Our board and committee members

Paul Diggory

Chair of the Board

Paul was Chief Executive with North Wales Housing from 2000 to 2016 and President of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) from 2007-2008. He is current Chair of the CIH Cymru Board and a former member of the CIH Governing Body.

An External Examiner at the University of Ulster from 2012-15 and a member of Housing Partnership UK from 2014-16, Paul has spoken at housing events throughout the UK and internationally.

Paula Ellis

Senior Independent Director

Paula is Corporate Engagement and Research Manager at the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, ensuring that citizens have a voice in policy and decision-making processes.

Prior to this, Paula worked in social housing for over 25 years in customer-facing roles and is passionate about making a difference to people and places. Paula has previously held several non-executive roles in various sectors and particularly enjoys working with local communities.

She has two grown-up daughters and a granddaughter, who she loves spending time with. In her spare time, she enjoys ballet barre, Pilates and mentoring young people.

Paula is the member responsible for complaints on the board.

Cath Bett

Board Member

Having worked as Director of Finance at Plus Dane Housing for coming up to three years, Cath still considers herself to be a relative newcomer to the sector - not a day goes by when she still doesn’t learn something new!

She qualified as an accountant (too long ago to count now) and has worked in numerous sectors including the chemical industry, steel manufacturing, landfill and waste, and higher education. She enjoys getting to know the business inside out - this helps her support colleagues and make robust, informed decisions.

Cath has two very active teenagers and spends a large portion of her free time ferrying them between rugby, netball, and water polo – but she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Yasmin Fearon

Board Member and Chair of Governance and Remuneration Committee

Yasmin has worked in social housing for over 30 years for national housing regeneration agencies in both investment and regulation roles.

She has worked with both housing associations and local authorities to deliver affordable housing projects in the North West and delivered national programmes including Decent Homes.

She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing and carries out a number of non-executive board roles.

Ian Kelly

Co-Optee

Ian is a seasoned digital and innovation professional with a track record of leveraging technology, innovation, and process improvement to drive business success and enhance efficiencies for both customers and colleagues.

He has worked in social housing for over 15 years for Plus Dane Housing, a housing association with homes and customers across Merseyside and Cheshire, and has worked across departments such as repairs, assets, customer service and IT during this time.

He has also worked in construction, hospitality, and entertainment sectors working on large scale transformation projects.

Yvonne McDermott

Board Member

Yvonne is an RICS General Practice Surveyor with over 35 years of experience in both the commercial and public sectors. Her career includes surveying roles at Mersey Docks and Harbour Company, Manchester Ship Canal Company, and two years working in low-income housing in New York.

She led Development and Assets for a Greater Manchester housing association for 20 years. For the past three years, she has undertaken interim roles supporting local authorities and housing associations with the development of new homes, regeneration, and asset management.

Yvonne is passionate about the social housing sector and is dedicated to meeting the needs of the current generation, ensuring they get the start in life they deserve.

Paul McGerty

Board Member and Chair of Audit and Risk Committee

Paul is a chartered accountant who has operated his own accountancy practice for over 20 years.

Paul has been an equity partner, a risk adviser for an insurance company and the chief finance and reporting officer for Everton FC. At Everton he oversaw the development and running of their free school, charity hub and lotteries programme, as well being involved in their academy funding and recruitment model.

Outside of work, Paul lives in Calderstones with his family and is a keen Everton supporter and season ticket holder.

Beth Hyams

Board Member

Beth is a qualified solicitor with experience working on social landlord housing disrepair claims.

Having obtained a Masters in Law from Liverpool John Moores University, Beth has since undertaken the LPC and completed a training contact with a North West law firm.

Beth is passionate about working with social landlords to create a positive impact on the lives of tenants and the work of housing associations and has since taken the role of EDI lead on the Board.

Lee Payne

Board Member

Lee has 25 years’ experience in housing having worked in both the local government and housing association sectors. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Housing and currently leads the Housing and Investment Service at Sefton Council.

He has experience in housing management, regeneration and development, asset management, homelessness, strategic and private sector housing.

Debbie Rees-Armstrong

Board Member & Chair of the Customer Services Committee

Debbie has lived in Speke for over 50 years. She is an active member of the community, volunteering for over 35 years at Speke Baths Swim Club, and is also a member of the Civilian Committee for ATC 90, Air Cadets based in Garston.

Over the years, Debbie has gained knowledge and experience in the housing sector, having worked at SLH from 2002 - 2011 and been an SLH Scrutiny Panel member since 2021. 

In January 2023, Debbie was appointed Chair of the newly-formed Customer Services Committee and a member of SLH Board.

Jamal Wahid

Co-Optee

Jamal has lived in Garston for over 40 years. He joined scrutiny panel in 2014 and was elected as chair by his peers, a role he held for three years. Jamal came to the UK as a student in 1970 to be a merchant navy officer.

After nine years he left the navy and joined Ford where he worked for 31 years. He is the current vice-chair of Malaysian House Ltd, a charity foundation in Liverpool.

Maggie Shannon

Board Member

Maggie is an experienced non-executive director, having served on the boards of charities and housing organisations. She has expertise in leading organisations through periods of change and growth, developing positive cultures and supportive working environments. In her work as a consultant and coach, she works with groups and individuals to help them build strategy, manage operations, and work harmoniously together.

With a professional background in social housing, Maggie is passionate about supporting residents and their families, ensuring they live in properties they are proud of, within communities where they feel safe and happy.

Elaine Eades

Independent Member - Governance & Remuneration Committee

Professor (retired) Elaine Eades is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Previously Associate Dean of the Management School, at the University of Liverpool, she designed and managed a suite of internationally-recognised MBA programmes. A specialist in human resource management (HRM), with a master’s degree in psychology and qualified in a range of occupational psychometric assessment tools, she has worked with a number of organisations in the recruitment, selection and development of their senior executive teams. She brings a wealth of expertise in leadership and management development and strategic HRM, she also has previous experience as a non-executive director of a hospital trust.

Derek Gibbon

Independent Member - Audit and Risk Committee

Derek has over 30 years’ experience in the finance sector with a focus on risk management and leadership.

His sector interest and experience is derived from providing funding to housing associations, as well as supporting private sector developers with residential development finance to bring forward a wide variety of housing projects.

More recently, Derek has been employed by Homes England, where he works with developers to accelerate the pace of housing delivery across the country.  

Michael Gore

Independent Member - Customer Services Committee

Michael has lived in Speke for 30 years and in Garston for eight. Michael has been an IT professional for most of his life, having studied IT and then video game development at Liverpool College, St. Helens College, and Liverpool John Moore's University. His first IT job was working with a Liverpool recycling company to provide low-cost PCs for children in African schools. Following this, Michael has worked for companies such as Bosch, providing IT support.

Today, Michael lives in Garston with his partner and provides search engine optimisation and copywriting services freelance for multiple clients across many sectors. When not working, Michael enjoys modern gaming and VR systems, builds and repairs laptops and PCs, and is "a keen yet very amateur photographer".

Adenson Gumbo

Independent Member - Customer Services Committee

Adenson is a qualified social worker, and has worked in the sector since 2019. He has lived in Speke since 2010, and has interacted with and supported people facing housing challenges in his professional role and also informally through his local church where he is an active member.

Appointed to the Customer Services Committee in January 2023, Adenson looks forward to learning more about the social housing sector, and making a contribution to ensure tenants’ interests and views are considered by the Board in their decision-making process.

Tracy Hindley

Independent Member - Customer Services Committee

Tracy has lived in Garston and Speke for over 35 years. She has over 20 years of experience working within the property industry and is involved in the workplace with ED&I panels, Early Careers, and is a Mental Health First Aider.

Tracy is passionate about helping people and is a volunteer for Re-Engage and is currently training as a Safe Families volunteer.

As a Scrutiny Panel and Customer Service Committee member, she is committed to providing a voice for all.

Peter Johnson

Independent Member - Audit and Risk Committee

Peter is group head of internal audit at the Very Group. He has 25 years of experience working in internal audit and finance roles, primarily in the retail and financial services sectors.

He is a qualified management accountant and qualified with the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors.

Karen Lowe

Independent Member - Audit & Risk Committee

Karen runs her own financial risk consultancy, working with both public and private sector organisations to manage business risks, and has previously worked with several high-profile audit firms.

She is passionate about supporting organisations to achieve their strategic objectives by providing expert advice and guidance on key business risks and through coaching their executive teams. Karen specialises in financial crime and financial risk management, as a chartered accountant and fraud expert with over 20 years’ UK and international experience in Big4 practice, industry, public sector and charities.

Mike Rickett

Independent Member - Customer Services Committee

Mike Rickett was a career journalist, having worked for Reuters, the London Daily Mail, and, latterly, the Liverpool Daily Post. He has experience as a crime reporter, feature writer, business editor, and senior sub-editor.

Apart from journalism, he was also Head of PR for Girobank and PR Executive for the Plessey Company.

Mike is now a practicing artist with a studio in Allerton and has also published three novels.

His qualifications include a BA (Hons) in English from the University of Liverpool, a BA (Hons) in Fine Art, and an MA in Creative Practice, both from Liverpool Hope University.

He has a daughter in Toronto, Canada, and a son in London. He splits his time between writing and art.