Canopy’s AGM will be a hybrid meeting at 12.30pm on Tuesday 24th June 2025. We expect many people to join us via Zoom but we would be delighted if members, tenants and volunteers would join us in person at our offices at 66 Burley Lodge Road, Leeds.
Please email info@canopyhousing.org if you intend joining us in person. Vegan food will be provided and we would like to ensure there is enough!
Join the AGM via Zoom by clicking here
Supporting documents
Board Elections
Our Board Members serve three-year terms, after which they are required to either stand for re-election or stand down. The terms are staggered so that around 1/3 of them must do this every year.
Leroy Ivanov and Mhairi Tomlinson, who were due for reelection this year, both left the Board in late 2024. We would like to thank them both for their hard work and contributions over the years as Canopy supporters, volunteers and Board Members.
Prospective Board Members standing for their first three-year term
Naz Parkar: Naz has worked in the housing sector for more than thirty years, most recently as Director of Homes and Neighbourhoods at Kirklees Metropolitan Council. Prior to that he fulfilled a variety of rules including as Executive Director for the North East, Yorkshire and Humber at the Homes and Communities Agency, and as Chief Operating Officer at Anchor Trust.
Louay Taha: Louay has lived with his parents in a Canopy home for more than ten years. He has also spent some time as a Canopy volunteer, working on other people’s properties. He is currently studying Biomedical Sciences at York University.
Existing Board Member standing for a new three-year term
Kinga Salisbury: Kinga joined Canopy’s Board in 2022. She is a Strategic Programme Manager at Energy Saving Trust, driving growth in retrofit support. Having worked on prevention and regeneration initiatives targeting under-represented groups, she has always focused on supporting those most in need.
Existing Board Member standing for a new one-year term
Danielle Joy (Treasurer): Danielle joined Canopy’s Board in 2022 and is Chair of the Finance Subcommittee. Since qualifying in 1999 Danielle has worked in a variety of roles as a Chartered Accountant and currently works part-time for a Leeds-based charity. She has a number of other voluntary roles in the third-sector and is proud to help support Canopy’s fantastic work.
Other Board Members (in the middle of their terms)
Andrea Cowans (Chair): Andrea joined Canopy’s Board as Chair in 2023. She is Group Director of Student Life at Luminate Education Group / Leeds City College and has been seconded on a part time basis into Leeds City Council as interim strategic lead for reducing NEET (young people not in education, employment or training) playing a strategic role in the post-16 learning landscape in the city. Andrea was previously a member of GIPSIL’s Board for over five years and is a member of two multi-academy trust boards for schools. Championing social justice and engaging the voice, influence and co-production inform her priorities and she actively promotes participation in democratic processes, championing equality, diversity and social mobility. She is an effective partnership developer, working across organisations, agencies and networks to create opportunities and stimulate ideas, and is an accredited leadership coach.
Keith Gibson (Deputy Chair): Keith has had 40 years of experience working in local government, mostly in area regeneration and private sector housing renewal, but also managing teams dealing with food, health and safety, environmental sustainability and pollution control. At Leeds City Council, he managed a department of almost 100 staff with a budget of £8 million. He has a broad range of skills including building construction, management, human resources and financial skills.
Lyn Charters (Secretary): Lyn joined Canopy’s Board in 2021. Having grown up in a poor area of Doncaster, she studied both law and civil engineering, which together helped her secure her current post as General Counsel and Company Secretary for Keepmoat Homes. She lives in Leeds and wants to help others create better lives for themselves by being given similar opportunities to progress.
Jenn Bravo: Jenn joined our Board in 2024. She has more than thirty years’ experience delivering supported accommodation in voluntary and statutory homeless provision in Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield. She currently works as Services Director for Turning Lives Around.
Martyn Broadest: Martyn joined the Board in 2017 and having chaired the Governance Subcommittee for two years, now sits on our Development Review Group. He is Director of Home at Connect Housing, where his current role encompasses development, asset management, customer services and community investment. He is also a Commissioner at the Yorkshire and Humber Climate Commission.
Janet Onslow: Janet first joined Canopy as a site volunteer. She is a Prince2 Project Manager and can think and work both strategically and practically. She has worked on projects including education sector capital builds and a programme to help long-term unemployed young people back into work. She has a business degree and has worked in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.
Mark Rutherford: Mark has been involved with Canopy’s Board since our early days and currently chairs our Governance Subcommittee. He is a qualified Environmental Health Officer who worked for the city’s housing and regeneration teams for almost 40 years, retiring from his role leading Leeds City Council’s Empty Homes and Loans team in 2019.
