Dr Kelly Henderson
Founder & Co-Managing Director
Kelly has extensive housing sector experience, including as Interim Director of Housing at a London-based organisation, and in roles spanning asylum, local authority Supporting People Programmes, policy, and research. She holds a Master’s in Housing Policy and a PhD from Durham University focused on housing’s role in a coordinated community response to domestic abuse.
Kelly co-founded the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance (DAHA), delivering accreditation and supporting housing providers to improve their responses to domestic abuse. She has worked with a national property repairs organisation to embed domestic abuse awareness into operative roles and led the development of an industry standard for recognising abuse through repairs.
Named 24Housing’s ‘Housing Professional of the Year’ and one of the top 20 women leaders in housing (2020), Kelly also co-authored Housing and Domestic Abuse – Policy into Practice (Routledge). She is experienced in partnership working and project management, including leading the Home Office-funded DAWSA project across multiple police forces and overseeing national research into perpetrator interventions. She has also served as a local authority domestic abuse lead, coordinating city-wide responses. Kelly is a Non-Executive Director of Believe Housing.
Debs Alderson
Co-Managing Director
Debs is a nationally recognised policing leader with specialist expertise in domestic abuse and safeguarding. During her 30 year career with Northumbria Police, she was Head of Safeguarding, Public Protection and Criminal Justice, where she led a wide-ranging portfolio focused on preventing harm, protecting the vulnerable, and driving innovation in multi-agency responses.
Debs was the strategic lead behind the Multi-Agency Tasking and Coordination (MATAC) model – a nationally recognised and adopted system that identifies and disrupts the most harmful and serial domestic abuse perpetrators. Her commitment to partnership working has seen her develop effective collaborations across policing, housing, probation, healthcare, and the voluntary sector. She has championed a whole-systems approach to tackling domestic abuse and protecting children and vulnerable adults and led on implementation of Operation Encompass: The Next Steps, designing and implementing programmes of education for children about domestic abuse and healthy relationships. Debs was also commended by the National Police Chief’s Council for her work on Violence Against Women and Girls in development of a national strategy and delivery plan. In recognition of her outstanding contributions to policing and public protection, Debs has received several accolades, including numerous Commendations for innovation in safeguarding, excellence in leadership and sustained work with the LGBTQ+ community.
Professor Gavin Oxburgh
Non-Executive Director
Gavin is a Professor of Police Science, Assistant Director of the Northern Hub for Veterans & Military Families’ Research, and the Armed Forces Covenant Liaison Officer for Northumbria University. . He is a Registered Forensic Psychologist, a Chartered Psychologist & Scientist, and Fellow of the British Psychological Society – awarded in recognition of sustained and distinguished contributions to psychology.
He served for 22 years in the Royal Air Force Police specialising in child protection, sexual offences and domestic abuse. His doctoral research focussed on investigative interviewing of sexual and violent offenders which then laid the foundations for a prolific academic career, attracting approximately £5 million in research funding and producing a substantial body of literature on forensic psychology and human rights.
He remains a member of the UN‑backed International Steering Committee that developed the influential Méndez Principles on Effective Interviewing for Investigations and Information Gathering. Through his social enterprise company, ETiCA (Global), he provides specialist services & training to organisations worldwide – from the UN and the International Criminal Court, to national & international police forces & legal professionals – on ethical investigation and interview practice.