We have a new Board member at Newport City Homes – and it’s an exciting new development for us.
Marsine Kousarieh joins us as a Trainee Board member. We’ve never had a trainee board member before. It’s a crucial step in our improvement journey.
Marsi joins us fresh from the Pathway to Board programme – an initiative launched last year by a group of housing associations in Wales (CCHA, Taff, Linc Cymru, Cadwyn and Hafod).
Specifically aimed at Black, Asian and minority ethnic people, the programme supports them to be Board ready.
As an alumni member, Marsi was looking for her next step into a non-executive director role, and we jumped at the chance to welcome her to Newport City Homes!
It’s part of our mission to make the Newport City Homes board more diverse – to better reflect our communities and customers, deliver our strategic commitment to Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion, and learn from best practice elsewhere in the sector.
We know that our Board members play a crucial role in our success – both by setting the strategic direction of Newport City Homes and keeping a keen eye on our performance.
So, it goes without saying that the decisions they make as a group are important.
Having a diverse Board improves decision-making. It ensures that any decisions made are informed by people with different experiences, views, and backgrounds.
While we recognise that not every Board member will have all the skills we require, the important thing is that the board, as a whole, does.
Marsi’s appointment was approved at the March 2023 Board meeting, and we’ve been looking forward to her joining us ever since. Her first Board meeting was in May, and it was great to benefit from her experience, knowledge, and fresh perspective.
By day, Marsi works in the Tech sector, as a Consultant in the digital transformation space. She has housing experience too, having worked for Linc Cymru for almost 6 years.
Speaking of her appointment, Marsi said: "This is a great privilege and a very exciting opportunity for growth for me. I have a real love for housing and the 3rd sector space in general and I hope that during this time as a trainee board member I can also be of service, bringing my experience in tech and digital transformation to support the interests of residents and the wider community."
The role of a Trainee Board member is like the other Board members, but without the legal and regulatory responsibilities and therefore it is not a paid position.
The idea is to give Trainees the opportunity to apply the theoretical learning provided by the Pathway to Board programme in a real boardroom setting and providing them with a Board member mentor to support them.
This approach also supports us in our succession planning, by helping to create a pool of board member ready candidates for future board vacancies at Newport City Homes, within the wider sector.
We’re excited to be on this journey and know that it will support every colleague at Newport City Homes by helping us be the best we can be – for our customers, communities, and each other.