D Speakers

Thangam Debbonaire has been the Labour Member of Parliament for Bristol West since 2015. She has been Shadow Secretary of State for Housing since April 2020. As well as housing and homelessness, Thangam has actively campaigned in Parliament on a range of topics, including refugees’ rights, climate and environment action, school funding particularly for children with special educational needs, preventing domestic violence and a close relationship with our European neighbours.

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Andrea Dell in her role of Head of the City Office leads the coordination and delivery of the Bristol’s One City Approach. With a history of working in social housing and programme delivery Andrea is passionate about Bristol and how we can drive beneficial change for the city’s communities through breaking down silos and working in partnership.

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Previously to his current role, Simon was CEO of a homeless and refugee charity based in Bedford for eight years. The organisation gained a reputation for finding creative solutions, driving it into working with increasingly marginalised people groups. Simon has conducted research into homelessness with Cambridge University, which highlights the perspective that solving poverty is about more than houses and handouts – proposing that it is about community, relationships and belonging.

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Nigel Dyke has been a Director of Alec French Architects since 2003. He is a member of the Steering Group of the Bristol Urban Design Forum, an Academician of the Academy of Urbanism and a Board Member of LandAid SW. Interested in all forms of social housing and the benefits of good placemaking, these interests have increasingly included using the benefits of modular methods of construction to deliver sustainable communities.

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