EN:Able Communities CIO, the charitable arm of social housing consortium Efficiency North, is delighted to announce the appointment of new Chair to the Board of Trustees, Ken Taylor, alongside two new trustees, who all took up their posts on 10 June 2021.
Ken brings to the role many years of experience at Non-Executive and Executive Director levels across a range of social, economic, and environmental regeneration-based organisations, and understanding of Efficiency North’s values and vision. He is currently on the Board of Mental Health Network nationally and supports the strategic development of the Calderdale and Kirklees Recovery College. Prior to that he was the chair of Efficiency North member WDH and Executive Director of the regeneration charity Groundwork across Wakefield, North Yorkshire and Hull.
Ken takes the helm from outgoing Chair Ian Billyard, former Principal and CEO of Leeds College of Building and President of the Yorkshire Builders Federation, who stepped down from the role after serving 2 terms of office. Under Ian’s stewardship the charity has broadened its strategy to maximise support for social mobility in the communities served by Efficiency North’s social housing landlord membership.
The two new trustees also bring a wealth of experience and expertise delivering employment and training initiatives in housing and construction. Darush Dodds is Director of Corporate Affairs at Esh Group, a contractor appointed to EN:Procure’s frameworks for housing maintenance, repairs and construction, and was instrumental in the company achieving the Queen’s Award for Enterprise (Promoting Opportunity and Social Value). Hannah Taylor-Dales is Business Development Manager for Efficiency North member Acis Group, leading Riverside Training, a recently purchased operating company that leads on developing Employment and Skills in Lincolnshire, as well as the Group’s home adaptations service, Acis HomePlus.
New Chair Ken Taylor commented: “I am delighted to become the Chair of such a well-respected charity which has already achieved so much. However, there is still much more to do as we move forward. We want to work with our partners and communities to tackle the challenges of regenerating the places where we work and live, to improve people’s lives and support businesses to grow. Together we can make a significant difference.”
Simeon Perry, Head of Operations, EN:Able Communities said: “The appointment of Ken, Darush and Hannah will strengthen EN:Able Communities and help the charity’s aims to build back better following the pandemic to achieve its ambitious business plans to support people living in low income communities in Northern England to enable them to gain new skills and employment to help their communities prosper.”
More information about the Board of Trustees HERE