Safe spaces for independent living

Jayne is a qualified solicitor and an expert in corporate governance, having held the offices of Monitoring Officer and Corporate Director of Resources at Nottinghamshire County Council for many years.

She is the founder of EMLawShare and clerks a number of charitable trusts in Nottinghamshire, specialising in wellbeing and education. Jayne is also Vice Chair of Nethergate Academy, a school for children with special needs in Nottinghamshire.

She was Chair at Westmoreland Supported Housing prior to the merger and had served on the Board since 2019. Jayne is a passionate advocate for equality and was awarded Stonewall’s Ally of the Year in 2018.

She is married with two sons, one stepson and twin grandchildren.

Steve is an experienced leader and director with 30 years’ experience in business leadership and transformation across multiple sectors. He was joint Chief Executive of Westmoreland Supported Housing and BeST prior to the merger.

He has worked in the housing sector for seven years and is the founder of the Specialised Supported Housing Network, which brings together registered housing associations providing homes and services for vulnerable adults across England and Wales.

Steve is married with one daughter.

Andy worked as a specialist in the construction industry for more than 45 years. Beginning as an apprentice joiner, he progressed through the ranks to hold Managing Director and Executive positions since 2002 within the housing sector.

His expertise includes directly employed building companies, management of sub-contract labour, asset management, new build and external business growth.

Andy served on the Board at Westmoreland Supported Housing prior to the merger, where he was Vice Chair. He has also held several Board positions for housing associations and charitable organisations.

He is married with two sons and four grandchildren.

Phil worked in the social housing sector for more than 25 years, most recently as Executive Director of Finance at Great Places Housing Group, before retiring in 2024.

His achievements include numerous successful stock transfers and mergers, as well as raising more than £1 billion in funding.

Phil served on BeST’s Board prior to the merger. He now holds non-executive roles with four housing associations and is also Finance Director at his golf club.

Tom has worked in the social housing sector for more than 20 years in various roles, including management consultancy and for organisations such as the Housing Corporation, local authorities and housing associations.

He has also served as a Board Member and Chair for several associations.

Tom was Chair of BeST prior to the merger.

Susan is experienced in consumer public relations and communications. She joined the Westmoreland Board in May 2023 and now brings this focus into Portus Supported Housing, with a particular interest in strengthening the customer voice in leadership decisions.

With 25 years’ experience as a writer, researcher and editor across several sectors, Susan now works as Communications Manager for a training provider operating across many sectors, including supported housing associations, with a focus on building excellence in customer service and leadership.

Susan has a daughter with complex needs, and as her Appointee she has first-hand experience of navigating complex systems and advocating for individual needs. This personal perspective is central to her position on the Board as a customer representative. It also underpins her role as Joint Chair of the Customer Committee at Portus Supported Housing, where she is committed to strengthening and extending the customer voice across the organisation.

Cherry is a recently retired Adult Social Care and Health specialist who sat on Westmoreland Supported Housing’s Board prior to the merger.

During her 30-year career with Nottinghamshire County Council, Cherry’s roles included Quality Assurance and Market Management (in community care, residential and nursing services), Strategic Commissioning, Strategic Safeguarding, Procurement, Adult Care Financial Services, Service Development, and Programme & Project Management.

Cherry has a proven track record of delivering complex programmes of work that have resulted in innovative, safe, cost-effective and sustainable services for local communities. She is a skilled communicator who builds and sustains effective relationships to achieve improved outcomes for people who need support.

She enjoys food, travelling across the UK and Europe, and gardening. She is also working with her husband on a building project.

Matt is a chartered building surveyor with more than 25 years’ experience in construction across the public and private sectors.

Over the past 15 years, he has focused on the housing sector, supporting landlords across the country in the procurement and delivery of maintenance works. He was on the BeST Board prior to the merger.

Matt is currently Director of Operations at Procure Plus, a not-for-profit organisation established and managed by the housing sector to deliver value for its members and their communities.

Vivien is an independent senior finance and audit specialist. Having served as a senior auditor for BDO for six years, Vivien worked as Group Financial Controller, then Group Finance Director for Plus Dane until 2015, when she became an independent advisor on strategic finance, tax and accounting issues.

She acts in this capacity for multiple organisations, including for Westmoreland Supported Housing before joining its Board in 2022.    Vivien also holds multiple Non-executive and trustee positions for housing associations and schools.

She is a fellow of the ICAEW and is married with two children.