Women in Property appoints new National Chair
Friday March 7, 2025
Emma Richman takes the role from 1st March 2025
Women in Property (WiP) has announced its new National Chair for 2025-26. Emma Richman, Director of Operations at Peaks & Plains Housing Trust, takes on the role from 1st March, for one year.
Emma, who has degrees in Building Surveying from the University of Salford, and Architecture from the Bartlett UCL, is Executive Director of Operations at Peaks & Plains Housing Trust in Macclesfield. She has been a member of WiP for 15 years and has worked in the social housing sector for nearly 30, holding NED and executive positions with a number of North West based housing associations, as well as sitting on two National Housing Federation panels.
“My entire career has been based around doing what is needed most in communities, prioritising and empowering people as best we can, as social housing providers, to provide affordable housing. We must balance this with all the challenges posed by a very tough operating environment, with increasing costs, new consumer standards but ensuring we support our vulnerable customers.”
Emma Is also a Board Member of Manchester Women’s Aid, part of the Pankhurst Trust and, in her spare time, tour guides for the Pankhurst Museum in Manchester.
“All of this chimes really well with what Women in Property is all about and I’m honoured to be appointed to National Chair. Our outgoing National Chair Jennifer Winyard and Chithra Marsh before her, have worked on unlocking potential and bringing people into focus. I’m developing this further with my theme, “People and community first” which I hope we’ll be able to reflect in our events, partnerships and messaging over the next year or so.”
Women in Property is also welcoming its new National Vice Chair, Samantha McCabe, a former Central Scotland Branch Chair. Samantha recently started a new role with WSP as Sustainable Building Lead, Scotland, and will be supporting Emma in the coming year, before taking on the National Chair role in March 2026.
Women in Property’s National Chair term lasts for one year, as part of the three-strong National team, which comprises Emma Richman, Samantha McCabe and outgoing National Chair, Jennifer Winyard. All three also attend the WiP Limited Company Board meetings and steer the seven nationwide Branches through the National Steering Group, so ensuring continuity of leadership and experience for the organisation.
