Outward is governed by a committed voluntary Board of Trustees, who provide direction, leadership and oversight through their time and a wealth of experience and expertise which all supports Outward to be the successful and thriving charity it is today.
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Alison joined the Outward Board in January 2023 and serves on the Operations Committee. She is also a Newlon Housing Trust board member.
Alison is an experienced executive who has worked within the affordable housing sector for over 20 years bringing a wealth of expertise combined from local authority, private sector, G15 organisations, a national housing association, including one of the largest homelessness charities in the UK where she was the Executive Director of Housing Services.
As chair of the G15 Housing Directors Group, she was instrumental in collaborating with London Councils to develop the joint Tenant Sustainability Strategy. She was also a member of the Mayor of London’s Fuel Poverty Partnership.
Alison has authored several articles published by the National Housing Federation, 24 Housing and Inside Housing and co-founded UNIFY, a national cross-housing sector diversity network. She also has an Executive MBA from Henley Business School.
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Cleo joined the Outward Board in November 2024.
Cleo has a legal educational background and study of Public Law and Government sparked interest in a public sector career. She will be commencing a master’s degree in Public Policy and Management in 2025.
Cleo has held several roles across Health and Social Care in Strategic Commissioning, Project Management and Governance. She currently works in the NHS as a Service Development Lead with a focus on Mental Health, Learning Disabilities and Autism.
She brings experience in transformation and improvement, and is committed to ensuring high quality service delivery and good outcomes for the people that Outward support. Cleo is passionate about service user engagement and co-design being central to the development of the services in place to support them.
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Dan joined the Outward Board in July 2023.
Dan is an economist, working for Alma Economics, a consultancy specialising in providing economic and research advice for charities and governments. He has worked on projects about homelessness, adult education and children’s services.
Dan has a background in the civil service, working in the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office and the Department for Health and Social Care. He led DHSC’s analysis on supported housing and home adaptations.
Dan lives in Hackney and was drawn to Outward through his experience working on social care issues at a national level and family experience of the care sector. He joined the Board in order to support high-quality service user-led care provision in his local area.
Dan has a degree in History and Economics from the University of Oxford and a Masters in Economics from UCL.
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Eilish is a qualified accountant, ACMA, with senior leadership experience in the commercial and charity sectors, from Nestle and Sotheby’s to Friends of the Earth. She has held senior Director roles overseeing all aspects of internal operations including Finance, HR, IT, Facilities as well as Strategic and Business Planning. Bringing these skills and experience together she has also led transformation projects enabling organisational improvement and excellence.
She has a degree in Marine Biology from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and a Masters in Environment, Society & Policy from the Open University.
Eilish is also a non-executive Director of the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management, the National Park City Foundation and the Schools Energy Cooperative.
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Jane joined the Outward Board, as chair, in September 2022 and is also a Newlon Housing Trust board member.
Jane is a former senior civil servant with 38 years of public sector experience and principal interests in social policy and housing, particularly in homelessness and supported housing. As a recognised national leader in housing, planning and social policy, she has a track record of delivering complex national policy, legislation and major corporate change.
Most recently Jane served as Deputy Director for the Social Housing Department for Levelling Up, Housing, Communities and Local Government where she helped to deliver the Social Housing White and Green Papers, a key element of the Government’s response to the Grenfell tragedy, working with residents in social housing around the country.
Jane was awarded a CBE for public service in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in June 2015.
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Kathy joined Outward’s Board in November 2024. She has worked in a range of supported housing and care services, including having a senior role at Outward Housing, leaving in 2010. Kathy’s work included strategic and operational management of Registered Care Homes, Supported Housing and Outreach Services, Acting Director at Haringey Association for Independent Living.
She’s also had extensive personal experience as a carer dealing with the immense difficulties and frustrations facing disabled people and their families, through living with a young person with learning disabilities since he was 8 years old, and continuing to support him as an adult, now in his 40s, living in supported housing.
Kathy’s particular interest is in staff support, training and development, to ensure the best possible support is provided to the people we support.
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Lance joined the Outward Board in September 2025. He is a senior IT leader with 15 years of experience across the private, public and non-profit sectors, and currently oversees technology as Global Head of IT Operations at WaterAid, operating in more than 30 countries. Recognised in the CIO 100 Future Leaders 2025 list and a member of the European CIO Advisory Board, he brings expertise in building resilient systems, leading diverse teams and aligning technology to organisational purpose. His focus is on ensuring that innovation strengthens governance and delivers better outcomes for the people and communities Outward support.
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Matt joined the Outward Board in September 2023. He has previously run businesses in recruitment, technology, and social enterprise.
In 2019, Matt left the private sector to join Thames Reach, a homeless charity in London, where he works in the Rapid Response Team: a night-time outreach service that operates 365 days a year. The RRT visits 20,000 locations annually and works with 4,000 people sleeping rough.
Matt has a BA in Philosophy from the University of Nottingham and is currently undertaking an MSc in Psychology from Birkbeck College, University of London. At Outward, he hopes to combine his business background with his frontline experience of working with vulnerable people.
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Naz Hussain is an experienced housing professional with over 20 years of service in the social housing sector, spanning roles in housing management, human resources, service improvement, and business transformation.
He has successfully led and delivered a wide range of transformation and improvement projects, including major IT system implementations, process redesign initiatives and service modernisation programmes that have resulted in measurable efficiency gains and cost savings.
Naz’s personal experience supporting a family member with a disability has given him a strong understanding of the challenges faced by vulnerable users and a deep commitment to ensuring services are inclusive and supportive.
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Sidikat Taiwo is a trained Chartered Company Secretary and Senior Business Analyst with over 20 years of experience in global finance and investment management in the City of London. She has held senior roles with leading institutions where she has delivered regulatory change, product launches, and strategic business transformation.
Beyond her corporate career, Sidikat also currently serves as Trustee on the NASBTT board. She believes passionately in improving inequality and is committed to public service and is dedicated to creating sustainable opportunities.
