Supported Housing Conference

Julienne is Professor Emerita of Nursing: Care for Older People at City, University of London, with Visiting Professorships at University of Hertfordshire and Ulster University.  Since retirement in 2019, in addition to her on-going research commitments, Julienne has worked as an Associate of the Kings Fund co-leading the ‘Care Home, Housing, Health and Social Care: Learning Network’ and, together with Rt Hon Paul Burstow and Sir David Pearson CBE, she co-chaired the ‘SCIE Commission on the Role of Housing on the Future of Care and Support’. She is a Non-Executive Director for Elizabeth Finn Homes Ltd and Trustee for My Home Life Charity and The Whiteley Homes Trust. In April 2023, she was appointed by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Department of Health and Social Care as Chair to the Older People’s Housing Taskforce.

Drawing on her skills as a former registered nurse and qualified teacher, she uses collaborative approaches to bring about whole systems change and reflect on the lessons learnt from attempts to improve practice.  Her style of working is evidence-based, relationship-centred, appreciative, and action-oriented.

She has enjoyed working in a variety of different settings (health and social care; general and mental health; primary, secondary, and tertiary care) and across a number of traditional boundaries (public and private; policy and practice; research and education).  Best known for her work with care homes, she was one of the co-founders of My Home Life (MHL), a collaborative initiative to promote quality of life for those who live, die, visit and work in care homes for older people.  The success of My Home Life can be seen through its spread across the UK, Australia and Germany. In 2020, she created a registered charity to help support the work of My Home Life partners (www.myhomelifecharity.org.uk).

Her expertise in aged care has long been recognized internationally. She was Vice Chair of the Global Ageing Network (international network of leaders in ageing services, housing, research, technology and design) and has held Adjunct Professorships in Australia (University of South Australia, Griffiths University, Federation University Australia) and America (University of Wisconsin-Madison).

In 2015, Julienne was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the Queen’s New Year honours for contribution to Nursing and Care for Older People and was named by the University of London as one of their 150 leading women (1868-2018).

Carolyn is Director of Lending at Charity Bank. She joined Charity Bank in 2005 having previously worked for a European Bank in the city, where she established and managed their social housing loan book, growing it to over £1bn. Carolyn is a trustee of two Almshouses and a Director of Almshouse Consortium Ltd. She is Chair of Postcode Lottery Innovation Trust as well Maidstone Grammar School for Girls Development Trust.

Dave is an experienced leader, having worked in care and support services for 15 years in organisations’ across the country. After starting out as a Support Worker for St Mungo’s in London, Dave has worked in a variety of roles, including on innovative projects such as the pilots for No Second Night Out and the European Ending Homelessness Campaign.

Dave is passionate about service improvement and delivering quality services for customers and has led projects to further embed positive psychological approaches throughout care and support at Riverside.

In his current role as Assistant Director of Operations Dave is responsible for all of Riverside’s supported housing, floating support and retirement living services nationally, including those for young people and those experiencing homelessness. Dave has been a trustee for a learning disabilities charity and now sits on the boards of Whitehaven Foyer and Church Homeless Charity.

Joanne is Director of Housing and Regeneration at LB Enfield and co-chair of the London Housing Directors Network. She has worked in housing across the UK for central, regional, and local government, for housing associations and a national social justice charity driving transformation and the delivery of better outcomes for people, places, and the planet. At Enfield she leads a large-scale housing, business and employment led regeneration agenda. Place keeping for the borough and the levelling up of the three wards of Edmonton which has multiple disadvantages. Enfield is also co-lead Borough for the London Council’s pan London Climate Change programme for warmer and greener homes through housing retrofit.

Ashley has over 30 years’ experience in social housing; much of it spent tackling homelessness and housing need. He is currently Chief Executive of Commonweal Housing – an independent charity working in partnership with front line experts and organisations to investigate, pilot and champion housing-based solutions to a wide range of different forms of social injustice.

Ashley spent three years as the Head of the Government’s Bed & Breakfast Unit from 2001-2004, and is the former Chief Executive of the campaigning charity the Empty Homes Agency, where he was described by a Minister at the time as “a thorn in the side of government”. Since commissioning University of Birmingham and Spring Housing’s ground-breaking report Exempt from Responsibility into exempt accommodation in 2019, Ashley has utilised Commonweal’s position as a non-vested interest and honest broker to shine a light on the injustices that have emerged in the sector and has played a key role in engaging with Government and pressuring it to commit to reform.

Mark has dedicated over 30 years to the homeless and supported housing sector. He was actively involved from the onset of the Rough Sleepers crisis in London in the early 1990s. Throughout his career, Mark has worked with various housing organisations and served as the Deputy CEO of St Mungo’s for a decade. During his tenure, he initiated the Real Lettings initiative, a social lettings agency aimed at securing homes for vulnerably housed and homeless individuals in the private sector.

Currently, Action Homeless manages over 250 units of supported housing, catering to a range of needs, including a Housing First Scheme and a Rough Sleeper Service. Mark also serves on Homeless Link’s National Advisory Committee and is a member of the Management Board for the Leicester Homelessness Charter.

John has over 30 years of experience working in the social housing sector. John became chief executive of Golden Lane Housing in 2018, having worked for the national learning disability and autism housing association since 2000.

John is also Chair of the Learning Disability and Autism Housing Network, a coalition of 28 housing associations who have a shared vision to provide, develop, and promote quality homes and housing services.  He is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing and the Royal Society of Arts, and an alumnus of Warwick Business School.

Christine has over 19 years of experience in the mental health field. She currently leads the Mental Health Liaison Team at Sovereign Network Group Formerly Network Homes, where the team provides vital support to tenants facing mental health challenges. Throughout her career, Christine has worked in international (World Vison International) and voluntary organisations, gaining a deep understanding of the complex issues faced by marginalised individuals in our communities.

Combining her knowledge in Community Mental Health with a BSc in Community Development and Public Policy, Christine has a unique perspective on the needs of individuals living with mental health conditions, especially those who are marginalised.

At Sovereign Network Group, Christine and her team focus on supporting tenants with enduring mental health issues, ensuring they can maintain their tenancies and connections to the community. Through their tailored assistance, resources, and advocacy, they have positively impacted the lives of vulnerable tenants. Christine is also actively involved in raising awareness and reducing stigma associated with mental health. Her unwavering dedication, extensive experience, and comprehensive approach continue to make a profound difference in the lives of tenants affected by mental health issues.

Christine has actively participated as a speaker at key Housing events, including the Social Housing Tenant Engagement event in 2022, the National Housing Summit 2023 in Manchester, the National Housing Federation 2023 in Birmingham, and Housing 2024 in Manchester Central. Beyond her professional commitments, Christine volunteers as a school governor.

Hannah Oyewole is a speaker, author and entrepreneur. She has over 9 years experience in the non profit sector specifically relating to young women and girls. She is the founder and CEO of Young Ladies Club, a charity organisation which aims to raise aspirations in disadvantaged young women and girls to achieve their education and career potential by providing mentoring, confidence building activities and career workshops from positive role models. The charity also specialises in preventing and ending violence against black and minoritised women through the VAWG prevention programme.

Hannah Oyewole’s core areas of expertise spans across the following areas; entrepreneurship, education, youth development, diversity and
integration.

Hannah brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from her time as a graduate recruiter and sales and marketing coordinator within the education sector. In addition to this her leadership skills has enabled her to work on multiple government projects and grace a number of stages both in the UK and internationally speaking on issues relating to gender inequality and young women and girls in STEM.

Sam Pratt is the Policy and Communications Lead for Shared Health Foundation. Shared Health is a clinically led, evidence based not-for-profit based in Oldham, Greater Manchester and whose aim is to reduce the impact of poverty on health. Shared Health is the leading voice for child homelessness and experts in health inequalities.

Julienne is Professor Emerita of Nursing: Care for Older People at City, University of London, with Visiting Professorships at University of Hertfordshire and Ulster University.  Since retirement in 2019, in addition to her on-going research commitments, Julienne has worked as an Associate of the Kings Fund co-leading the ‘Care Home, Housing, Health and Social Care: Learning Network’ and, together with Rt Hon Paul Burstow and Sir David Pearson CBE, she co-chaired the ‘SCIE Commission on the Role of Housing on the Future of Care and Support’. She is a Non-Executive Director for Elizabeth Finn Homes Ltd and Trustee for My Home Life Charity and The Whiteley Homes Trust. In April 2023, she was appointed by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Department of Health and Social Care as Chair to the Older People’s Housing Taskforce.

Drawing on her skills as a former registered nurse and qualified teacher, she uses collaborative approaches to bring about whole systems change and reflect on the lessons learnt from attempts to improve practice.  Her style of working is evidence-based, relationship-centred, appreciative, and action-oriented.

She has enjoyed working in a variety of different settings (health and social care; general and mental health; primary, secondary, and tertiary care) and across a number of traditional boundaries (public and private; policy and practice; research and education).  Best known for her work with care homes, she was one of the co-founders of My Home Life (MHL), a collaborative initiative to promote quality of life for those who live, die, visit and work in care homes for older people.  The success of My Home Life can be seen through its spread across the UK, Australia and Germany. In 2020, she created a registered charity to help support the work of My Home Life partners (www.myhomelifecharity.org.uk).

Her expertise in aged care has long been recognized internationally. She was Vice Chair of the Global Ageing Network (international network of leaders in ageing services, housing, research, technology and design) and has held Adjunct Professorships in Australia (University of South Australia, Griffiths University, Federation University Australia) and America (University of Wisconsin-Madison).

In 2015, Julienne was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the Queen’s New Year honours for contribution to Nursing and Care for Older People and was named by the University of London as one of their 150 leading women (1868-2018).