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Housing association chief executives named in New Year Honours list
Two housing association bosses have been named in the 2021 New Year Honours list.
Paul Hackett, chief executive of 45,000-home Optivo, has become a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to social housing.
Mr Hackett said he was “truly humbled”, and that the award “is a recognition of the hard work of many staff and residents who’ve helped Optivo become the organisation it is today”.
Monica Barnes, chair of Optivo’s Resident Strategy Group, was listed as a Member of the British Empire (MBE), also for services to social housing.
Ms Barnes, who was born in Jamaica and came to the UK with her aunt in 1954 as part of the Windrush generation after the early death of her mother, said her own experiences “have helped me fully appreciate the importance of good housing for people’s emotional, social and physical well-being”.
She added: “As an involved resident, you don’t give up hours of your time to be recognised – you do it because you want to make a difference.”
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Ryan Kelley, chief executive of Whitmore Vale Housing Association, which provides accommodation and care to adults with learning disabilities, was awarded an MBE for services to social care in Surrey.
Building safety campaigner Sam Webb was given an MBE for services to architecture for his work over the last five decades trying to improve safety for residents in high-rise blocks. Mr Webb began campaigning in the 1960s after the devastating fire at Ronan Point and has continued to call for improvements to regulation around building safety ever since. He also advised the legal teams for the bereaved and survivors of the Lakanal House fire in 2009.
Charlie Chapple, head of social housing redress at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, was recognised as an Officer of the British Empire for services to housing and homeless people.
MBEs were handed to Nigel Mellor, chair of Emmaus Merseyside, for services to the homeless and disadvantaged in the area, and Thomas Wood, founder of Help 4 Homeless Veterans, for charitable services during COVID-19.
Nadeem Sadiq Khan, housing advisor at housing charity Shelter, was given a British Empire Medal (BEM) for his work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite being stranded in Pakistan, Mr Khan continued to provide housing advice to people nearly 5,000 miles away through the charity’s webchat service. A BEM is awarded for a ‘hands-on’ service to the local community.
Caroline Collender, a homeless outreach worker in south London for the Department for Work and Pensions, and Florence Hand, health and well-being manager at the Northern Health and Social Care Trust, also received MBEs for services to homeless people.
Architect Sir David Chipperfield was named a Companion of Honour – a title given to a maximum of 65 people – while Joanna da Silva, founder of Arup International Development, received a damehood.
A total of 1,239 people were named in the 2021 list.
