Diane is an experienced management trainer who has worked with staff at all levels in the public and voluntary sectors. She has extensive experience and qualification in facilitating Action Learning sets, and has developed mentoring schemes for managers. Diane has Diplomas in Management, Personnel and Training management. She is also an NVQ management assessor and holds a Certificate in Workplace Mediation

Elissa is a Senior Consultant at Central she manages the company’s social care services and team of Associate Consultants. She has been involved in providing training and consultancy to managers, social care staff and other practitioners working across statutory, independent, private and voluntary sector social care, housing and health organisations for over 25 years.

Elissa provides organisational and professional development for social care workers and managers and consultancy and training across the whole social care sector. Her development work ranges from operational guidelines, procedures and service design through to an innovative, academically accredited Leadership and Management programme for care providers in the Midlands.

In social housing Elissa has provided training for staff and managers providing care and support including establishing a value base for working with older people in sheltered accommodation and person-centred planning for care and nursing staff in a nursing home.

She is currently supporting the personalisation agenda and the introduction of self-directed support with a number of local authorities and promoting the development of best practice in Governance in the care sector.

From 1996 to October 2003 Linda was Head of Human Resources at the National Council for Voluntary organisations (NCVO). Some of her key achievements were, managing a major change and restructuring programme (cost driven) achieving IIP status, re-designing a new pay and job evaluation structure and introducing a performance management ethos where there had previously been a ‘hands off’ approach to management and the issue of accountability.

Linda has over 20 years experience in human resources, management and organisation development and training, gained working in a diverse range of organisations, national regional and local in the charity sector, many of which been working in partnership with the statutory sector to deliver local services.

Linda set up an HR advisory and support service to the voluntary sector in Leicestershire as a Personnel Adviser attached to a CVS. She worked at the National Citizens Advice service as a Training Development Manager, with a regional responsibility in the East Midlands for management, trustee and volunteer training. Linda spent another year as a Regional HR Manager for a National Housing Association, before joining NCVO.

Lorna has operated as a senior manager in a large complex and multi-dimensional organisation for over ten years. She has managed co-ordinated and facilitated a large programme of change and development with senior, middle and front line managers; designed an organisational development framework and has developed a performance management tool for staff (Staff Development Framework Handbook).

Lorna is an experienced change agent, an experienced action learning set facilitator and a trained mediator.

Lorna brings a combination of professional integrity, extensive change management, workforce and organisational development experience, alongside her ability to work with individuals and team in a manner that supports development and improves performance.

Colin is a highly experienced Finance Director with the added dimension of heading up human resources and planning and a real interest in strategic direction. Most recently Colin was Interim Resources Director at St Basils, prior to this he was Group Finance Director at Festival Housing Group where he was the lead Director on efficiency, effectiveness and performance matters. Colin is also General Manager/Secretary to Lyng Community Association, a small registered housing provider in West Bromwich.

Colin has been Chairman and Non-Executive director at Mercian Housing Association since October 2008 and also Chair of the Finance Planning and Investment Committee. Mercian became a member of the Circle Anglia Group in October 2009 and Colin also represents Mercian on the Group Strategy Board and Management Board.  Colin is also Non-Executive director at Jephson Housing Group, and Chairs the Finance Committee.  

Colin is Non-Executive director/Secretary at West Midlands Quality Centre Ltd. Colin is also Chairman of Trustees of the Social Housing Pension Scheme as well as being member of the Verity Trustee Board, the governance vehicle of the Pensions Trust.

Mairi’s expertise is in management and leadership, particularly in the management of change. She has particular knowledge of Corporate Governance and work with Boards, Trustees and Politicians. Her 8 years in business consulting is complemented by 34years’ experience in local government and health; she was Chief Executive of Waveny District Council and Northampton Borough Council. Until 2006 she was Chair of the Ministerial Taskforce on Bullying and Harassment in Local Government, and of the Northamptonshire Children and Young People’s Partnership Board and Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership.  She is also a board member of the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers and Network Rail. 

Mairi holds visiting lecturer posts at three British universities, and undertook doctoral studies around leadership and action learning.

Professor Karl George is a high profile, multi-award winning business man, accomplished professional speaker and author specialising in leadership and governance. He trained as an accountant and formed his first business at the tender age of 23. He has worked with a wide range of enterprises spanning the private, public and voluntary sectors. As an entrepreneur himself, he has launched and run many successful enterprises.

Karl is also the founder of the Governance Forum, a group of specialist organisations working together to deliver exceptional standards in the whole area of governance. Central Consultancy and Training is the housing partner of the Governance Forum, but Karl also works as an associate for Central Consultancy and Training. Karl has challenged and inspired hundreds of current and potential business leaders through his presentations, lectures and one to one coaching.  He is now one of the country’s leading speakers and business coaches in the fields of governance, leadership and strategy.

He regularly gives back to the community through contributing in his role as a member of many boards that are both local and national

Lisa is a highly experienced senior housing practitioner with a strong track record of developing and leading successful programmes to improve organisational performance, facilitate change and achieve targets across the housing sector.

Formerly Deputy Director of Housing Management and Homelessness Implementation at Communities and Local Government, Lisa was responsible for achieving ministerial targets on homelessness, delivery of choice based lettings, constructing the then governments Overcrowding Action plan, and for the delivery of housing mobility services.

At CLG and in her consultancy role, Lisa has worked with many local authorities, registered providers and voluntary sector agencies, undertaking service or strategy reviews, capturing and evaluating stakeholder views, preparing improvement plans and providing staff and management training.

An experienced trainer, Lisa designed course modules and lectured at DeMontfort and Loughborough Universities. She has spoken widely at national and international events on behalf of ministers and the British Government.

Currently a board member of Leicester Homecome, Lisa has served on many voluntary and community sector boards and has held posts of Chair, Treasurer and Internal Audit.

Lisa is professionally qualified and is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing

Sue has 10 years management experience and 25 years of training experience. Sue has an outgoing personality which motivates individuals and organisations to question their beliefs and undertake effective action. Sue has immense experience in the implementation and evaluation of training programmes. Whilst Sue is confident across all areas of HR, she specialises in the areas of Equality & Diversity and Learning & Development; these are two areas in which Sue is particularly passionate.

Sue also has expertise in running assessment centres, supporting organisational re-structures, conducting training needs analyses and delivering Customer Service training. Sue has more than 15 years’ experience as an Independent Investigator/Mediator and regularly carries out investigations /mediations in relation to complaints and allegations of bullying and sexual and racial harassment. Sue has also undertaken a number of counselling projects, both with individuals and groups, and she has provided specialist training for investigators and mediators.

Additionally Sue’s licence with the British Psychology Society allows her to administer, interpret and assess Occupational and Psychometric Tests, such as Myers-Briggs, which can be used in a number of areas such as recruitment and selection, assessment centres, personal development and training.