We are delighted to introduce Dawn Purvis as our new Head of Corporate Affairs.
Dawn previously worked in the health service before moving into politics. In 2011 she changed direction and worked in the independent healthcare sector for a number of years before moving into the community and voluntary sector in 2016. In Dawn’s most recent role as CEO of Victoria Housing Estates she worked with colleagues across Choice to successfully transfer VHE tenants across to a secure social tenancy with Choice. As Choice tenants their homes will be fully refurbished to a high standard.
Dawn has served as a voluntary trustee on the board of a number of charities and is currently a commissioner with the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland since June 2019.
When asked what Dawn was most looking forward to in her new role she responded:
‘I have some really interesting projects to work on and I am looking forward to getting stuck in along with my colleagues to hear their views on how to bring these forward. I am also looking forward to getting to know my new team and to learn about the work that they do to meet the needs of our tenants.
I am keen to build on our public profile as the leading housing association in the country. I think it is important, given the amount of talent and expertise we have within the organisation, that Choice leads from the front when it comes to innovation in housing and the development of housing policy in NI.
I am very interested in what we can do to add social value through the delivery of services to our tenants. We already invest in various programmes and can measure the social impact this investment has achieved in things like employment skills and supporting young people in education. I would like to explore how we can develop and target our community investment to maximise the social impact and in turn deliver on our Strategic Priority #3 to create and sustain thriving neighbourhoods.’
Dawn added how she is a sucker for a good news story and requested that if any of our tenants would like to share with her how being a Choice tenant has impacted their life for the better that she would love to hear it!
We warmly welcome Dawn and we are excited about the impact she will have in her new role.
