Our Board

Steve is an experienced regeneration, development and housing professional who has worked in housing for 30 years. He is a Director for Assets, Regeneration and Strategy at a large Midlands based Housing Association.

He lives locally and has had several Senior Leadership roles for local Housing Associations and chaired several local charities and organisations.

Steve is passionate about providing high quality homes and services for older people and is proud to serve as the Chair of Alpha since 2023.

Laura has been working in the social housing sector for nearly ten years and is the Founder and Director of Invisible Creations® - an organisation that specialises in designing products that support people to live well and independently in their homes for longer.

Laura has a real passion for housing and generating tangible positive change for some of the most vulnerable people living in our communities. Through her role at Invisible Creations®, and Board positions for Women in Social Housing and the Chartered Institute of Housing in the North East, she's dedicated to improving lives and works hard to bring people together to tackle some of the biggest issues we face across the housing sector.

Laura loves board sports - surfing, paddle boarding and snowboarding, and when she's not at the beach or on a board she can be found with a book and a hot chocolate.

Pete has 30 years’ experience in the field of Strategic Human Resource Management. He has extensive private and public sector experience holding positions in large blue-chip companies and in numerous Higher Education Institutions. Currently the Executive Director of Human Resources at Wrexham Glyndwr University, Pete joins us after an 11 year tenure as Trustee and Board Member for Creative Support, where he Chaired the HR Committee. He has excellent knowledge and experience of Governance issues having experienced governance processes from both an officer and Board member perspective. A Chartered Fellow of the CIPD, the professional body for HR and People Development, Pete is looking forward to getting stuck into the role and making a difference and contributing to the ongoing growth and success of Alpha.

Lorri Holding has worked in the Supported Housing sector for over 25 years commissioning and developing a range of Young & Older Persons supported and care related accommodation.
Lorri currently works for YMCA DownsLink Group as the Director of Services – her focus is accommodation services for those over the age of 16yrs and also leads their DLO and therapeutic services offer which delivers support and talking therapy services for those 13yrs up to 25yrs covering the Sussex and Kent areas.
 
She is passionate about shaping services to deliver high quality housing related support that produces planned, tangible and measured outcomes.
Lorri has sat on a range of boards over the years, more recently as an advisory Board Member for HouseProud, a national LGBT plus working group to support RSLs nationally, Inside Housing as a BME Editorial Panel Member for an online housing sector magazine and also sits as a volunteer member on several small diversity & substance use housing boards as an advisory member.

In her down time, Lorri volunteers for a number of LGBT and homelessness charities and delivers a weekend street support team in the Northwest that work directly with those affected by homelessness, substance misuse, disability and mental health issues.

With over 30 years of experience in the finance sector, Dawn is a seasoned Licensed Accountant and Business Consultant who has successfully navigated roles across the private, public, and third sectors. Her expertise spans from strategic financial and operational management to C-suite leadership.  As the founder of her own consultancy firm and co-founder of Integral Experts—a collective of trusted professionals providing holistic services with authenticity, transparency, and pragmatism, delivering strategic solutions tailored to client needs. She also serves as a Non-Executive Director for a housing association specialising in older peoples housing.  
A passionate advocate for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI), Dawn is deeply committed to advancing the social and economic prospects of Global Majority communities. Her work empowers individuals, communities, and organisations to unlock their full potential. Dawn has been recognised for her leadership, including her feature in the Anthony Walker Foundation's ‘See Me Be Me’ project, which spotlights prominent Black and diverse leaders to inspire and motivate future generations through their professional achievements and lived experiences.
In addition to her leadership and consultancy work, Dawn is an accomplished public speaker, delivering keynote addresses, participates in panels, and leads masterclasses focused on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Her mission is to raise awareness and foster deeper understanding, helping to build a more equitable and inclusive society for all.
In her spare time Dawn enjoys gym sessions, travelling, and music events. 

Ben has been working in the social housing sector for over 20 years and is currently the Head of Asset Management at Clwyd Alyn Housing. Ben is passionate about equality and providing quality homes. Within his current role, Ben is an experienced building surveyor/project manager who is responsible for maintaining and delivering safe homes along the North Wales coast. Ben’s main passion is mentoring and developing others in line with his own values and that of the companies he represents.

Outside of work, Ben likes to spend time with his wife and two children, play lots of Golf, walking the dog and following his favourite football team.

Nick is an experienced housing professional with over 20 years’ in the sector. Currently responsibility for leading and co-ordinating the delivery of Great Places two Strategic Housing Partnerships with Homes England which will see over £1Bn worth of investment into high quality new affordable housing over the next 6 years. Focussing on accountability and transparency of current delivery, new opportunities, partnerships and ensuring a balanced portfolio of sites to ensure that Great Places meets it target of c1,000 new homes being per annum over the next 5 to 6 years.

Prior to this, Nick worked on a range of affordable housing programmes and land opportunities at Homes England and has significant experience of the strategic development and implementation of housing and regeneration schemes at two Local Authorities in the North West. Nick is passionate about housing and regeneration and particularly architecture, design and place.

Lawrence has eight years experience in the Social Housing sector, recently ending his Board appointment tenure with a medium sized Manchester based Housing Association. 

He lives within Merseyside, has held a variety of committee roles in his involvement in the sector, Lawrence also is currently involved with a community voice panel within Knowsley that engages with involved tenants for another registered provider. 

It is essential that quality and service provision for older people should always be a primary focus, Lawrence is keen to immerse himself in Alpha, the offer for aging tenants that continually contributes to the health, safety and wellbeing in later life is key, this has been observed through the excellent work the organisation has already accomplished 

Lawrence is passionate about how sector constantly evolves and rises to meet existing and new challenges, the tenant engagement and voice is always crucial ensuring they are at the heart of any decision making, whilst being front and centre in the minds of anyone involved within the housing sector as a whole. 

His downtime is occupied throughout the year walking the Lake & Peak District also exploring the lakes and coastline of Italy.