Our staff team 

Chris Bailey: Campaigns Manager                                          

chris.bailey(at)emptyhomes.com

Chris joined Action on Empty Homes in November 2017. His background is in communications and community-based regeneration. Chris currently leads a project looking at housing development in London and how this could deliver better for those in housing need. He also works on the impact of Airbnb and short lets in taking housing out of residential use and on the analysis and interpretation of national housing statistics.

Brighid Carey: Consultancy and Projects Manager             

brighid.carey(at)emptyhomes.com

Brighid joined Action on Empty Homes in May 2016 as project manager to deliver a study focussed on bringing empty homes into use through community-based approaches.  Brighid developed our Community Action on Empty Homes Toolkit as a resource for local authorities and community groups. Brighid is currently leading a feasibility study to evaluate the viability of community-led Retrofit Empty Homes Action Partnerships.

Rebecca Moore: Director                                          

rebecca.moore(at)emptyhomes.com

Rebecca joined Action on Empty Homes in December 2022. She has a varied background in community-led projects, social enterprise, education and training, literature and the arts.  

Jack Portman: Project Support Officer                   

jack.portman[@]emptyhomes.com

Jack joined Action on Empty Homes in September 2022 as Project Support Officer. He is currently helping to deliver a feasibility study revolving around community-led home retrofitting and the re-utilization of empty homes. Jack also helps support Action on Empty Homes’ involvement in the Global Empty Homes Network. 

Our Board                                            

Alice Brownfield                                                                                                                   

Alice is a qualified Architect and Associate Director at Peter Barber Architects, a leading UK architectural practice specialising in housing and homeless facilities.  She has also taught at a number of schools of architecture and is currently a visiting critic at The Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University.                 

Ken Cheung                                                                                       

Ken Cheung joined the Action on Empty Homes board in November 2020. His background is in mental health and he currently works at an NHS mental health service as an Assistant Psychologist. Ken is interested in addressing the rise in empty homes and its impact on communities, wellbeing and mental health.

Tom Crowley                                                                                    

Our Chair from 2017 - 2022, Tom Crowley, is a Management and Planning Consultant.  From 2005 until April 2018 he was Chief Executive of Horsham District Council in West Sussex. Horsham was active in tackling empty homes, bringing many back to use.

Rebecca Eng                                                                                   

Rebecca is an architect working in heritage and conservation. She has experience of working with Local Authorities, Housing Associations, residents’ groups and charities on housing and community-use projects.

Jon Fitzmaurice                                                                                

Jon is the originator and director of self-help-housing.org which promotes and supports community-led self-help housing initiatives. Between 2011 – 2015 he worked closely with MHCLG to help deliver their £50m Empty Homes Community Grants Programme. He has worked in the housing/homelessness sector for over 35 years in a wide variety of executive and non-executive roles.

Steve Fox                                                                                                    

Steve is our current Chair. He is an Architect and Commercial Manager at Manalo & White Architects, a London practice with a wide range of specialisations. He has over 25 years of professional experience working in the UK and internationally. He is an active housing campaigner and has recently worked with campaigning groups in Islington and Hackney.

Rex McKenzie                                                                                     

Rex is an academic economist at Kingston University, London. He has also held Lecturer, Assistant Professor and Senior Researcher posts in Economics at the University of Technology, Kingston, Jamaica; Purchase College, SUNY, New York, USA; and University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. Before academia he worked as a professional Foreign Exchange Dealer for sixteen years and this professional experience has framed his research, which is usually about the relationship between high finance and social inequality. His current research focus is on offshore investment in urban real estate in the UK.

Emmanuel Unuigboje                                                                                   

Emmanuel joined the Action on Empty Homes board in November 2020. His background is in Real Estate and currently works as a RICS residential surveyor. He is passionate about people and communities, and is motivated by the challenge of tackling empty homes and bringing more back to use.