Our Board

Claire Winfield | Chair

Claire, who was previously the Chair of Nottingham Community Housing Association, joined Trent & Dove on 1 October 2022. 

With significant experience in social care, housing and support, Claire has previously been the CEO of Amber Trust, a Derbyshire-based charity providing housing and ancillary support to people with mental illness and has also been a consultant at Paradigm Consultancy and Training.

Rolf Levesley | Senior Independent Director

Rolf has more than twenty years of experience of operating in senior-level roles at Local Authorities, most recently as Chief Executive of South Staffordshire Council, from which he retired in 2009. 

Ursula Bennion | Chief Executive

Over a 25-year career in housing, Ursula has worked across the sector in a wide variety of roles ranging from her first job as a trainee Housing Officer to Director of Business Development and now as Chief Executive.

Kim Smith | Non-Executive Director and Member Responsible for Complaints and Consumer Standards

Kim has been the Centre Manager at Winshill Neighbourhood Resource Centre (“WNRC”) for the past 10 years. She also works with community groups and organisations to organise community events and achieve community goals.

Mike Finister-Smith | Non-Executive Director

Mike has extensive experience in the social housing sector having held numerous roles as a senior leader, director, and social housing consultant.  Mike is a Board Member at Nottingham Community Housing Association, where he is also a member of their Audit and Risk Committee, and Ongo Homes, where he is also Chair of their Audit and Risk Committee.

Mike Hew | Non-Executive Director

Mike has over 23 years of experience as a senior housing executive, most recently as Chief Executive of Caldmore Area Housing Association Ltd (2002 – 2011) and CaldmoreAaccord (2011-2014). Until 2020, Mike was Deputy Chair (and later Interim Chair) of Walsall Housing Group, where he also Chaired the Group’s Governance and Remuneration Committee.

John Doherty | Non-Executive Director

Experienced in leading organisations in both the public and private sectors, John is currently the Chief Executive at Entrust Support Services, an education and skills support services business and part of the Capita group.

Colum Goodchild | Non-Executive Director

Colum began his career as an Environmental Scientist and was Asset Strategy Manager at Northumbrian Water. During this time, he led Northumbria's successful regulatory review and secured approximately £1 billion of investment.

Grant Mitchell | Non-Executive Director

Grant is a senior Housing, Planning and Regeneration professional with over 30 years of experience at Local Authorities and Registered Providers. Grant is currently the Assistant Director of Enterprise and Growth at South Staffordshire Council, where he has operational and strategic responsibility for the Council’s multi-disciplinary ‘Place-making’ function.

Chris Skelton | Non-Executive Director

Chris is currently the Executive Director of Finance and Resources at the ExtraCare Charitable Trust and brings with him skills and experience in finance, accountancy and treasury along with an in-depth knowledge of the social housing sector and the external context within which the sector operates.