Our staff team 

Chris Bailey: Campaigns Manager                                           

chris.bailey(at)actiononemptyhomes.org

Chris joined Action on Empty Homes in November 2017. His background is in communications and community-based regeneration.

Brighid Carey: Consultancy and Projects Manager                                                       

brighid.carey(at)actiononemptyhomes.org

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 is now developing our Community action on empty homes toolkit as a resource for local authorities and community groups.

Will McMahon: Director                                                                    

will.mcmahon(at)actiononemptyhomes.org

Will joined Action on Empty Homes in May 2018 to help deliver a new strategic direction to the project.  Will has worked in a range of voluntary sector and campaigning organisations including the Child Poverty Action Group, the National Children’s Bureau and the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies.

Our Board                                            

Nick Billingham                                                                                

Nick is the Head of Devonshires’ Housing Management Department. He has been involved in a number of high profile cases impacting on housing law.

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.                 

Aditi Chauhan                                                                                       

Aditi Chauhan is a Global Strategic Marketing leader with over 13 years of experience in the B2B Industry having worked with industry leaders like NI, CNN, MindTree leading various functions and teams internationally with vast experience in SE Asia, Africa, Europe and India. 

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, 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 currently involved in the refurbishment and renewal of historic buildings, with experience of working with Local Authorities, Housing Associations, residents’ groups and charities, on housing and community-use projects. Her critical reflections on the politics of the 'housing crisis' have been strengthened through her MA in Cultural Studies, organising and campaigning.

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.

Andy Ford                                                                                                    

Andy Ford joined the Board in May 2019. Andy started his career as a Chartered Accountant in local government before becoming a public sector auditor and then a management consultant focused on public sector transformation. He was a partner at PwC between 2004 and 2016.

Steve Fox                                                                                                    

Steve 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.