Welcome to WISH North East

I’m Head of Innovation and Marketing for Thirteen Group, my role is to lead Thirteen in its drive for innovation to ensure new products are developed that meet customer demands and to enhance and promote Thirteen. It’s an exciting role where no 2 days are the same and I can honestly say I love my job. I’ve spent my career working in social housing from working as a generic housing officer, to anti-social behaviour, through to setting up bespoke housing services for customers that need a little more support to live independently. My passions from a work perspective are developing new services, developing people and providing great customer experiences. I’m an accredited Customer Experience professional (CCXP) and an accredited coach. Learning is another of my passions! I’m excited to be part of WISH, promoting the housing sector as a career of choice and, as a mum of 2 girls (and 2 sons), I feel I’m duty bound to make sure the world of work is one that welcomes them, embraces their talents and encourages them to be the best they can. Lots of people ‘fell’ into housing, I know I did, it was never discussed as a career, and platforms like WISH are a brilliant way to show how working in social housing, having a rewarding role that makes a real difference in communities, is achievable and a career path of choice.

Crystal is Assistant Director of Customer Service at Your Homes Newcastle and has extensive experience in customer experience, leading large, complex teams and projects to deliver customer excellence.

Her career started in arts, culture and tourism where she has held senior positions in some of the UK’s largest attractions and venues. She moved into housing in 2014, working in development and business growth roles. She has a specialism in homelessness prevention and partnership management and prior to her role at YHN was Director of Development at Oasis Community Housing. She has an MA in Management, specialising in the Equality Agenda and CIH, CIPD and CIM professional qualifications.

Crystal has a passion for using her skills and experience to benefit others, serving as Vice Chair on the Charted Institute of Housing board and as a Director for Society Matters CiC in Gateshead. She is also a professional mentor through the IofF mentoring programme.

Kelly is Project Manager (Domestic Abuse) at Morgan Sindall Property Services and co-authored the book ‘Housing and Domestic Abuse’.  

Kelly co-founded the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance (DAHA). Kelly's housing experience includes roles in housing management, asylum, policy and research. She also spent time at Northumbria Police project managing a Home Office funded multi force project (Domestic Abuse A Whole Systems Approach - DAWSA) to improve the Police response to domestic abuse and oversee research into the provision of a national response to perpetrators of domestic abuse.

She has a Masters in Housing Policy / Management. Her PhD (Durham University) researched the role of housing in a co-ordinated community response to domestic abuse and included the largest UK questionnaire to housing providers on domestic abuse. She was named 24 Housing's ‘Housing Professional of the Year’ 2018 for her work and research on housing and domestic abuse and was named in the top 20 women leaders in Housing in 2020.

Kelly is a trustee of the Alice Ruggles Trust, an Honorary Fellow at Durham University and a Steering Group member of the Centre for Research into Violence and Abuse (CriVA).

After leaving college at the age of 17 I quickly found myself working in the housing sector, 7 years later down the line and I’ve never looked back.  As a Customer Experience Insight Analyst for Beyond Housing, this has enabled me to gain a deep understanding of the challenges faced by our customers and how those expectations align with current goals and operational metrics.

I have managed to grow my analytical skills, develop my interpersonal abilities and massively improve my innovation capabilities. This has allowed me to craft myself into a driven woman with a high aptitude for movements like WISH NE that aim to change communities for the better. One of the most captivating factors about WISH NE was its focus on promoting diversity and fairness within the working sector, this is something I am strongly passionate about.

I am excited to join WISH as  I am passionate about working in the Housing Sector, empowering women and making a difference in people’s lives

Caroline has over 30 years' experience working in the Public Sector, including 15 years working at an Executive Level. She is passionate about customer service and making a difference and she has worked with a variety of partners across her career including working in an advisory capacity to the government and other bodies. She has managed a range of complex services and a number of new and innovative service offers have been developed under her leadership, many of which are award winning with tangible outcomes.

She has experience of managing significant resources in challenging environments across a range of agendas. She has also led on a number of significant key corporate agendas.

Her previous employer describes her as ‘a consistent top quartile performer, demonstrating passionate, energised leadership, a role model for others and a force for positive change. She brings a different dynamic, challenges the norm and encourages a greater focus on cultural and values alignment, outcomes monitoring and social impact. Her strengths are many, she has an extraordinary belief in people and their ability to achieve their potential. A supportive leader, well networked who enjoys challenges and variety’.

Caroline is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing and in 2014 she was awarded an MBE for services to business in the North East of England.

In 2016 after being made redundant she set up Caroline L Gitsham Consulting Ltd. It exists to encourage, challenge and inspire people and organisations to enhance their contribution for customers, communities and society.

Services:

Facilitating Business Strategy & Planning Events

Innovation, Change & Transformation

Business Research & Insight

Enabling Business Improvement & Excellence

Policy Review & Development

Responsible Business Practices

Impact & Performance

Customer Strategy

Leadership & Culture

Employee & Stakeholder Engagement

Relationship Building and Influence

Service Review & Development

Areas of experience:

Housing Management, Anti-Social Behaviour, Regeneration, Health & Wellbeing, Care & Support, Work & Learning, Financial Inclusion, Volunteering, Domestic Abuse, Safeguarding, Community Engagement & Empowerment.

She has thoroughly enjoyed this experience and found herself working across the Region and beyond working with a number of Charities, Housing Associations and the Private Sector.

She is  a Member of the North East Chamber of Commerce.

She is on the North East Board for the School for Social Entrepreneurs.

In April 2017 she joined South Tees Clinical Commissioning Group as a Lay Member. She is the Vice Chair of the Governing Body, Chair of the Primary Care Commissioning Committee, Chair of the Patient Participation Advisory Group and Vice Chair of the Governance & Risk Committee.

She has recently joined the Governing Body of the Pupil Referral Unit in Sunderland.

She is actively involved with Poverty StopLight which aims to eradicate poverty and am working with Transmit Social Enterprises across the Region piloting this model.

She also supports Project Gambia which is an amazing local organisation and she is part of an informal network of women who actively do something about period poverty in Sunderland.

Agendas that she is particularly bothered about are: Tenant and staff engagement, innovation, technology, service delivery, poverty, domestic abuse and equity.

I’ve been working in the social housing sector for over 8 years with a focus on Financial Inclusion & Employability. I am actively involved in the HDN Mentoring scheme and have held numerous non-executive director Board roles for local and regional organisations such as Credit Unions, Community Partnerships and CICs. I am passionate about empowering women and ensuring real equality in the workplace. I love working within social housing; finding the sector dynamic, innovative and caring that has so much potential for even greater things.

I am absolutely delighted to join the WISH NE Board and am looking forward to working alongside some of the region’s most inspiring and talented leaders.  I started my career in social housing north of the border at a specialist housing provider before moving to the local authority where I most definitely learnt the trade covering every aspect of housing management!

I then returned to university in Edinburgh to complete my Post-Graduate Diploma followed by a Masters qualification.  As part of the course I undertook a placement with one of the NE region’s largest housing association’s and I stayed there for the next 13 years.  I held various roles from Estate Manager at a neighbourhood level to Housing Manager with a regional remit as well as leading on the government Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder initiative in the West End of Newcastle.  

After taking time out of my career to raise a family, I returned to what I know best at the end of 2019 as Chief Operating Officer for a national specialist supported housing provider.  Whilst some things have changed in that time, the opportunities and challenges remain the same and I am excited to be involved in influencing and shaping the future of our sector.

Absolutely over the moon to join the Board of WISH NE

Having left college and stumbling in to the housing sector at the grand old age of 20 I’ve never looked back.  I’ve spent 21 years working within social Housing mostly within Supported Housing Services. I’m currently Supported Housing Manager at North Star, I’ve been in this role with North Star for a little over 5 years.  The role is so diverse that no two days are the same. I work across a vast range of client groups, enabling me to have a deep understanding of the challenges faced by our customers. Within North Star I am the corporate lead on our commitment to the CIH make a stand pledge and a member of the organisational inclusion group.

 I’m proud to work for such an innovative organisation who encourage high levels of creativity and invest heavily in communities.

I’m keen to be a part of WISH NE board as I’m passionate about promoting equality in the work place, promoting the sector and promoting the work we do within supported housing services.  I look forward to growing my networks and sharing my experience with others.

I've been working in housing for about seven years and I am currently the Director of Marketing for Invisible Creations - a pioneering new business founded by housing associations which specialises in creating inclusively designed home adaptations. Through the National Housing Federation's 'Housing Futures' programme I was involved in creating the idea for Invisible Creations and I then worked alongside several housing associations to turn our idea into a reality. In 2019,  we won the Outstanding Innovation Award in the Foundations National Healthy Housing Awards. 

I'm really passionate about equality and empowering women, and I love the incredible sense of social purpose the housing sector has. 

I am also on the North East Board for the Chartered Institute of Housing, and I was in the top 10 24housing Young Leaders in 2019 and shortlisted for the Housing Heroes CIH Rising Star Award in 2018. 

Stephanie has recently joined Livin as Sustainability Manager to lead on their approach to decarbonisation and environmental sustainability. She was previously Regional Manager for the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH).

Stephanie has a strong background in Social Housing having worked in the sector for the past 17 years. Previously Stephanie worked at Gentoo as Strategic Customer Services Manager and Policy Analyst amongst a variety of other roles in different business area’s including frontline housing management, business strategy and planning and environmental sustainability.

She is not only experienced but also knowledgeable having studied housing at college and university and achieved Chartered status with the CIH.

Stephanie wanted to join WISH board as she is passionate about not only the work the sector undertakes to improve the lives of those living in our communities but also to improve the offer for women working in social housing. Stephanie says “for me having a strong network of peers and inspirational people is what has helped me throughout my career. I hope that WISH NE can deliver something new and different for those working in the region and enable women (and men) to support one another, offer successful and meaningful networking opportunities and host unique events to help with career progression”.

As a learning and development consultant, Judith is able to communicate effectively with all stakeholders and understands the challenges faced by all three sectors.

She previously held senior roles with Northumbria Police, and was the Force lead on Gender issues establishing the Northumbria Police Gender Support Association and was a representative on the National Superintendents Association Equality and Diversity Committee.

Judith now serves as Board Chair of Believe, she is the group’s first Chair since its establishment in 2015, and also sits on its Remuneration and Nominations Committee.

Judith has a wealth of housing experience, having also spent eight years as an independent member on Your Homes Newcastle’s (YHN) and Leazes Homes’ Boards, including time as Vice Chair at YHN.

She strongly believes that social housing is not simply providing a house; its aim is to develop services that turn an individual’s or family’s house into a home.

Charlotte McMurchie is a Partner with the regional commercial law firm Muckle LLP and has been working with the registered provider sector for the majority of her 20+ years in practice. Her specialism is contentious property and she assists many RPs both local and national with their operational issues concerning tenants and their homes. Charlotte hosts Muckle’s quarterly Housing Matters event where networking, legal and practical updates and best practice are shared with housing professionals.

I’m thrilled to be part of the WISH NE Board. I’ve recently taken on the role of External Affairs Manager (North East) for the National Housing Federation (NHF) – so I’m getting to know the North East and all the great work being delivered by Housing Associations in the area.

My role at the NHF involves me promoting the work of housing associations in the region and their pivotal roles as community anchors. I also ensure that the social housing needs of the region are reflected in national housing policy work acting as a key link between NE Housing Associations and the NHF nationally.

I’ve worked in housing for over 25 years, across a number of sectors. I started my career in the voluntary sector setting up a homeless project in Bolton, of which I was hugely proud of and demonstrated the need for support to help vulnerable people maintain their tenancies and live independently. I then went on to manage the Strategic Housing and Homelessness functions at a Local Authority for 10 years, leading on the development and delivery of housing needs and demands studies and housing strategies locally and in partnership with neighbouring Local Authorities.

Prior to joining the NHF I was Head of Supported Housing for a housing association in South Yorkshire/Derbyshire delivering housing and support to some of society’s most vulnerable groups including ex-offenders, young people, care leavers and people affected by mental health, substance misuse and domestic abuse.

I’ve received a really warm welcome form housing colleagues in the North East and I’m looking forward to building valuable networks with other women in the sector through WISH NE.