Keynote Address:

“Is There a Seat at the Table? Ethnic Minority Voices in Tenant Engagement”

Kai Jackson

Kai holds a BSc (Hons) degree in Psychology and Counselling, accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS). She has chaired a tenant scrutiny panel for over three years, leading reviews, shaping policies, handling complaints, and contributing to staff recruitment and cultural change within a housing association.

A strong advocate for tenant involvement, Kai is also a member of the National Housing Federation’s Tenants Advisory Panel and a TPAS Associate, having collaborated with CIH, Inside Housing, and other sector organisations.

She authored the TPAS national project “Is There a Seat at the Table: Ethnic Minority Voices in Tenant Engagement” and actively champions inclusive, stigma-free tenant engagement. Kai also contributes to a West Midlands think tank and a community-led housing commission.

Go for Gold: Tenant Participation Accreditation

Dolores Grady

With over 37 years of experience in the social housing sector, Dolores is a highly accomplished and results-driven professional with a strong track record in housing management, policy development, and project delivery. Her extensive career has included roles such as Older Persons Co-ordinator, Estate Officer, Community Development Co-ordinator, Area Manager, Regional Manager, and National Tenant Relations Manager — each contributing to a deep and versatile skill set in tenant engagement, risk management, and stakeholder collaboration.

Throughout her career, both in local authority settings and with Respond Housing Association, she has worked closely with tenants, consistently demonstrating a commitment to meeting diverse community needs. Adaptable and responsive to change, she continues to bring valuable insights to the sector following her retirement in January 2023.

Since then, she has remained actively involved in tenant engagement through her work as an Associate Member of Supporting Communities, contributing to their accreditation programme and supporting tenant and staff initiatives at Cabrū Housing Association. Her recent consultancy work includes supporting Circle Housing Association in the development of their tenant engagement and communication strategy and working with Clúid Housing Association’s Cost Rental Team during a key staffing transition.

Driven by a deep belief in the transformative power of secure housing, Dolores is passionate about empowering individuals and strengthening communities through meaningful tenant engagement.

Young Voices in Housing

Martin Kelly

Marty is the Senior Youth Work Manager at the NI Youth Forum. He has over 20 years of experience working across the youth sector in various settings.

He is passionate about young people’s rights, the youth voice, and addressing the needs of young people through improved mental health services and support.

He is also an advocate for education reform and the induction of mental health and well-being into the education curriculum.

Affordable Warmth & Retrofit: The innovation social housing needs right now

David Wilton

David Wilton is the Chief Executive of TPAS Cymru in Wales.

He is passionate about creating affordable warmth in homes and creating more sustainable communities.  He campaigns for a better tenant voice in housing.

He is a former Marketing Director of a Digital Agency and was Head of Digital at Legal & General PLC. 

Innovation in Tenant Participation: Participatory Budgeting

Kelly Foster 

Kelly is the Community Investment Manager for Ark Housing Association.

Kelly has been with Ark Housing for 20 years in various frontline roles within homelessness and housing management. Kelly is responsible for overseeing the delivery of the Shared Housing Programme by developing with her team the necessary components to improve community cohesion within shared housing schemes and surrounding communities.

Kelly is also responsible for delivering the Tenant Participation Strategy within Ark, an area that she has championed throughout her career in social housing. She uses her role to advocate for the voice of the tenant to be heard. 

A Social Impact Measurement Framework

Reyhana Cushnan 

Reyhana is the Strategy and Policy Lead at Respond, bringing over 25 years of experience in social housing across Ireland and the UK. She has a strong background in housing management, policy, and research, as well as strategic development and the implementation of best practice and service improvement frameworks.

Throughout her career, Reyhana has worked with a variety of general needs and specialist housing providers, delivering inclusive and tailored housing services. She has led initiatives to enhance organisational performance, implement regulatory and quality standards, and design resident involvement and scrutiny programmes, ensuring that residents’ voices are central to decision-making. Reyhana holds a BSc (Hons) in Applied Social Science (Policy Studies) and an MSc (Hons) in Housing. She is also a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Housing.

The Tenant Voice in Adaptations

Roisin O'Neill

Adaptations Working Group

Karina Murray

Karina comes from Magherafelt, and she has been a volunteer community member of Killowen Drive Residents Association since 2013. Karina has been representing Mid Ulster at Central Housing Forum (CHF) since September 2016. 
 
Karina first became involved in her local community group as a community volunteer back in 2013 while off on maternity leave, she found it provided a great way to meet new people and make a small difference in her community. Karina started attending interagency and local HCN meetings to represent her community group. This in turn led to Karina being nominated to be a representative for Magherafelt at her area HCNs, and overtime led to her being invited to sit on area level scrutiny panel and a member of the Central Housing Forum as Mid Ulster representative.
 
Karina has been relentless in her pursuit for a specific working group to review the adaptation process. She is keen to see improvements within the disabled adaptations, both for Disabled Facilities Grants and adaptations for tenants.

NIHE’s Decarb Journey – Engage Educate Empower 

Paul Isherwood

Preventing Burnout – Take time to manage your mental health

Alan McDowell

Quality in our Diversity

Marie Corr

Supporting Vulnerable Tenants to get Involved  

Eiméar O’Hagan

Including Older People with a Mental Impairment

Niamh Randall

Lesa Kelly

Lesa is the Senior Engagement Officer at Radius Housing, where she played a pivotal role in the development and delivery of Radius’s Tenant Engagement Strategy 2022–2025, ensuring that tenants’ voices are heard from the doorstep to the boardroom. She has been instrumental in creating a wide range of engagement opportunities tailored to meet the diverse needs of tenants.

Lesa helped embed tenant participation into the culture of Radius Housing, making it a shared responsibility across the organisation, where tenant engagement is everyone’s role. This commitment contributed to Radius becoming the first housing association on the island of Ireland to receive Gold Level Tenant Participation Accreditation from Supporting Communities in 2024.

Lesa is passionate about promoting good practice within the housing sector and champions the many benefits of effective tenant engagement.

Dean Kelly

Dean has been a Radius tenant for over seven years and was among the earliest tenants to be involved in their engagement process. He has served on their executive panel and taken part in numerous service improvement panels.

He also enjoys volunteering his digital skills by helping tenants in Radius’ Folds to get online.

Sarah Reidy

Elishia Mullan

Elishia Mullan is a passionate community advocate and long-standing Clanmil customer who has spent over a decade working to improve the lives of those around her.

Elishia’s dedication to her community led her to become a trusted voice within Clanmil’s customer engagement structures. She has actively contributed to multiple forums and service improvement panels, offering insight on repairs, recycling, green spaces, and communal living standards. Her practical, customer-focused feedback has helped shape more responsive and inclusive housing services.

In 2021, Elishia was elected to the Northern Ireland Housing Policy Panel, where she has proudly served for three years. As a tenant representative, she has played a key role in ensuring that the voices and experiences of social housing customers directly inform housing policy development.

Elishia also contributes to recruitment panels for senior Clanmil roles, acts as a mystery shopper to evaluate service quality, and serves as a judge for community initiatives including the Clanmil Good Neighbour Awards and Clanmil in Bloom.

Keith McCann

In 2010, Keith McCann embarked on his community involvement journey by volunteering with the Killicomaine Residents Group.

Presently, he serves as the representative for the South area on the central HCN and remains actively engaged in community initiatives alongside with Killicomaine Residents Group in Portadown.

Before delving into community work, Keith had a background in taxation, having been employed by the civil service, and also spent a period of time self-employed in outside catering.

Keith is driven by a profound passion and vision for community development, emphasising social change through the avenue of play and fostering an environment for both personal and societal transformation. His approach focuses on building upon strengths rather than dwelling on weaknesses, fostering change without judgment or condemnation.

Having joined the Portadown HCN over a decade ago, Keith expanded his involvement in September 2023 by joining the area's regional and central tiers of HCN and now represents his local NCN on the CHF.

Bobby McConnell

Carmel Grant

Karina Murray

Karina comes from Magherafelt and she has been a volunteer community member of Killowen Drive Residents Association since 2013. Karina now has been representing Mid Ulster at Central Housing Forum (CHF) since September 2016. 
 
Karina first became involved in her local community group as a community volunteer back in 2013 while off on maternity leave, she found it provided a great way to meet new people and make a small difference in her community. Karina started attending interagency and local HCN meetings to represent her community group. This in turn led to Karina being nominated to be a representative for Magherafelt at her area HCNs, and overtime led to her being invited to sit on area level scrutiny panel and a member of the Central Housing Forum as Mid Ulster representative.
 
Karina has been relentless in her pursuit for a specific working group to review the adaptation process. She is keen to see improvements within the disabled adaptations, both for Disabled Facilities Grants and adaptations for tenants.  

Patricia McQuillan

Patricia McQuillan is the first elected chair of the Housing Policy Panel (HPP) and the Tenant Advocate for Northern Ireland. The HPP is a consultative forum for the Department of Communities, comprised of tenant representatives from all the major housing associations and the Housing Executive.

Patricia also wears numerous other hats and has been involved in tenant rights for many years. She is the longstanding chair of the Rural Residents Forum and vice chair of the Central Housing Forum, both at the top tier of tenant representation for the NIHE’s Housing Community Network, the key forum for tenant and community engagement in Northern Ireland.

She also serves as the secretary of the Moneydig Rural Network, which provides social, environmental, and educational opportunities for the hamlet of Moneydig and surrounding areas. She is responsible for the now famous ‘Gig in the Dig’, a music festival that has gone from strength to strength over the years.