The Management Board
Aaron Whitaker
(Chairman)
Terry Rocque
(Vice Chair and Chair of Audit and Risk)
Terry has been involved in housing for more than 30 years and is currently a Director with a management consulting organisation. He holds an MBA (Marketing) and a BA in Computing. Terry has previously worked as a service head for a local authority and as a Chief Executive for a housing association based in south London.
Skills: Housing management, human resources, training, finance/budgetary control
Bolade Odewale
(Treasurer)
Bolade works as a Senior Housing Practitioner in a local authority Housing Needs department. She holds ACIB (Banking) and MBA (Finance) qualifications. Bolade has a good grounding in homelessness from a local authority perspective and is particularly knowledgeable around statutory homelessness and housing law (for example, part IV of the 1996 Act, as amended by Homelessness Act 2002). She possesses a working knowledge of housing management.
Skills: Housing management, housing needs, local government
Sandra Brown
(Board member)
Sandra is a senior PA legal secretary, with vast experience in property law, residential and commercial conveyancing, and various other aspects of law, having worked in several top city law firms over the past 20 years. She holds a BSc(Hons) Social Sciences and Diplomas in Geography and Environment, and Development. She was previously the Chair of Odu-Dua Housing Association and a trustee for Barnet Citizens Advice Bureau, with responsibility for GDPR. Previously, she sat on the Board of the Race Equality Foundation and Barnet Citizens Panel.
Skills: Law, governance
Anton Kumar
(board member)
Anton is a civil/structural engineer. He holds an MSc (Structures) in structural engineering, a BE (Civil) degree, is a Chartered Engineer (CEng) and a Fellow of the Institute of Civil Engineering (FICE) and the Association for Project Management (FAPM).
Vernon Clarke
(Board Member)
Vernon is a Principal Policy Officer working in tenant participation. He has an LLB(Hons) qualification and is also the author of Getting Black Tenants Back. Vernon’s work focuses on tenants’ rights and housing management. Vernon previously served on the board of another Registered Provider.
Skills: Tenancy law, tenant participation
Dr Bola Odepidan
(Board Member)
Bola is the Training Director at Housing Advocacy, which is an international regeneration, renewal and training organisation. He has more than 30 years of professional experience in the public, private and voluntary sectors – internationally and within the UK. Bola is also a visiting Business Tourism Lecturer, with a specific interest in community investment and social development strategy.
Skills: Regeneration, training, community investment and social development strategy.
Leslie Laniyan MBE
(Executive Board Member)
Leslie has been the Managing Director of Shian Housing Association since 1989. He is one of the most experienced chief executives of a Black and Minority Ethnic housing association. Leslie is the Chair of Odu-Dua Housing Association, Chair of Faith Regen, Chair of the Pentecostal Credit Union and on the Board of Global One.
Skills: Housing, finance, development
Indran Thavendra
(Executive Board Member)
Indran has been Shian’s Finance Director since 1992 and is a qualified Accountant (CIMA). He was previously a long-serving member of the Board of Apna Ghar and the Tamil Community Housing Association, where he was also Treasurer.
Skills: Finance, private finance