Emma Palmer

Emma joined the Board as a co-optee in June 2023 and became a full Board Member in September 2023. She has now been appointed as the Senior Independent Director,

Emma has worked in the housing sector for over 30 years and is committed to making a difference to the lives of residents and communities. Emma’s experience spans a range of housing associations and local authorities in the East, South and London.  Emma is Chief Executive at Eastlight Community Homes and the former Chief Executive of Greenfields Community Housing, before it merged with Colne Housing to become Eastlight in July 2020.  Prior to Greenfields, Emma was a member of Flagship Group’s Executive Team for more than a decade, holding executive roles including Chief Executive of its wholly-owned subsidiary RFT Service Ltd and Executive Director of Customer Services.

In June 2023, Emma was granted the Lifetime Achievement Award at Inside Housing's Housing Heroes Awards, in recognition of her career in the industry.

Emma holds a BSc (Hons) in Housing Management and Development is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Housing and Vice Chair of Build East.