As a not for profit organisation, Seaside Homes has no shareholders and is controlled by a Board of 9 Trustees; 3 members are recruited from the local business community, 3 are council tenants and 3 are elected members of Brighton & Hove City Council.
Roy previously worked in the health service and local government and is the chair of a residents’ association and member of the council’s Sheltered Housing Action Group. Roy is also a member of the HMCC (Housing Management Consultative Committee).
Susannah is an independent business consultant specialising in helping organisations grow to reach their potential. She has spent the last ten years of her career supporting organisations with social missions around environmental performance. In 2010 Susannah was responsible for launching a property fund focussing on refurbishing commercial properties to environmental standards, she brings to Seaside knowledge of property funds and growing and financing social organisation. Susannah spent her early career in banking roles in Asia, USA and Europe but left banking to pursue a career in the environmental sector, first in waste and recycling and subsequently in clean energy, because she was interested in how waste resources could be reused and recycled to produce new products and energy. Susannah has a degree in Economics and European Study from the University of Exeter and the Universidad de Valladolid, Spain.
Chris was a member of the Chartered Institute of Housing (South East Board) for many years and is still its lead on International housing matters. He has arranged many housing study visits, starting off with a visit to France some 24 years ago. The programme has included the USA, Canada, South Africa, Hong Kong and a number of our neighbours on the European mainland. He also assisted in organising the CIH’s Annual Regional Conference held in Brighton. Chris’s most recent venture was to organise and run a housing staff exchange with colleagues from South Africa .The CIH intend to maintain our strong links with Sub – Saharan Africa and with organisations elsewhere. All bar three years of his working life has been centred in public/ private housing. Chris worked for several Local Authorities and housing partnership developers in the South East before joining Calford Seaden, a leading property services consultancy, in 2004 where he led on New Business and New Initiatives. Chris announced his retirement from April 2013 and then spent a year working for the RUND Partnership as their Business Development Consultant. Chris has now retired but still retains his strong interest and commitment to the social housing sector. He will also be keen to continue to support both Sussex CCC and Brighton and Hove Albion. Chris lives nearby in Mid Sussex.
After a career with the British Council, working mainly overseas in the fields of cultural relations and educational aid, Kevin was first elected to Brighton and Hove City Council in 1999. For the following four years he represented the former Marine ward. From 2003 until 2011 Kevin represented Preston Park. Throughout these twelve years he was involved in both housing strategy and housing management, serving also as Chair of the East Area Panel and later as Chair of the Central Area Panel. Re-elected in May 2015, again for Preston Park, Kevin is the spokesperson on the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and also sits on the Licensing Committee. In addition he represents the council on the East Sussex Pensions Board and chairs the Brighton and Hove Music Trust. Having joined the board of the Brighton Open Market Community Interest Company in July, he became Chair in September. Music is Kevin’s no. 1 passion. An active pianist, he also plays the lute. In addition he is a linguist who likes reading literature in the original, particularly German and Russian.
David is a community worker and housing campaigner and has lived in Brighton for 19 years. David spent 13 years as a council tenant in East London and has worked for 25 years in council housing departments. He has also been a consultant in a social enterprise delivering training for tenants on community development and housing finance. He is passionate about decent homes for all and has set up national campaigns which succeeded in changing the law to halt the privatisation of council housing and to secure more resources. Most recently he started a Living Rent Campaign to push for fair rent and more secure tenancies in private rented housing.
Mary is a successful local business woman and former leader of Brighton & Hove City Council. She was first elected to Brighton Council in 1992 and subsequently Brighton & Hove City Council following local government re-organisation in 1997. Mary has many years of housing experience having served on the Housing Committee at various times as member, Chair and Opposition Spokesperson. She was elected as leader of the council in 2008 and served in this capacity until 2011.
Mary is very active in her local community, chairing the Brighton & Hove branch of the Royal British Legion and the Rottingdean/Saltdean Local Action Team, as well as serving as a trustee for the Paley Trust and the Valley Social Centre.
Mbye spent many years as a teacher and metal work instructor before later joining UN (ILO) sponsored rural vocational training programme as an instructor trainer. His passion for vocational training remains and he has been a governor of City College Brighton & Hove for the past 11 years. Mbye took early retirement in 2009, having spent almost 10 years as an advocate for victims of racial harassment with the Community Safety Team at Brighton & Hove City Council. Over the years he has served on many local committees and is currently a member of Brighton & Hove Council Asset Management Panel as well as a Panel representative on the Repairs, Refurbishment & Improvement Strategic Partnership-Core-Group. He is also a member of BUNCH (Building new council homes), a resident assessor and a committee member of his resident association. Through his involvement with the Asset Management Panel, Mbye has acquired a wealth of knowledge in many areas of housing. He has recently been appointed as Chairman of the newly created Tenancy Scrutiny Panel of Brighton & Hove.
Viv is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Founder Member of the Institute of Leadership and Development. She is a successful local businesswoman with a track record of success in leadership and improvement of local authority services. Her background in local authority management, as Assistant Director means she has significant experience of managing both people and services. Until recently Viv was a Trustee of Southdown Housing Association. Previously, whilst still based in London, was also a Trustee with responsibility for HR for BHAN, a pan London voluntary organisation providing services to Black People with HIV and AIDS. Viv was brought onto the BHAN Board following serious fraud and embezzlement by the Chair and his partner, to help the organisation to recover from this and to put in robust governance systems. Currently Treasurer for BLAGSS – a sporting network for lesbians and gay men in Brighton and Sussex.