Board of management

Who are our Board?

Susan Faridi, Chair

Susan Faridi is currently the Chief Executive of Eldon Housing Association, an organisation specialising in providing extra care and sheltered housing for older people.  Susan has worked with local authorities, charitable organisations, and housing associations for over 30 years, bringing extensive leadership and operational expertise.

Before joining Eldon, Susan was the Chief Executive of The Finchley Charities, a registered housing provider and Almshouse charity offering sheltered housing and grants to individuals facing hardship, as well as community and charitable groups. Prior to that, she was the Director of Services at Stoll, a military charity and housing association supporting veterans with housing and other services as they transitioned from the British Armed Forces.

Susan has also served as a Group Board Member and Chair of the Care Board at Hill Homes, a housing association specialising in sheltered and extra care housing.

Susan’s broad experience in charity management, governance, and housing development also underscores her commitment to improving the quality of life for individuals and communities.

Hornsey Housing Trust holds a special place in Susan’s heart, as she spent seven impactful years (2003-2010) working for the Trust. Her dedication to the Trust and its mission continues to inspire her work today.

Stephen Ross

Stephen’s career working in Social Housing spans some 40 years, starting as a Housing Officer with the Greater London Council in 1969. Having completed a Housing Studies degree at Sheffield City Polytechnic Stephen obtained full membership of the Chartered Institute of Housing in 1985 when he joined Newham Council as a Neighbourhood Manager. In 1989 he took a senior role at the Peabody Trust progressing to the role of Head of Housing Management.

After leaving Peabody in 1999, Stephen took some interim senior posts before accepting a permanent post with Southern Housing Group in 2003, initially as Project Director leading the regeneration of a former Islington Council estate and, until his retirement in 2016 as Director of Asset Management.

Anne Waterhouse

Anne is Wandle Housing Association’s Chief Executive. She previously worked at the A2Dominion Housing Group, latterly as the Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Director of Central & Financial Services. She is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants with over 25 years’ finance experience and has also previously worked as a Finance Director within the housebuilding industry. Anne decided to seek a non-exec role enabling her to offer her skills and knowledge to another registered provider in her local area.

Anne’s experience in governance, risk management and assurance alongside her financial knowledge mean that she is well placed to support the Trust’s commitment to deliver good quality services to its residents, retain its local connections and provide active asset management to improve its homes.

Ian Roberts

Ian has lived in North London since 1982, moving to Muswell Hill in 1994. He recently moved again and splits his time between Crouch End and the midlands.

He studied law at Pembroke College, Cambridge, before qualifying as a solicitor in 1985. He spent his career working in the city primarily as a banking lawyer in private practice, ultimately specialising in Social Housing Finance (acting for funders) for 20 years before retiring in 2017. He has previously acted as a Non-Executive Director of a Tenant Management Organisation and of a law firm (wholly owned by a County Council) and has been a Churchwarden (and trustee) of a local church for the last 6 years up to April 2022. He is married with three grown up children and a number of grandchildren.

Dawn Matthews

Dawn is a HR & OD professional with 19 years’ experience at senior level, and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Dawn currently heads up the shared HR and Traded service at the Royal Borough of Kingston, which provides a range of central HR services to the London Borough of Sutton, Sutton Housing Partnership and a variety of schools across several Boroughs in South West London. Prior to this Dawn was a Senior Consultant and supported a range of clients in the housing and not-for-profit sectors with executive and non-executive recruitment, using her HR expertise to help influence the composition of executive teams and Boards.

Having spent most of her career in local government, Dawn is passionate about making a real difference to peoples’ lives, and genuinely appreciates that having a decent home is the lynchpin of achieving a fulfilled life. Dawn has been a Haringey resident all her life and is keen to use both her professional and lived experience to support HHT provide the best service for tenants.

Linmora Blair

Linmora is the Head of Temporary Accommodation at the London Borough of Haringey and has over 25 years' experience working in Housing. Linmora has a degree in Housing Management and Development, post graduate diploma in leadership, mentoring and coaching and a Master's in Business Administration.  She is a corporate member of CIH.

Linmora is passionate about resident involvement, promoting equality and diversity, piloting new delivery models and partnership working. She is committed to improving the standard of living for all residents. She has led purchase and repair programmes to deliver 400 private rented sector homes in east London in collaboration with Local Authorities and housing providers and Linmora has also spearheaded several initiatives aimed at reducing the number of homeless families in temporary housing.

Rebekah Ryder

Bekah is a reformed town planner who moved into research. She currently works at social housing consultancy, Altair, and before this worked for the trade body for housing associations (National Housing Federation) and charities. She completed a PhD in 2014, looking at feelings of community amongst young people living in new, mixed communities.

She’s always been interested in urban design and community engagement, particularly with children and young people, and has volunteered as a befriender for older people too. Bekah’s research focuses on housing supply, homelessness, welfare, and equality, diversity and inclusion.

In her spare time, you might formerly have seen her swimming at Park Road lido or climbing at the Castle, but she now mainly cares for her young children. She lives on the cusp of Haringey, in Bounds Green.

Matthew Bolwell

Matthew is the Finance Director for Development at Peabody.  He leads teams looking after the financial performance of a substantial development programme.  As part of Peabody’s efforts to diversify their risk exposure, Matthew also sits as a board member across 10 different Joint Venture LLPs across a wide variety of partners with differing approaches to funding.

Prior to joining Peabody in 2018, Matthew spent 7 years working in the Development Finance team at L&Q and has been a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants for over 10 years.

Jessica Bembridge

Jessica's academic foundation includes a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Surrey and she currently works for Hackney Council as a Development Project Manager, where she leads multi-million pound housing regeneration projects to create essential new council homes. Jessica has worked in the social housing sector for over a decade and has also gained experience in the private estate agency sector. Prior to her current role, Jessica made significant contributions at MTVH, a prominent g15 housing association. Her journey there encompassed a diverse range of responsibilities, including housing management, income management, available homes, disposals and acquisitions, and housing development.

Beyond her professional achievements, Jessica is a strong advocate for equality, diversity, and inclusion and she has been involved with various staff groups, dedicated to fostering diversity across all echelons of the housing sector. Jessica's involvement in this initiative reflects her steadfast belief in the power of a diverse workforce to drive innovation and progress. Jessica's passion for social housing stems from a lifelong aspiration to effect meaningful change within the housing sector. She champions the fundamental right to secure housing for all, and is committed to eradicating homelessness and bolstering support systems for vulnerable and elderly individuals with a focus on maintaining independence and enhancing the quality of life.