Board - Barnsbury Housing Association

Barnsbury Housing Association is an Industrial and Provident Society with charitable status whose activities are the responsibility of a Board of Management elected by the shareholders. The Board has legal responsibility for the affairs of the Association.

Board of Management

Jill Pittaway, Chairman	Jill Pittaway, Chairman - A long-time resident in Islington I am proud to be chairman of a small Islington-focussed Housing Association, which seeks to combine maintaining its existing estate to a high standard while seeking to provide more accommodation through development opportunities in the borough.
Sabrina Aaronovitch	Sabrina Aaronovitch - My interest stems from the contact I had with the Barnsbury Housing during the time I worked in Islington's Planning Department as an Access Officer. Barnsbury’s first housing units adapted for wheelchair users were a gift to the new millennium and the start of an ongoing programme to meet the housing needs of disabled people. This was a rare initiative, and I was pleased to be invited to join the Board when I retired and continue to support the Association's work. I have lived in Hackney for many years. I love cycling, and help run a cycling club for disabled people in Finsbury Park. I'm also a beekeeper and amateur photographer. Quite a lot of my time is taken up with my three grandchildren, who all live close by.
Steve Baxter	Steve Baxter - Steve joined the Board in 1998. He was a former surveyor at Prudential and his involvement with BHA stemmed through his connection with law firm Lovells who have provided long standing support to BHA. He chairs the Maintenance Committee which is responsible to the Board for the proper execution of both routine maintenance and major works such as the window replacement program.
Steve Beard	Steve Beard - Steve joined the Board in 2006 and is chair of the Development Committee. He has thirteen years experience in housing, finance and development, and his current work involves providing development and finance consultancy services to social housing providers as a partner at Pod LLP. Steve now specialises in developing customised financial appraisal tools. In the past he has provided interim project management services for a range of clients in the social housing sector. He has also held posts with a local authority and with a number of housing associations. He has a postgraduate diploma in quantity surveying. Steve’s other interests include writing his own music and long distance running.
John Crone	John Crone - John joined the Board in 2002. He is one of the Association’s two Vice-chairmen. He also chairs of the Community Development committee. John’s particular interests are disability issues affecting tenants and promoting the Association’s involvement in the local community. He has also been directly involved in overseeing implementation of recommendations from an independent staffing review carried out in 2007. John has lived in Islington for much of the past 25 years. He has worked as an Information Officer for the London Borough of Islington and has also held posts in a number of voluntary organisations in Islington, including Age Concern, Islington Volunteer Bureau and Disability Action in Islington, for whom he has carried out disability training. John is very fond of biscuits.
Des Kirkpatrick	Des Kirkpatrick - A member of the Board since 2004. Des is an Islington resident. He chairs the Finance Committee which oversees financial controls and financial reporting. Des is a qualified accountant who since 2004 has been Head of Internal Audit at Network Housing Group, a group of Housing Associations based in North West London which owns and manages circa 19,000 properties.
Geoff Lewis	Geoff Lewis, Secretary - Geoff Has been involved in one way or another since January 1975 when he became a tenant in Pugin Court. He became Secretary of the thriving Tenants Association until he was elected to become a tenant Board Member in 1976. He remained a Board Member until he became BHA General Manager in 1980. He has worked for BHA ever since and is now our Chief Executive and Secretary to the Board.
Ron Lord,	Ron Lord, Tenant Board Member - Ron joined the Board in the summer of 2005, following election as a tenant board member. His involvement with BHA goes back to the late 1960s, and he worked for the association for over 25 years as Repairs and Maintenance Officer until his retirement in 2000. He has also lived on the main BHA estate since 1975. Ron is a member of both the finance and maintenenace and the community development committees. He takes a keen interest in many aspects of the association’s work, particularly those that have a direct impact on tenants. He is committed to ensuring that the association retains a distinctive identity, whilst at the same time implementing improvements that will improve the lives of the people living on the estate.
Martin Richards	Martin Richards - Martin has been a board member since 1999 and is one of two vice-chairmen. He also sits on the Development Committee. Martin is a solicitor specialising in property litigation, which he practised in Islington for many years before moving to his current location in Borough. He lives on the border of south-east London and rural Kent.
Awaiting Photo	Karl Phillips - Karl joined the Board in 2009 and also sits on the Development Committee. He has 14 years experience working in the social housing development sector and has worked for a wide range of organisations including developing RSL's, supported housing RSL's, LSVT's and local authorities. Karl provides development consultancy services to social housing providers through his own company and has experience of a diverse range of projects including working on several large mixed use, multi tenure new build projects and large scale estate transfer refurbishment schemes. He advises clients on construction project management, new business, strategic and staff management issues. Outside of work Karl enjoys watching and playing football and learning Spanish, he has travelled widely and spent time in Greece as a teacher and travelled extensively in South America.
Jeanne O’Farrell	Jeanne O’Farrell (Member since 2000)
Julie Kettle	Julie Kettle, Honorary President - I’ve been a BHA tenant since 1971. In the mid 1970s I was working for Barnsbury during the time that the Barnsbury Mews estate was opened. I went on to work as a teacher, mostly in Hackney, and was also involved as a Housing Advisor there for newly qualified teachers.In 1983 I was asked to join the Board. I am currently the Hon. President after serving on the Board for a long time. I love living in Barnsbury and we have a real community. People I've known for years have become good friends, too. It is good that BHA is still a small Housing Association and I would hate it to be gobbled up by one of the big ones! We've a lot of characters around here and long may it stay that way.
Ivanka Zubic	Ivanka Zubic, Tenant Board Member - I was delighted to have been elected to the Board by the fellow tenants in 2009. I believe that there is always room for improvement and that fresh ideas and insight combined with the traditional wisdom and experience can make a great deal of difference to the provision of services to tenants. In the wider context, I am glad for the opportunity to get involved in the management of the Housing Association which makes a great contribution to both, provision of decent and affordable homes, and strengthening of community spirit among its residents. I have been BHA's tenant for the last 13 years. That gives me valuable first-hand experience which I am guided by at Board level. I am a solicitor by profession, and I thus also bring my legal training and knowledge to the Board.