Meet our New Board Members

Supporting Communities welcomes three new board members to our organisation: Kelly Foster, Caroline Casserly-Farrar and Dave Maher. We chatted with each of them to learn more about who they are and what they hope to contribute to our organisation.

Kelly Foster

Kelly Foster

Kelly is a returning member, having served as our Boardroom Apprentice in 2019/2020. She says Supporting Communities was her first choice when she was in the apprentice programme and is delighted to be back with us now! 

Kelly remembers that she initially didn’t think she had anything to offer a board, but her experience with us has taught her the importance of including fellow practitioners alongside people who bring skills like financial and legal expertise to steer the organisation. 

Kelly is the Community Investment Manager for Ark Housing Association, where she has worked for over 20 years in various roles. She is currently responsible for overseeing the delivery of a shared housing programme, aiming to improve community cohesion within shared housing schemes and surrounding neighbourhoods. 

Kelly is also responsible for delivering the Tenant Participation Strategy within Ark, an area she has championed throughout her career in social housing. She uses her role to advocate for the tenant’s voice to be heard.

“The work of Supporting Communities is so closely linked with my own at Ark Housing, I feel I can offer the board a good perspective from someone doing this kind of work on the ground,” said Kelly. “I hope I can be a fresh set of eyes and help to marry the strategy with the groundwork.”

Caroline Casserly-Farrar

Caroline Casserly-Farrar

Caroline is the Director of Operations for Oaklee Housing, based in Dublin. She first learned about Supporting Communities a few years ago at an event with the Irish Council for Social Housing and has since become a supporter of our work, including speaking at our recent All-Ireland Tenant Engagement Conference.

“Giving tenants a voice is important to me - giving them a platform to have a say in how their homes and estates are run, so that it’s bottom-up, not a top-down type of paternalistic approach. That’s why when I was approached about joining the board, I said, well, this fits into my values and what I try to achieve, so of course, I want to be part of that!”

As we grow our organisation to do more work in the Republic of Ireland, we are delighted to have a board member with expertise in social housing in the south.

Caroline remarked, “I like the all-Ireland approach that SC is speaking about now because we don’t really have anyone here advocating for tenant participation, and when you’re already doing the kind of work that is needed, why not stretch it a little bit more down the road? The principles are the same for tenants, their needs, and how we engage them.”

Caroline also brings a wealth of experience in governance and business that will stand us in good stead as we grow our operations!

Dave Maher

Dave Maher

Originally from Dublin, Dave spent his working life in the shipping and transport business on both sides of the border. Now retired and living in the Newtownabbey/Carrickfergus area, Dave has become a very active tenant with Habinteg Housing Association, working on the tenant newsletter and other interests. Dave is also a member of the Housing Policy Panel, a consultative forum to the Department for Communities comprised of tenants from all the major housing providers in Northern Ireland. 

Dave says his personal experience of moving into the social housing system has made him want to devote his energies to changing the attitudes and policies towards those facing homelessness and bringing a different perspective to housing rights and housing equality.

“It changed me,” Dave explains how bad luck, ill health, and the financial crash resulted in the loss of his home. “My experience trying to navigate the benefits system in my time of need was traumatic and radicalised me to a great extent. The current system is not working, and instead of lifting people out of the poverty trap, many more people are finding themselves in that trap and requiring help on multiple levels.”

Dave says he is excited to join the board of Supporting Communities and is keen to learn more about housing issues and solutions from further afield. Now that he is retired, he has the time and energy to devote to making an impact where he can.

He says, “Getting involved [with the Housing Policy Panel and Supporting Communities] has been a very steep learning curve for me, but I have enjoyed every moment of the process. I could never have foreseen the change of direction my life would take, but in the time that I have left, I would like to do something positive with my life. I hope to bring an enquiring mind and my lived experience to benefit the board of Supporting Communities.”