Shelter’s trainers are leading experts in housing, homelessness, benefits, social welfare and personal development.

Chris Johnson

Chris Johnson is a solicitor and partner at Community Law Partnership (CLP) in Birmingham where he is the leader of the Travellers Advice Team (TAT). TAT was set up by Chris in 1995 at his previous firm and transferred to CLP when that firm was set up in 1999. TAT operates a national telephone advice line and has dealt with some of the leading cases in the area of Gypsy and Traveller Law.

Chris has taken three successful cases to the House of Lords (the two Porter cases and Doherty v Birmingham City Council) and is awaiting the judgment in a fourth case (SSEFRA v Meier). Chris writes and trains regularly on Gypsy and Traveller Law and is co-editor and co-author of the Legal Action book on the subject.

David Roberts

David Roberts has been a trainer with Shelter since 2005. He was a housing adviser in the late 1980s and early 90s, before becoming a solicitor specialising in housing and community care. He is presently a lecturer in housing law and lawyer's skills.

David is the co-author of the book ‘A Practical Approach to Housing Law’ and has also been a partner in a legal aid firm of solicitors. He runs a variety of Shelter’s housing and homelessness courses and is the main trainer for our Community Care and Housing course.

David Stickland

David Stickland has been a Shelter trainer since 2003. He has extensive experience as a Citizens Advice and local authority benefits caseworker.

David now combines training with working in frontline advice. He works as an independent trainer and consultant in the voluntary, public and private sectors on behalf of advice services, housing services, landlords and welfare to work providers.

Before becoming a benefits adviser, David worked abroad as an English language teacher where he developed an interactive training style that is engaging, informative and enjoyable. He runs Shelter's Housing Benefit and Welfare Benefit courses.

Deborah Winterbourne

Deborah Winterbourne LLB, LLM, BSc, MA, MSc has run domestic violence courses for Shelter since 2004. Currently Deborah works as a specialist freelance trainer and part-time for Solace Women's Aid.

Deborah qualified as a solicitor in 1991, and has worked in both private practice and for national and international organisations covering a wide range of laws.

Her specialism is legal issues pertaining to domestic violence in relation to housing, homelessness and family law. She is also a qualified psychotherapist.

Elaine Colomberg

Elaine has trained for Shelter since 1999. Her professional background is in health and social care. She is a Registered Mental Nurse and has worked as a practitioner and senior manager for over 25 years, primarily in the mental health, young people, homelessness and housing sectors.

She has delivered and managed front-line services, and held policy and quality assurance roles, led strategic evaluations, systems analysis and change management programmes.

In 2006 Elaine moved away from direct service delivery to be more involved in the learning sector. Since then she has undertaken her Diploma in Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector (PGCE) at City College, Brighton (accredited by Brighton University).

Her training is now mainly focussed on mental health, housing and young people. She also offers management and leadership programmes, including customer involvement, performance management, policy development, project management and train the trainer.

Elaine also works as an adult education tutor at local colleges including Sussex Downs College and City College, Brighton.

Eve Turner

Eve Turner has been a Shelter trainer since 2003. She has designed and delivered training to local authorities, housing associations and voluntary sector organisations on welfare benefits, debt counselling, advice and advocacy skills as well as health and safety in the workplace.

Eve has a wide range of experience managing and developing advice services for local authorities, the NHS and the not-for-profit sector, and has worked with a range of communities in deprived parts of London.

She has also worked in the FE sector lecturing in health and safety law, advice and guidance, and managed training programmes for volunteers. Eve runs Shelter’s Benefits and Debt courses.

Frances Burton

A Shelter trainer since 2001, Frances Burton has been a freelance trainer and management consultant in the voluntary sector since 1987 and is an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and the Institute of Leadership and Management.

She is also an associate trainer of the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureau and Age Concern, and is a member of the Management Development Network.

Frances has extensive experience of working in the public and voluntary sector, including the NHS, the Probation Service and the Citizens Advice Bureau and has senior management experience. Her specialisms are management skills, skills with people and facilitation skills.

Guy Wardle

Guy Wardle is a full-time independent consultant and trainer who has worked for Shelter Training since 2000. He has worked in the field of housing and homelessness for 19 years, 11 as a manager.

Initially Guy worked in hostels for single homeless people and then for nine years in housing advice.

From 1996–2001 Guy was chair of the Board of Directors of Homefinder Ltd, a small charity providing advice, assistance and resettlement support to homeless single people and childless couples. From 1993 to 2008 he was a member of the steering committee of the West Midlands Housing Law Group.

Guy runs many of Shelter’s courses, including the more advanced housing and homelessness topics.

Ian Dunn

Ian Dunn has worked for Shelter as a trainer and consultant since 2004. He has been working and training in housing law for 14 years. As well as lecturing in social welfare law at the University of Westminster he has many years’ experience working with housing associations and local authorities providing tailored courses.

Ian excels at conveying complex information in an easy to understand way and adapting to the knowledge and experience of the group. Ian encourages interaction and questions from participants and has a warm, approachable manner.

John Gallagher

John Gallagher is Principal Solicitor with Shelter’s legal team and has specialised in housing law for 25 years.

John has worked in private practice in Liverpool, at Nottingham Law Centre and the London Housing Aid Centre, which subsequently became part of Shelter.

John is an executive member of the Housing Law Practitioners’ Association. He has trained extensively for Shelter and the Legal Action Group, and is a co-author of the book ‘Defending Possession Proceedings’.

John Macklin

John Macklin has been a trainer for Shelter since 1989. He has worked in the housing and homelessness sector for 25 years, including 10 years for Shelter as an adviser and manager. During this time John worked with local authorities and voluntary sector agencies in developing a range of young single homelessness projects and expanding access to advice.

John has also worked for social services and has experience in community care and childcare law. He runs a number of Shelter’s courses but specialises in young people, the Children Acts and mental health topics.

John Shortridge

John Shortridge has been a freelance trainer and consultant since September 1996. He has written training materials on many aspects of housing and homelessness law, debt and welfare benefits and tailored courses on these themes for numerous local authorities, volunteer organisations, housing associations and colleges.

John was also an adviser for the Citizens Advice Bureau Service for 10 years. In June 2002 he completed the Common Professional Examination (Diploma in Law) with commendation.

Louella Crisfield

Louella Crisfield has been a freelance trainer for Shelter since 2004. She has worked for an East London Law Centre as a housing caseworker for the past 14 years and before that worked for Mind as a housing and welfare rights adviser. Lou has over 20 years’ experience in the field of housing law.

Lou has a particular interest in homelessness, security of tenure and housing for young people. She has produced a wide range of training materials and presented courses to all levels of delegates in her work with Shelter and her law centre.

Mark Robinson

Mark Robinson has been a Shelter trainer since 1999 and a housing law practitioner since 1987. He worked for 10 years as a local authority housing advice worker and tenancy relations officer before changing career and qualifying as a private practice solicitor, specialising in publicly funded housing litigation including homelessness reviews and appeals and defending possession proceedings.

Mark worked at Shelter’s South and West Yorkshire Housing Aid Centre, initially as a solicitor and then in a specialist support consultancy role before returning to housing litigation as a solicitor. He is housing subject editor for the Citizens Advice publication Adviser.

Mark trains extensively in housing law and practice, particularly landlord and tenant law, homelessness, mortgage advice, mortgage possession and public and human rights law. Among the courses he runs for Shelter are Mortgage Possession in the County Court and Housing Possession Proceedings: Practice and Procedure.

Marc Willers

Marc is a barrister and member of Garden Court Chambers. He specialises in the representation of Gypsies and Travellers and has been involved in a number of the most notable cases in this area of law.

Marc co-edited the Legal Action book 'Gypsy & Traveller Law' and regularly contributes to LAG magazine. He is instructed as an expert on the Convention on Human Rights by the Council of Europe and has worked throughout Europe advising clients on the application of the ECHR to cases within their own jurisdiction.

Patrick Whelan

Patrick Whelan has been a trainer for Shelter since 2000. He has worked in the not-for-profit sector for many years as well as for a local authority. Patrick trains extensively in housing law, homelessness, and many more housing related subjects.

Rita Parmar

Rita Parmar has run advanced housing law courses for Shelter Training since 2003. She has worked in Shelter’s Legal Team since 1999 and is currently a Managing Solicitor. Rita has also worked for Haringey Women’s Forum as a housing law manager and has taught housing law to undergraduates on the LLB course at London Metropolitan University.

Rob Hammond

Rob Hammond has been a trainer for Shelter since 2006 and is an innovative facilitator with a background of working with diverse groups. Rob is an accredited facilitator in Leading and Developing High Performance and The Self-directing Professional. Trained in psychometric profiling, Rob is licensed and accredited in MiRo Behavioural Modes TM and StrengthscopeTM, both of which maximise individual and team potential.

Rob has an honours degree in Psychology and a PG Dip in Integrative Counselling. He is a member of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy and is a practising counsellor. Rob’s work has a strong emphasis on personal development and engagement.

Roger Barton

Roger Barton has been a trainer for Shelter since 2000. Roger currently works as a Tenancy Relations Officer with a London council and has a vast amount of experience of working to prevent illegal evictions and harassment in the private sector. Roger also works as a Housing Adviser at a Housing Aid Centre, working alongside the homelessness unit.

Roger has produced a wide range of training material and presented courses to a variety of delegates such as the police, council staff and anti-social behaviour clients. He currently runs a number of courses for Shelter at both the introductory and more advanced levels.

Ruth Webster

Ruth Webster has been a trainer for Shelter since 2000. She is currently Head of Training and Development Services for one of the UK's largest children's charities and spent 13 years as Head of Training for the fifth-largest housing association in England.

Ruth has run a number of successful in-house management development programmes, including action-learning sets, mentoring and project work as well as classroom-based activity.

Ruth is a trained and experienced coach and mentor and is licensed to deliver Myers Briggs Type Indicator sessions for individuals and teams. Ruth runs a wide variety of skills and management courses for Shelter.

Sarah Porter

Sarah has been a trainer for Shelter since 2003. She has 18 years experience in the support service and training sectors.

She has trained staff at all levels of experience and responsibility in housing, health, social services and the voluntary sector. Sarah also works with the commercial sector.

Sarah has been a member of a Supporting People local authority team. As well as her front line service delivery experience, she has worked with the supported housing sector for more than 10 years at both operational and strategic levels; as well as her track record working with user groups.

Sarah specialises in working with front line staff who need to be able to apply knowledge practically and effectively in the workplace and at making complex information workable and interesting.

She trains many courses designed specifically for the support service sector and is very experienced at designing and tailoring courses to suit specific needs.

Steve Battersby

Steve Battersby has been a trainer for Shelter for more than 25 years. Steve is a freelance environmental health and housing consultant. Through the 1970s he worked in local government as an EHO then as an officer of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH), before going freelance in 1988.

Steve is a member of the Health & Housing Group and has provided expert evidence in housing cases. He is an Associate of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Housing Standards and Health at the Law School at Warwick University and also of the School of Law at the University of Surrey.

Steve is President of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (2008–2011), represents the CIEH on the Council of the NHBC, and is Chair of the Pro-Housing Alliance launched in September 2011. Steve runs Shelter's Disrepair and Housing Conditions legal liabilities courses.

Steve Povey

Steve is a solicitor-advocate and head of Shelter Cymru's legal team. He has trained for Shelter since 2003.

Specialising in housing and homelessness law for nearly 15 years, he heads a team of lawyers experienced in undertaking complex housing cases.

Steve is a highly experienced trainer. Having delivered housing law courses for many years, he now predominantly delivers training for social landlords, particularly housing associations.

Steve is also a regular speaker at social housing conferences and sits as a Legal Chairman on the Residential Property Tribunal in Wales.

He also writes legal columns for the Welsh Housing Quaterly, is retained by the Legal Services Commission as a housing law peer reviewer and as an external examiner in civil litigation and social welfare law by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

 

Stuart Freeman

Stuart has trained for Shelter since 2010, and has over 30 years of experience in housing and debt advice. He gained a Masters Degree in Housing and Social Policy at the London School of Economics, has a Diploma in Housing and is an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Housing and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Health.

Stuart is a trainer and consultant on housing, debt and welfare benefit matters for staff of housing organisations and community groups, and has designed and delivered Financial Capability Courses for residents.

Sue Lukes

Sue Lukes has been a trainer for Shelter since 1999. A specialist working with refugees, asylum seekers and other migrants for over 25 years, Sue provides strategic and policy advice as well as organisation and management consultancy. She also carries out academic research and has published several key works in the field.

Sue’s clients include national and local government, voluntary sector bodies and others. She has an extensive practice focusing on the refugee sector, mainly in the area of housing rights and advice management, and sits on the London Mayor's Housing Equalities Standing Group.

Sue runs Shelter’s Immigration Status and Housing Rights and European Nationals and housing rights courses.

Tim Jones

Tim is a Barrister at No 5 Chambers (Birmingham, London and Bristol), where he specialises in town and country planning and public law.

He has appeared in numerous Gypsy and Traveller cases (including Buckley v UK and Chapman v UK in the European Court of Human Rights) and carries out training in Gypsy and Traveller law in the UK and Ireland and in central and eastern Europe.

Tim is a co-author of the Legal Action book ‘Gypsy & Traveller Law’ and a trustee of the National Federation of Gypsy Liaison Groups.

Tony McKenzie

Tony is a consultant, facilitator, and trainer and has over 20 years experience of designing, delivering, and assessing training courses. He has a vast amount of experience working with corporate clients as well as public organisations. Tony has trained for Shelter since 2006.

As a qualified practitioner, Tony has worked with a wide variety of clients, including many with complex needs, often manifested via emotional difficulties and or challenging behaviour.

Tony combines all of his experiences together with insight, passion and humour to train Shelter's skills and management courses.

Tony Martin

Tony Martin has been a trainer for Shelter since 2007. He qualified as a solicitor in 2001 and specialises in landlord and tenant and housing law. Tony is currently employed in a London law centre and previously worked in private practice. He has provided training to a wide variety of organisations including solicitors, the statutory sector and voluntary groups.

Prior to qualifying as a solicitor, Tony worked for a London local authority writing policy and procedures and providing training in the housing department. All his working life has been spent in the housing sector, in both the statutory and voluntary organisations, and has included housing management, special needs housing and homelessness roles.

Tony runs a wide variety of Shelter's housing and homelessness courses.

Tracy Maylath

Tracy Maylath has been a trainer/facilitator since 1996 and a trainer for Shelter since 2002. She has delivered a wide variety of courses to clients ranging from people who are homeless, lone parents and young people to managers and directors of large corporations.

Tracy has written programmes in management skills and personal development for both the public and private sector. She runs several courses for Shelter, including Negotiation for Debt and Training Young People in Anger Management, and is the lead trainer on the Training for Trainers and Project Management courses.

Tracy uses an array of innovative methods and techniques and engages clients with her humorous approach, passion and in-depth knowledge and experience of her topics.