvels at the strengths and talents of the community he is privileged to be part of in Berwickshire. He is thrilled to work for BHA and build on its excellent track record of supporting sustainable and thriving communities.

Ian has worked across both public and private sectors at all levels to include Chief Executives, Directors and Managers. Specialising in Workplace Resilience and Applied Neuroscience, Ian brings enthusiasm, insights and practical solutions to all the clients he works with.

Ian's energetic and challenging style has established an unparalleled track record in strengthening resilience and creating high performing teams and individuals. His appetite for success and his tenacity are infectious, and that’s why clients see him as the go-to for results.

Adam previously led Nesta’s work in Scotland with a focus on digital, data and technology driven innovation for social good.

Adam joined Nesta after five years as the Head of Policy and Communications for Shelter Scotland, where he was part of both the charity's UK senior leadership team and Scottish directorate leadership team. Prior to this Adam spent several years working in a range of policy, public affairs and strategic communications roles in Scotland across the public, private and civil society sectors.

Adam is a Fellow of the RSA and is currently a Trustees for the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organizations (SCVO), a member of the Scottish Leaders Forum and also sits on the Advisory Board for the Data Driven Innovation (DDI) Initiative at the University of Edinburgh. Adam is a member of the Scottish Government's Health and Care Data Strategy working group and is an occasional guest lecturer at the University of Glasgow on the topics of politics, power and data.

Adam was part of the Steering Committee for the Scottish Government’s AI Strategy and previously sat on the Governing Committee for the Association for Scottish Public Affairs (ASPA).

Adam has three young children and spends most of his free time trying to stop them from killing each other. When he gets the chance he enjoys cooking, reading, loud music, the cinema and single malt Islay whisky.

With a passion for challenging the status quo, Tom seeks to create and maintain neighbourhoods that are modern, relevant and fit for the future.

Diana and her team are proud to be flying the flag for modular construction in partnership with Connect Modular, part of The Wee House Group. Their ground-breaking £9.8million project currently on site at Dundonald, South Ayrshire will provide 63 much needed affordable homes in the area.

Diana has extensive experience of working in the social housing sector across the United Kingdom, both operationally and strategically.   Before joining Riverside Scotland, she held director level roles in operations, customer experience and policy and performance.  She is passionate about developing customer-focused services, and building homes with innovative construction methods, enhanced sustainability and energy efficiency that meet the needs and aspirations of today’s customers.

Andrew has worked for HACT for 18 years and in housing, homelessness, supported housing, community development and wider social policy and practice for 29 years.  He is a Non-Executive Director at London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust.

 She has worked for several housing associations in London and the North East of England, most recently as Head of Community Investment at North Star Housing Group.  Previously, she worked for the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), on regeneration at an urban development corporation, as director of a consultancy specialising in community-based development and leading on social purpose and wider role at the Housing Associations Charitable Trust (HACT).

She has co-authored several publications for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the Chartered Institute of Housing, HACT, think tanks and government departments.  The most recent is ‘Acting on Localism: the role of housing associations in driving a community agenda’, published by Respublica.

She has chaired and served on a variety of boards in the housing, arts, health and charitable sectors.

She now works independently, supporting improvements in the delivery of adaptations, housing solutions & place based interventions at operational & strategic levels within local partnerships, promoting best use of Occupational Therapy & wider  staffing resources to produce better outcomes for people. She was on the steering group for the revised ‘Adaptations without Delay’ guidance, and is passionate about mainstreaming inclusive design and inclusive living. She is the Scotland rep for RCOTSS-Housing, Housing LIN Scotland Coordinator and Vice Chair of Horizon Housing Association.

Her career of 43 years has included working in Borneo, working with refugees and the homeless in London as well as time in the public sector. 

Prior to Maryhill Bryony worked at Islington Council for nine years having started as a graduate trainee. Her expertise includes: strategic planning; housing management; asset management; health and safety; business planning; external funding bids; regeneration options appraisals; resident engagement; service development and contract management. Bryony is a member of the Chartered Institute of Housing Scotland Board and was previously a Board Director at Thistle Housing Association and Hyelm Housing Association in London.

Neil is a member of Trust’s Executive Team and leads on a number of support and specialist areas for Trust including strategy, transformation, partnerships, business intelligence, technology and marketing. His main role is to support the business to continually improve and support colleagues to deliver the best possible services to customers.

From frontline housing management to strategic development and business planning, Gillian has supported numerous organisations to develop their approaches. She has extensive experience of strategy and policy review, governance support, improvement planning, customer engagement and project management. 

 Gillian has significant insight into the developing policy and regulatory framework in relation to energy efficiency and heat decarbonisation and is supporting the Scottish Government and Scottish Futures Trust with the development of the strategy to increase the use of offsite construction to deliver affordable homes.

 Gillian is chartered member of the Institute of Housing and a member of the Home Scotland Board.

The appointment is a significant one for the South of Scotland, with Dr Valenti an award-winning sustainability practitioner and serial disruptor, with extensive experience of strategic business engagement and innovation.

Dr Valenti an award-winning sustainability practitioner and serial disruptor, with extensive experience of strategic business engagement and innovation.

For over 30 years he has worked in a variety of senior management roles shaping and delivering inclusive growth initiatives and directing major collaborative projects.

He has successfully delivered high profile projects for the Scottish Government on climate change and sustainability.

Dr Valenti worked for SEPA for 17 years where he held a number of senior positions. He played an instrumental role in setting up Scotland’s 2020 Climate Group and co-created the award winning 2050 Young Leaders Climate Group. In 2018 he created the Vacant and Derelict Land taskforce to transform how Scotland deals with its post-industrial legacy to make more use of land for commerce and communities.

His most recent role was a secondment at Scottish Enterprise as Head of Climate Enterprise and strategic lead for COP 26.

He chaired the Scottish Government review of future new housing skills, serves on SE Scotland Regional Housing Board and author of the strategy document for future mass retrofit of housing recently published by Scottish Government as part of the Zero Emissions Social Housing task force (ZEST).

With business booming, Jennifer recognised an opportunity to diversify into the public sector and began undertaking large-scale affordable modular housing projects for Local Authorities and Housing Associations, now delivered under the Connect Modular brand name.

 At just 30 years old, Jennifer has previously been crowned “Young Inspiring Businesswoman of the Year” and “Young Entrepreneur of the Year”.

Lindsay is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and has a background in development management, having led some of the largest development programmes by RSLs in Dumfries and Galloway in recent years. With 16 years of experience in property and development, she will focus on delivering more affordable homes across the region, creating better homes and better lives for customers. Lindsay joined DGHP in 2020 as Development Manager and has a wealth of expertise and has previously held roles including Director of Property and Development with another housing association.

Prior to moving to the UK, Julze has worked for the Philippine government’s health and social welfare department as a public health nutritionist and has managed and coordinated the implementation of local and national health and nutrition policies and programmes such as salt iodisation, food fortification, and dietary supplementation. His talk for the SFHA Annual Conference will focus on how pantries have helped in food insecurity and the cost-of-living crisis.