Get the lowdown on the outstanding candidates who’ve made it through to the final of this year’s Housing’s Next Generation competition.
HQN is delighted to announce the finalists for this year’s Housing’s Next Generation competition.
After a challenging but enjoyable semi-final day in London, judges have come up with their ‘fantastic four’ candidates who will take part in the final at HQN’s annual conference in July.
For this year’s semi-final at the Sovereign Network Group offices in Wembley, the 10 candidates were asked to complete a series of challenges, from creating a time capsule representing the current state of social housing to acting out an emergency response to a crisis scenario. The semi-finalists then took part in a 90-minute task that required them to plan the conversion of a former hotel into a homeless shelter – no easy task with a strict timeframe, limited budget, no staff and some tough decisions standing in their way.
Commenting on the semi-final, Next Generation judge, and former housing association CEO, Gordon Perry, said: “Such talent. Such passion and enthusiasm. Such a rewarding and motivating day for an old timer with similar passions as these great candidates. I can’t wait for the final. They’re all winners to me!”
Fellow judge and former Next Generation winner Kate Ratcliffe added: “The semi-final day was outstanding – the standard this year is seriously high. Having won it four years ago, I know how tough this stage can be, so it was brilliant to see candidates bringing so much confidence and commitment on the day.
“Every finalist showed real energy, ambition and passion for the sector, clearly earning their place in the final. They should be incredibly proud – and if this is anything to go by, the final is going to be close.”
For the final, candidates will compete in two tasks. For the first, they’ve been asked to record a video depicting what they’d say if stuck in an elevator with Andy Burnham for four minutes. At the HQN conference in London on Thursday 16 July, our finalists have been asked to play the role of an interim CEO who’s been drafted into a failing housing association with the aim of coming up with a credible rescue plan. No easy feat!
Meet the finalists
Ellie McGuinness, Community Development Officer (multi-storeys), Gateshead Council
Ellie joined Gateshead Council’s Multi-Storey Housing team in August 2025 as a community development officer, where she works to strengthen resident participation and improve tenant satisfaction in high-rise social housing.
Since joining, she’s built strong relationships across the local authority, Gateshead’s vast VCSE network and the communities living within multi-storey housing, developing a clear understanding of hyper-local challenges and opportunities.
Through resident meetings, door-knocking activity and consultation processes, she’s established new communal spaces in five high-rise blocks and co-designed inclusive engagement programmes that promote wellbeing and social connection among residents. All initiatives are resident-led, ensuring they reflect the priorities and lived experiences of the communities they serve.
Nine months into the role, she’s more passionate than ever about a career focused on empowering local people to shape spaces and opportunities where they feel heard, valued and optimistic about the future of social housing.
Natalia Widomska, Tenant Engagement Officer, Swindon Borough Council
Nat began her career in the housing sector in 2023, bringing with her eight years of experience in customer-facing roles. As an apprentice, she’s been shortlisted as a finalist for Swindon Borough Council’s Learner of the Year annual award. Nat quickly progressed into a permanent position within the tenant engagement team and successfully completed her CIH Level 3 Apprenticeship in Housing and Property Management with distinction.
Nat’s work focuses on ensuring tenants feel listened to, respected, valued and involved. She supports engagement through community cafés, drop-in sessions, Let’s Talk Housing events and resident meetings, listening carefully to feedback and helping turn it into action.
Following the findings of the Regulator of Social Housing’s recent inspection, Nat has played an active role in supporting the ongoing delivery of commitments set out in housing’s improvement plan linked to the Transparency, Influence and Accountability Standard. She’s committed to finding creative and inclusive ways to engage underrepresented groups, making involvement accessible to everyone. Nat has been instrumental in setting up the scrutiny and asset management groups and is currently encouraging tenants to join the new policy and complaints groups, ensuring residents can influence decision-making within housing.
Committed to learning and development, Nat believes housing services work best when staff continue to listen, learn and adapt to residents’ changing needs. As an AI champion, she explores new ways to work more efficiently and to record and analyse tenant engagement. Nat also works closely with partner organisations to identify support opportunities and build strong links between tenants and services, helping residents access the right support at the right time.
Zorba Emelonye, Head of Homelessness Services, Brent Council
Zorba is head of homelessness services at Brent Council, leading a frontline service delivering prevention and statutory homelessness duties. She has extensive experience across the sector, supporting households at risk of homelessness and driving improvements in service delivery.
She’s passionate about early intervention, improving access to services and ensuring residents receive the right support at the right time. Her work focuses on system-wide collaboration and creating practical, inclusive solutions that support long-term housing stability.
Zorba has played a key role in service transformation, improving decision-making and outcomes for residents. She’s a strong advocate for inclusive services, particularly for individuals with complex or neurodiverse needs and has been recognised as one of the top housing professionals in the country.
Lorna Biddell, Co-Creation Officer, London Borough of Redbridge
Lorna is a co-creation officer with just over two years’ experience in the housing sector. She was looking for a role where she could make a real difference, and leading on co-creation has allowed her to do exactly that.
In her role, she uses performance data to identify key areas of resident dissatisfaction and leads collaborative service improvement projects. These projects bring staff and residents together as equal partners, ensuring lived experience directly shapes recommendations and outcomes.
She believes co-creation is meaningful engagement that builds trust between the housing service and residents, demonstrating that the service genuinely listens and cares. She’s passionate about helping people, driving positive change and embedding the resident voice at the heart of every service delivered.
Meet the judges:
- Gordon Perry, former CEO Accent Group and governing board member at the Chartered Institute of Housing
- Olivia Richards, (2025 winner), Social Research and Policy Advisor, Hedyn
- Shauna Hutchinson, People Advisor, Sovereign Network Group
- Alistair McIntosh, Chief Executive, HQN
- Mica Joseph, Regional Director of Places (London), Riverside
- Kate Ratcliffe, Lettings Team Leader, VIVID
- Simal Govindia, Solicitor, Birketts LLP
- Guy Marshall, Director, Fuza Ltd.
It’s never too early to get involved in next year’s competition. Nominations officially open early next year but if you have someone in mind now, let us know by contacting [email protected]
