Melissa Neill, Consultant

Melissa specialises in communications, public relations, marketing and consultation for both large and small organisations. She can help your organisation build its business by enhancing its reputation.

Melissa has over 12 years experience in public relations and consultation in public sector and private companies. With a track record of devising and implementing cost effective communications and consultation, Melissa is ideally placed to build the reputation and raise the profile of your organisation.

Ita Cooke, Consultant

Ita has over twenty years experience in the housing and voluntary sectors - up to director level with the Housing Corporation. She is MBA qualified, with strong analytical and diagnostic skills and is an expert in organisational governance and corporate performance management. She has thirteen years experience of carrying out in-depth assessments of the corporate business and governance functions of housing organisations including large national housing groups. She has also been carrying out regulatory rescues - assisting associations to develop strategies to address problems, providing an independent assessment and opinion of performance and giving advice and guidance on regulatory requirements.

Sheree Russell, Consultant

Sheree Russell is an experienced trainer. She is a tenant board member of a large housing group of housing associations and is an audit commission inspector.

Jeanette McGarry, Consultant

Jeanette is an experienced Chief Executive and Director and Chair of Local Strategic Partnership in local government with a strong record of delivering sustainable organisational change particularly within Environmental Services. Experienced in outsourcing and procurement service redesign generating significant savings and major improvements in service delivery including town centre regeneration, sustainable improvement, securing private sector investment and major retail/housing development. She identified £13m additional income, and service improvements as part of a bid to run environmental and regulatory services on behalf of a London Borough and housing services; a £2.4m housing maintenance overcharge/fraud as well as secured delivery of a Decent Homes programme; and a £400m PFI housing initiatives. She introduced a corporate cultural transformation programme, embedding performance management , planning for inspections , service improvement and greater corporate pace and energy. Jeanette has experience of working in the private, public and third sectors. She has led most services within local government including the Fire Service. She trained as a Chartered Accountant, was elected to the S. East Regional TUC where she campaigned for jobs during the 1980s and served as SOLACE Board member for 8 years.

Tony Lightfoot, Consultant

Based in Lincolnshire Tony has been Chief Executive of two charitable Housing Associations, the last (Boston Mayflower) a Large Scale Voluntary Transfer achieved a two star rating from the Audit Commission .

He is currently a the Chair of the Board of another LSVT owning 10,000 homes and has a wealth of experience as a Board Member and trustee of several public and voluntary organisations He is a trainer and consultant with Board Development Agency.

Lawrence Stewart, Consultant

London based Lawrence is a qualified housing and finance professional. His professional career spans almost 30 years with the later period being at senior executive level. Lawrence has held the positions of Chief Executive Officer and Chief Finance Officer within regulated social landlords.
Lawrence has also been employed by the social housing regulator for several years as a regulation analyst where he undertook many varied reviews. His wealth of experience has stood him in good stead in facilitating problem solving and producing robust improvement plans. Lawrence has served on housing association boards and has chaired Audit and Risk Committees. Currently he is the Chair of a sixth form college and has overseen a root and branch change process.

Lynda Hance , Consultant

Lynda has a DMS and Cert CIH . She worked for a number of years in local authority housing management, and progressed to a senior position. She changed direction into freelance training and consultancy in 1997, where she uses her extensive housing experience and skills in planning and running both ongoing and one-off training courses and projects. most fifteen years experience.Lynda is a qualified trainer - City & Guilds 7307. She designs and delivers training on a wide range of subjects, keeping up to date with current housing issues including governance, leasehold, resident involvement and housing management generally. Her style is informative, informal and lively, with a focus on how law and theory can be put into practice in the workplace. Lynda is committed to the social housing sector: she is a board member, and commits her time and expertise to support the work of the Chartered Institute of Housing, London Branch.

Dr Alice Pearce Consultant

Alice Pearce has worked in Housing Associations in a number of positions the most recent being Governance and Marketing Team Leader. She has been involved during the Housing Corporation to TSA transition and as such sees the challenges it presents to Housing Associations. She has managed policy review programs and has herself reviewed complaints policy and procedures. The review included best practice, policy, procedures, terms of reference for the stage three panel, lessons learnt and data analysis. She is focused on the outcomes for tenants and having worked on the frontline she realises the importance of making the whole process practical for the staff involved.

Previous to social housing Alice worked in scientific research and brings the research skills of problem solving, logical thought, data handling and a thorough approach to her governance and business improvement work. She has experience with regulatory returns, data analysis (and getting the most from that data), self assessment, policy and procedure review and guiding tenant participation and scrutiny.