Shaping Homes, Communities and Futures
Wednesday 25th March 2026 ● The Europa Hotel, Belfast
an agendaNi event
an agendaNi event
The 2026 Northern Ireland Housing Conference took place on Wednesday 25th March at The Europa Hotel, Belfast. Over 120 delegates attended the event, which featured a high-level panel of local and visiting speakers. The event looked at how we can provide safe, affordable housing and deliver services that create thriving communities.
Delegates in attendance heard from speakers, both visiting and local, from organisations including the Department for Communities; Northern Ireland Housing Executive; Scottish Federation of Housing Associations; Simon Community and Radius Housing.
To stay up to date with next year’s event please email info@agendani.com
Chris Alexander is the Chief Executive of Triangle Housing. Chris joined the Association in 1991 having previously worked in social housing development in England. He took overall management responsibility for the work carried out by Triangle Housing Association as its Chief Executive Officer in 2007. Triangle provides over 1400 units of accommodation and a range of support, care and employment services throughout Northern Ireland, employing nearly 500 people. It is a main provider of accommodation and support services to facilitate resettlement of individuals from hospital and institutional environments to the community.
Professor Paddy Gray OBE is Professor Emeritus of Housing at Ulster University. He has over 300 publications in housing. In 2010 he was appointed the first and only Irish President of the Chartered Institute of Housing. He is a regular media commentator on housing related issues. He is currently Chair of the Wheatley Foundation. In Ireland he is Chair of Tuath Housing Association and iCare Housing, Dublin. In 2017 he was appointed to the Board of the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) in Ireland and Chairs its Research Committee. He is a former Chair and currently a board member of Connswater Belfast, and is on the boards of First Housing and Support Services, and Advice Northwest Derry as well as Safeagent Cheltenham. In 2012 he was awarded an honorary Fellowship of RICS. In 2015 he won the UK national award for Outstanding Contribution to Work Experience. In 2016 he hosted the European Network for Housing Research (ENHR) annual conference in Belfast, the first time it had come to NI. In 2017 he was named the top power player in housing in the UK and in 2019 was awarded an OBE for services to housing. In 2021 he was appointed to the Housing Commission in Ireland.
Dorinnia Carville is Comptroller and Auditor General at the Northern Ireland Audit Office. As C&AG, Dorinnia is responsible for auditing NI’s central government departments and agencies, as well as non-departmental and health & social care bodies. She also publishes a range of reports based on independent and objective studies by her Office. These include a 2024 report on Homelessness, examining changing demands on services and the impact on Housing Executive expenditure. Dorinnia is a Chartered Accountant. Starting her career in private practice, she has worked in the NI public sector for over 20 years, including leadership roles in the NIAO and Newry, Mourne and Down District Council. She has also held voluntary board member roles in the C&V sector.
Stephanie Elliot is Head of Operations - Smart Housing at the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA). She leads initiatives that position housing at the heart of Scotland’s digital health and care strategy. With 15 years’ experience in private care and public health, Stephanie is passionate about using technology to bridge Housing, Health, and Social Care to improve access to information, reduce pressure on frontline services, and empower citizens to manage their own health data. SFHA represents housing associations and co-operatives, driving innovation and policy for stronger communities across Scotland.
Jennifer Hawthorne was appointed the Director of Housing Services at the Northern Ireland Housing Executive in April 2022. She is responsible for a division with 1,500 staff and manages 83,000 Housing Executive homes across Northern Ireland. She is also responsible for the management of all homelessness services in NI. Since joining the Housing Executive in 1978, Jennifer has worked in a number of roles throughout her career in the Housing Executive, including Regional Manager for Belfast, Public Relations Manager for Belfast and operational manager for the Shankill area. Jennifer also headed up the Community Cohesion division in the Housing Executive for 10 years, with major accomplishments including the development of shared housing, re-imaging and peace wall barrier removal programmes. In 2015, Jennifer was awarded an OBE for her work on the successful transformation of post conflict communities
Lesa Kelly is the Senior Engagement Officer at Radius Housing. Lesa played a pivotal role in the development and delivery of Radius’s Tenant Engagement Strategy 2022–2025, ensuring that tenants’ voices are heard from the doorstep to the boardroom. She has been instrumental in creating a wide range of engagement opportunities tailored to meet the diverse needs of tenants. She has helped to embed Tenant Participation into the culture of Radius Housing, making it a shared responsibility across the organisation that Tenant Engagement is everyone’s role. This commitment contributed to Radius becoming the first housing association on the island of Ireland to receive Gold Level Tenant Participation Accreditation from Supporting Communities in 2024 and winning the Beyond Housing category at the CIH All Ireland Housing Awards 2025. Lesa recently was Highly Commended at the All Ireland Engagement Awards for Excellence in Tenant Engagement by Supporting Communities. Lesa is passionate about promoting good practice within the housing sector and champions the many benefits of effective tenant engagement.
Grainia Long is the Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. Previously, Grainia was the Commissioner for Resilience for the city of Belfast, and co-Chaired the Belfast Climate Commission. Grainia was also the Chief Executive of the national child protection charity in the Republic of Ireland, ISPCC Childline. This position followed several years working in housing, including as Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), and previously National Director of the CIH in Northern Ireland. She has served two terms as a member of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, was a member of the Lyons Commission on Housing Supply and Advisor to the Best Commission on the Future of Housing in Northern Ireland.
Gordon Lyons MLA was appointed as the Minister for Communities on 3 February 2024. Minister Lyons has been an MLA for East Antrim since 2015. He has previously served as a Junior Minister in 2020, the DAERA Minister during the temporary stepping down of Edwin Poots from the role and Minister for the Economy from 2021 to 2022.
Donna Matthewson is Executive Director of Housing and Communities at Apex Housing Association. Donna began her housing career over 25 years ago as a front-line housing officer and joined Apex in 2019, having previously worked with Glasgow Housing Association, the Wheatley Housing Group and the Scottish Housing Regulator. Donna’s main responsibilities at Apex are to ensure the effective and efficient delivery of housing management, including rent arrears, anti-social behaviour, void management and tenant engagement and related services to tenants, residents and stakeholders; and the delivery of community investment initiatives to make a real difference to people’s lives. Passionate about making a difference to tenants’ lives, Donna consistently puts tenants at the centre of all decision making in relation to service delivery.
Kate McCauley is the Chief Executive at Housing Rights, Northern Ireland’s leading specialist housing advice charity. Kate has been CEO since February 2023, having previously worked in other senior roles in the charity since 2015. Kate has been involved in housing and homelessness since 2009, working in charities which focus on improving outcomes for communities who are most vulnerable to poor housing and homelessness. She has also served as a Director on a number of Boards in the sector. Kate holds postgraduate qualifications in law and human rights and she is a fellow of Clore Social Leadership.
Bobby McConnell serves as an elected Tenant Representative on the Radius Housing Board of Management, having joined in March 2024. He actively contributes to the Customer Experience Committee, advocating for tenant interests and enhancing service delivery. Bobby represented tenants across Northern Ireland as a member of the Housing Policy Panel (HPP), convened by Supporting Communities. Through this role, he lobbies local government, consulting directly with the Department for Communities to review and influence statutory regional housing policies. Bobby has spoken in parliamentary sessions, highlighting critical issues including wastewater infrastructure constraints, limiting housing development and the growing homelessness crisis. His work connects local tenant experiences with national policy decisions, making him a powerful advocate for meaningful change. A proud resident of a Radius over-55s housing development, Bobby is dedicated to fostering a strong sense of community and ensuring that tenant voices are integral to decision-making processes.
Colm McDaid joined Supporting Communities, a NI wide voluntary community development & tenant support organisation with a dedicated staff of 30, in 1994 and during this time he has held various positions within the organisation. Colm took up the position of Chief Executive in January 2014 and since then he has been instrumental in leading the organisation and driving it forward, including; a rebranding exercise in 2015, the launch of a trading subsidiary (Empowering Communities) in 2017 and an ever increasing presence in the Republic of Ireland. Supporting Communities celebrated its 45th anniversary as a charity in 2024. Colm is also a Board member of the Chartered Institute of Housing NI and a member of CO3 and CIH.
Lynne Mitchell is Director of Wheatley Foundation, the charitable arm of Wheatley Group, supporting communities across Scotland to tackle poverty, inequality and social exclusion. Born and raised in Glasgow, Lynne joined Wheatley in 2006 as a Neighbourhood Renewal Officer and has spent her career focused on what genuinely makes a difference at community level. With over 20 years’ experience in community development and social housing, she brings a strong, practice‑based understanding of what supports inclusion, builds trust and creates lasting change.
Seamus is the Chief Executive of NIFHA since joining in December 2022. Seamus is responsible for strategic and operational of NIFHA as well as leading on development, finance and strategic housing policy matters. Prior to his role at NIFHA, Seamus worked in policy related to international trade, customs and supply chains.
Kim McGarry is a highly respected social care leader with 25 years’ professional experience and 19 years at Extern. As Project Manager for the Homeless Support Service, she leads a multidisciplinary team delivering innovative, trauma informed support across Northern Ireland, reaching some of the region’s most marginalised communities. Her expertise spans homelessness, addiction, mental health, ethnic minorities and criminal justice, built on early pioneering work with Manchester city council and Greater Manchester Police on drug intervention programmes. A committed practice educator and advocate for social justice meeting people at their point of need, Kim is known for her compassionate leadership, strategic insight, and ability to drive effective, collaborative change across sectors.