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Anna became the United Communities finance director in July 2015 and interim chief executive in 2019. She successfully led United Communities and Solon South West through a strategic alliance in 2020 as joint chief executive and is now chief executive officer for Brighter Places.

Anna graduated from Birmingham University with a degree in history before becoming ACA qualified.

She worked at Deloitte for four years to 2010, becoming an assistant audit manager. She then spent five years at the Cabot Learning Federation, a multi-academy trust in Bristol, where she progressed through the ranks to become finance director.

With over 20 years’ success within the social housing sector, Claudia has wide skills across corporate services and frontline operations. As the transformation director for Solon and United Communities, Claudia oversaw the strategic alliance and merger between United Communities and Solon. She was appointed customer service director in May 2021.

Sally is a building surveyor by profession and has spent most of her working life in construction project management, first in the private sector in London and for the past 20 years in the public sector in Bristol.

Grant became joint finance director of United Communities and Solon South just before Brighter Places was set up in April 2021. He has many years’ experience in the housing sector, including as head of finance business partnering and head of finance investment at Bromford Housing Association and head of treasury and financial planning at Merlin Housing Association. Previously Grant worked in the financial services sector and within finance practice, delivering audit, accounts and taxation services to clients.

Dan has 15 years’ experience working in the private and housing sector in senior positions in both human resources and health and safety. Dan is degree and CIPD qualified, and holds qualifications in safety and education.

Mike is director of property safety and regeneration at Curo Group, with over 25 years’ experience in housing association regeneration, development and asset management. Prior to this he worked for in construction and consultancy. He is an incorporated member of the Chartered Institute of Building. Mike joined the previous Solon board in 2018.

Fiona joined the board in November 2020. She has worked in the housing sector for over 30 years, having started her career as a housing trainee at Bristol City Council. Fiona worked for Sovereign for 11 years, during which time she managed both generic and portfolio-holding housing teams. While at Sovereign Fiona led a range of transformation projects across the West of England and Devon. In January 2021 she became head of housing management and estates at Bristol City Council.

Michael joined the United Communities board in 2019. He is housing manager for Wales & West Housing Association and leads a team of 12 staff, with responsibility for 2,200 properties across Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan. He has designed and led his housing association’s welfare reform response and redesigned systems to improve delivery to residents. He is also a director of Cardiff and the Vale Credit Union.

LaToyah joined the United Communities board in 2019. She is an executive director of St Pauls Carnival and a non executive director of Ujima Radio. LaToyah has worked for over 15 years on homelessness support and management for St Mungo’s and other organisations. She is a Clore Fellow and has run her own consultancy for organisation and staff development, capacity and resilience for charities and local authorities.

Sarah joined the board in 2019. She has a broad range of NED experience including the Bristol Clinical Commissioning Group, local charity One25 and ACVCO. Up to 2017 Sarah was chief executive of Above & Beyond, the NHS charity for University Hospitals’ NHS Foundation Trust. She runs her own strategic and governance consultancy, providing advice, solutions and mentoring for executive teams and boards of charities and charitable foundations.

Anna joined the board in 2022.  She joined United Communities as finance director in 2015 and became interim chief executive in 2019.  Anna successfully led United Communities and Solon South West through their merger in 2021 and is now chief executive of Brighter Places.  Anna graduated from Birmingham University with a degree in history before becoming ACA qualified.  She worked at Deloitte for four years to 2010.

Harry joined the board as a non-executive director in September 2022 and was appointed chair in November 2022.  He is an independent management consultant who, for over 30 years, has helped organisations to understand customer needs, get clear about long-term strategy and deliver change through people.  He is also a board trustee of Southern Brooks, a charity which helps communities to connect, support each other and thrive.  For nine years, Harry was a non-executive director of Bristol Credit Union and chair of the board for seven of those years.

Ben has broad house building experience, including managing and, planning, technical and commercial teams for several leading housebuilders and property companies in the South West over the last two and a half decades.

He project managed the award-winning Zero Carbon project at Hanham Hall, Bristol for Barratt Homes, in partnership with Homes England (HE). Ben also led the development relationship with HE at Locking Parklands, Weston Super Mare for St. Modwen Developments. Ben was instrumental in driving the quality of development and sense of place delivered at Locking, as well as pioneering the Community Interest Company (CIC) with stakeholders.

Ben is now the Development Director (South) for The Guinness Partnerships an organisation that shares his passion for creating great places to live, work and play.

Gillian Durden joined the Board in September 2022.  She has worked in social housing for over 35 years from London Borough of Barnet, to Bath City Council and Bristol City Council.  Gillian has held roles as housing officer, housing manager and service manager; leading organisational change for better repairs services.  Her last role was head of planned maintenance leading on asset strategies for compliance, property and estate improvements and carbon retrofit projects.  In her retirement she remains committed to social housing and the communities of Bristol.

Mark joined the board in September 2022 as non-executive director and chair of the audit & risk committee. Mark is a chartered accountant with over 30 years of experience working at board level in executive and non-executive roles in both the private and public sectors.  Between 2010 and 2021 he worked in a public sector leadership role in the Bristol area as chief financial officer and then as chief executive officer in the Office of the Police & Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset.

Mark is a graduate of Bristol University and Cranfield Business School.  His experience includes strategic leadership, mentoring, strategic financial planning, treasury management, raising investment funding, risk management and governance.