Building tomorrows comm speakers

Rachel is passionate about joining the dots in a systems thinking way, to help create genuinely affordable regenerative places that solve multiple converging crises, where people and nature coexist and thrive together. She is also very interested in rediscovering peoples' relationship to the land and what it might mean to again become indigenous within our local bioregion.

Maddy has been part of THCB for almost 2.5 years. She is interested in land justice and the solutions we can unleash when we are able to collectively address systemic barriers and co-create solutions inspired by our natural urge to connect to each other and to place.

Maddy coordinates the UK wide Urban Agriculture Consortium which brings people together to co-create the conditions for urban agroecology to thrive. She has a 16 year old daughter. For her 16th birthday Maddy set up a tiny house account for her so that when the time comes, she'll have a place to live that provides security without debt.

Tom heads up the National CLT Network and leads on its strategy and its work to mainstream the community ownership of land and affordable housing. This includes public policy and advocacy work, and building relationships with industry bodies for housing associations, developers, landowners, local authorities and community networks.

Prior to joining the Network, he worked for the Greater London Authority in housing and planning policy, and as head of office for the Green Party Group on the London Assembly. He has also worked for a sustainable construction company, and as a consultant for clients such as the All Party Parliamentary Group for Housing and Planning, World Habitat and various local authorities.

Tom heads up the National CLT Network and leads on its strategy and its work to mainstream the community ownership of land and affordable housing. This includes public policy and advocacy work, and building relationships with industry bodies for housing associations, developers, landowners, local authorities and community networks.

Prior to joining the Network, he worked for the Greater London AuthoTom heads up the National CLT Network and leads on its strategy and its work to mainstream the community ownership of land and affordable housing. This includes public policy and advocacy work, and building relationships with industry bodies for housing associations, developers, landowners, local authorities and community networks.

Prior to joining the Network, he worked for the Greater London Authority in housing and planning policy, and as head of office for the Green Party Group on the London Assembly. He has also worked for a sustainable construction company, and as a consultant for clients such as the All Party Parliamentary Group for Housing and Planning, World Habitat and various local authorities.rity in housing and planning policy, and as head of office for the Green Party Group on the London Assembly. He has also worked for a sustainable construction company, and as a consultant for clients such as the All Party Parliamentary Group for Housing and Planning, World Habitat and various local authorities.

Lindy is a passionate believer in the right to a home that is affordable and the important fundamental role a home plays in the sustainability and strength of communities. Her 30 years of housing experience has been based mainly around new homes development as well as mixed use regeneration for both local authorities, housing associations and community groups in both executive and non-executive roles including chairing a major southern based housing association as Chair of Westworks. She hates waste and reinventing the wheel and strives to maximise access to opportunities to work effectively and efficiently.

“I believe ordinary people can make things happen with and for their communities.”

Jessie is jointly responsible for the development and delivery of the festival. Her previous roles included working for a leading anti-slavery organisation, developing key stakeholder relationships and supporting organisational growth. Jessie is passionate about social justice and equality. Her work is motivated by her conviction of the value and dignity of every person. She is currently undertaking a MSt in Social Innovation at the Cambridge Judge Business School.

Bristol Community Land Trust works across the West of England to build homes and strengthen communities. Since Steve’s first job was as a youth worker in Knowle West, he has spent the last 20 years managing people, projects and organisations in a range of setting across the region. With specialisms in volunteer management and community engagement, he is passionate about helping individuals and communities to realise their potential.

Claude Hendrickson was the project Coordinator on the Frontline community self build scheme in Leeds (1996) which saw 12 unemployed African/Caribbean men build new homes for themselves and their families. He has remained a passionate advocate for BAME groups in terms of housing, self build and training/employment.

United Communities is a community-based housing association, managing over 1,800 homes in Bristol and surrounding areas. Sally oversees its affordable housing programme. A surveyor by profession, she has worked in the construction industry for over 30 years. Sally is passionate about building high-quality homes both in terms of the materials used and with the future occupants firmly in mind. This has led her to explore new methods of construction, particularly modular, for its potential to deliver a high-quality, sustainable, and rapid solution to housing delivery.

Angelique Retief works in research and policy at Black South West Network (BSWN) alongside her PhD at the University of Bristol. Her PhD research looks to understand the role of social enterprise in the provision of housing in townships in Cape Town. In her role at BSWN, Angelique has worked on a variety of research projects, the latest being an analysis of the housing needs and aspirations of BAME communities in Bristol.

Melissa works across urbanism, the arts, and public participation. Her work has ranged from creating the UK’s largest urban beach on a disused carpark in Bristol, to setting up a pop-up furniture factory for community manufacturing.

She is Director of the We Can Make, a community-led housing programme which is part of Knowle West Media Centre in Bristol. We Can Make unlocks micro-sites for affordable homes, using digital fabrication tech to localise production and build community wealth.

In her spare time, Melissa is co-convener of the Redcliffe Forum, a neighbourhood group working to reclaim a dual carriage-way for homes, nature and community space. She also sits on the No Place Left Behind Commission which is examining how policy and practice can enable regenerative development with communities.

Paul works full time for Locality, as Development Manager (South West), supporting ambitious and enterprising community-led organisations to work together to ensure their neighbourhoods thrive. He joined the United Communities HA Board in September 2015. He has over two decades of in depth experience in the arena of economic and community development and across a range of media platforms.

Christine has been chair of Marshfield Community Land Trust since it started in 2016. Previously she worked in Education for many years at Bath Spa University with a particular interest in education and inequalities. MCLT’s first project aimed to address the shortage of affordable housing in the village. Over the 52 years Christine has lived in Marshfield she has seen how housing for people with local connections has become more and more unaffordable so has been pleased to be part of MCLT and trying to make changes that benefit all members of our community.

Liz is an internationally recognised leader in sustainable wellbeing with over 20 years of experience in connecting, challenging and supporting change-makers. She has been a key part of the development of all Centre for Thriving Place’s wellbeing measurement tools and approaches. She is a globally in-demand speaker and advisor on community wellbeing and place-based approaches to measuring, understanding and improving wellbeing in all sectors.

Imani Housing Coop Ltd (52 homes) is a well established Black-led fully mutual co-operative based in Wandsworth, South West London.

Having worked in non-profit, public, and private sector settings for over 30 years, Khalid advises business, individuals, groups, and community organisations on value creation, digital transformation, marketing, talent and personal development, business innovation models as frameworks to create unique and fresh perspectives to provide practical solutions for businesses, personal and professional development, group, community, and organisational challenges.

Founder of The People's Republic of Stokes Croft (PRSC), Chris studied Economics and Philosophy at Bristol University, drove buses, sold puppets and worked variously as a market trader, wholesaler, retailer and importer, and was therefore uniquely positioned to see the impact and implications of globalisation and corporate power at first hand. Chris became involved in Stokes Croft as a part owner of Jamaica Street Art Studios in the 1990s. Realising that the area was unique in its creativity and in its deprivation, he became obsessed with retaining what is special about the area, an obsession which led to confrontation with the authorities which has in turn led to an evolving political philosophy with local community at its heart. Chris is currently involved in the newly-formed Stokes Croft Land Trust, seeking to transfer a swathe of property including the PRSC HQ into community ownership, recognising that the nature of property ownership is central to a community’s ability to determine its own destiny. The first share offer launches in late November, where the PRSC HQ will become community owned.

Bristol Student Housing Co-op is a student-led organisation working towards providing Bristol’s student population with non-exploitative housing solutions. Julian, alongside other founding members of the co-op, has worked with stakeholders at the University of Bristol and in the cooperative sector to find a viable property in which a self-owning, and hopefully self-sustaining, student community can blossom. Bristol Student Housing Co-op hope to convert, and move into, a former halls of residence in the short-to-medium term.

Sam Goss is the Founding Director of Bristol based Barefoot Architects. The practice seeks to 'design better futures together' by empowering communities and individuals to co-design affordable, sustainable homes for themselves. Within the practice, Sam has led on a range of Community Led Housing projects across the Southwest, from Falmouth, Devon, Dorset, the Isle of Wight and their home city of Bristol.