In September we welcomed board members and shareholders to our Colleague Conference to share our annual review and accounts for the last financial year.
Amanda has retired after a career of more than 30 years working in affordable housing. She is a qualified accountant and her most recent role was as Chief Executive Officer of Pobl Group Wales’ largest Housing Association.
While at Pobl, some of the things Amanda championed were the delivery of many more affordable homes for the people of Wales and pushing the boundaries on the sustainability of and affordability of tenant’s homes. She has had considerable Non-Executive experience over many years in a number of sectors , including Housing, Education and Economic Regeneration . She currently serves on the Board of Marie Curie Cymru and is also a member at Dwr Cymru.
Amanda is Welsh speaking and lives in Cardiff. Her passions and hobbies include music, Welsh art , food and wine. She is also a novice golfer.
Joanne works as a Governance and Regulation Manager for the housing association Coastal Housing Group. She worked in the Housing Regulation Team in the Welsh Government before that.
She firmly believes in the benefits that good quality, secure homes and services can bring to improve people’s health and wellbeing.
Richard serves as a Portfolio Executive at the Development Bank of Wales, where he plays a vital role in assisting Welsh SMEs secure funding for diverse purposes such as job creation, business acquisitions, property acquisitions, and overall business expansion. In addition to his financing responsibilities, he diligently oversees financial performance.
Residing in Bridgend alongside his family, Richard’s upbringing in one of our homes and has instilled in him a deep passion for understanding and advocating the essential services and impactful role that social housing fulfils within our communities.
Derek is a retired Senior Civil Servant and as well as Valleys to Coast board is Board Chair of Planning Aid Wales. Before his retirement, he was a Director of Digital Transformation Relationships Ltd. and Careers Wales. He was national Head of Operational Digital Services at DWP and held senior positions at The Pensions Regulator and DVLA. He has developed significant knowledge and experience in the technical, practical and legal aspects of modern digital, marketing and insight techniques within public,
private and voluntary sectors.
He is a resident of Pen y fai, Bridgend and enjoys gardening, growing a range of fruit and vegetables, and playing the keyboard. However, much of his time is spent looking after his five grandchildren.
Caroline is an Associate Director at Savills estate agents, as well as a chartered surveyor and a registered valuer of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
She works in the Development Department, advising on property development and regeneration. Here she has worked closely with the affordable housing sector in Wales, providing valuation and consultancy advice on assets and new build programmes.
Tara is a Director at KingShipp Sustainable Solutions, an independent advisor for circular procurement, material resource management, and renewable energy projects.
She also volunteers as Chair to a board of Trustees for a local charity, Sustainable Wales in Porthcawl, and the Red Cross. Tara lives in Caerphilly, and in her spare time enjoys helping local music festivals become lower carbon through recycling and green energy advice.
Sharon is the Chief Executive of Aelwyd Housing, a faith-based housing association operating across South Wales and has worked in housing and homelessness for almost 30 years. She is an experienced board member and was previously the Chair of a large Welsh housing association.
Sharon lives with her family in Bridgend and in her spare time helps to rescue and support the local hedgehog population.
Joy is an accomplished, high-performance international trainer, coach and the CEO of JT International Leadership Academy. She has a dynamic record of success in delivering diversity and inclusion, leadership development, executive coaching, and women empowerment initiatives at a senior management level across a broad range of organisations in the UK, Europe, USA and Africa.
Joy lives in Swansea and regularly features as an expert guest speaker on coaching principles, diversity and leadership on various BBC TV and BBC Radio Wales programmes including X-Ray, the One Show, Good Morning Wales and the Eleri Sion Show.
Gill is currently a Business Consultant specialising in the public sector. She is a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy and has worked across many parts of the public sector for over 30 years.
She started her career in health, moving to audit and was Head of Audit in Wales with the Audit Commission. She was a Partner with the Wales Audit Office before moving into Health and Social Care. She has held Corporate Director positions in a number of Local Authorities most recently in Bridgend County Borough Council. She has served on Housing Association Boards, CIPFA Council and specialises in corporate governance, peer reviews and organisational turnaround.
She is the Vice Chair of the Health Education and Improvement Authority for Wales which is responsible for all professional education, training and workforce issues. She is also an affiliate with the Jersey Audit Office. She was Chair of the Public Services Staff Commission in Wales from 2015 -2018, advising Welsh Government Ministers on public sector workforce issues.
Andrew is a Management Consultant for a Bridgend based consultancy firm and works with many housing associations across South Wales. He has been a Valleys to Coast tenant for over nine years and lives with his wife and family in Maesteg.
Mark is a Cardiff-based solicitor, who works for the South Wales firm of Howells Solicitors. His professional work has included acting on behalf of housing associations, and he was previously on the Board of a housing association in Devon.
Originally from London, Mark has a keen interest in the provision of high-quality social housing and its crucial importance to society’s well-being.
Peter began his career as a chartered accountant focusing on public services and charities before moving into corporate finance and private equity, where he worked for four years. Peter is a Non-Executive Board Member for Life Sciences Hub Wales and chairs their Audit and Risk Assurance Committee and also volunteers on two Welsh advisory boards, Care Inspectorate Wales and Marie Curie. He joined Valleys to Coast as a Board Member and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee, in April 2025. In his spare time, Peter enjoys playing tennis, pickleball and padel, walking his dogs and trying to not fall too far behind his teenagers in the gym.
Become a Board Member
We are always on the lookout for people to join our Board who have expert skills in all areas of our business, that can support and challenge us to improve our services.
We advertise Board vacancies on our website, our social media platforms, and through recruitment agencies. There is also a dedicated website for housing association jobs: Housing Jobs Wales.
Being a Board Member is a great opportunity to learn new skills too, and you will receive induction training to help you settle into the role and find out more about us.