Young achiever in housing

• Individual nominated: Megan Reynolds
• Organisation: Fyne Homes Ltd

Statement of support

It’s a privilege to nominate Megan for "Young Achiever of the Year". Throughout this past year, Megan has dedicated herself to expanding her knowledge and skills, embracing challenges with an open mind and a positive attitude. She has immersed herself in understanding the complexities of social housing and its impact on our communities. Megan has actively engaged in training programs, workshops, and community outreach initiatives, seeking to expand her knowledge and skills in the sector. She has consistently strived to learn for own personal development and to benefit our organisation and be a role model to inspire others to reach their full potential.

In 2015, Megan was employed as Fyne Homes’ first ever modern apprentice. She has since worked hard and been promoted three times, to her current position as housing officer which she passed her probationary period in July 2025. Throughout Megan’s apprenticeship she attended many accredited housing courses and studied to gain her housing qualifications. In 2016, Megan won the national “Apprentice Challenge” at the SFHA Annual Conference from her dedicated work at Fyne Homes in relation to the first migration of Syrian Refugees being rehoused on the Isle of Bute. In 2017, Megan was invited to the SFHA’s Annual Conference as a speaker to deliver her journey in front of housing experts during the apprentice session.

Fyne Homes work in partnership with Rothesay Joint Campus and as a former school captain, Megan is invited as a guest speaker to their annual Careers Day and Skills Development Day, where she delivers presentations and talk sessions to academy pupils who are interested in work experience and apprenticeships. Alongside this, Megan gives career and academic advice to those who haven’t decided what they want to do when they leave school. Megan’s voluntary work within our local schools has led her to be a role model for pupils to help inspire and encourage personal and professional growth. She has also worked with other schools within Argyll and Bute, to which she has created an educational video diary of her housing career at Fyne Homes and everything she has achieved so far. Such is Megan’s involvement with pupils at Rothesay Joint Campus, she inspired one pupil to pursue a career in the social housing industry and that pupil applied for and became a Fyne Homes modern apprentice and is now employed in a fulltime position in our technical services department.

Megan works with various partners including Developing Young Workforce, presenting talks to pupils at careers days. Sophie McCormack, DYW Lead Coordinator–Dunoon and Rothesay said "Just wanted to say a huge thank you for coming into the school for apprenticeship week and talking to our S3 pupils regarding different pathways within Fyne Homes”. Megan also works alongside the HELP Project who supports 16-24 year olds. Rothesay HELP graduate apprentice, Louis Ware said of Megan “Megan has been fantastic to work with and our clients always sing her praises for her professional and personal approach. For the staff at HELP this is much the same has she is always happy to help with enquiries and issues quickly and efficiently. We feel that she represents Fyne Homes excellently in every sense of the word” 

Megan believes that learning is a lifelong journey, and she has taken every opportunity to grow and develop. Megan sets specific goals for herself, tracks her progress, and reflects on her experiences to ensure continuous improvement. apply what she’s learned. In the coming years, Megan aims to expand her expertise in social housing by pursuing additional qualifications, training and conferences that will enhance her ability to serve our community effectively.

Outcomes and achievements

Megan has balanced her new role, studying for her SVQ Level 3 in Housing, participating in EVH’s Future Leaders Programme. Megan took part in SHARE’s Young Housing Professional’s Network which was an opportunity to share ideas and building relationships across the sector. Megan attended SHARE’s Inspiring Leadership Conference and SFHA Factoring Conference. These events were beneficial to her as it allowed Megan to network with other housing professionals, engage in best practice, develop her professionalism and discuss innovative solutions to the challenges faced by the sector. 

Megan’s commitment has driven her to research best practices in social housing, advocate for residents' rights, and collaborate with various stakeholders to create sustainable solutions. Megan strongly believes that effective social housing should provide shelter, foster a sense of community and belonging, ensuring that everyone has access to safe, affordable housing. She has worked diligently to apply her learning to real-world situations, by working with partnerships or participating in professional discussions that address housing challenges and create positive change.

Megan deserves recognition for the hard work, passion and dedication she continuously puts into her career development to ensure she is making a meaningful difference to the lives of individuals and families that she serves.

• Individual nominated: Hannah Cox
• Organisation: Highland Council

Statement of support

Hannah joined the Highland Council in August 2020 through our housing modern apprenticeship scheme. From the outset, she showed a strong desire to learn and build a career in housing. Her passion and commitment to delivering excellent services to tenants have been evident throughout her time with us.

Hannah is a positive and dedicated individual and quickly becomes an integral part of any team. Hannah is a strong team player who approaches challenges with a calm and balanced manner, always seeking constructive solutions. Her resilience and professionalism have made her a valued colleague.

Hannah’s enthusiasm for housing and learning is clear. After joining as a modern apprentice, she completed her CIH Level 2 qualification and an SVQ in Housing in May 2021. Hannah is currently working towards her CIH Level 3 and is keen to progress to Levels 4 and 5.

Starting as a housing management assistant, Hannah progressed to a temporary housing officer role in 2024, where she has made a real impact in supporting tenants and improving rent arrears. In April 2025, Hannah was appointed to a permanent housing officer role, bringing a wealth of experience and insight despite her relatively short time in the department.

The housing department now has over 50 staff undertaking CIH qualifications, and Hannah has played a key role in this professional development drive. Hannah was the first in recent years to pursue both CIH and SVQ qualifications, inspiring others to commit to continuous learning. Her success has helped foster a culture of professionalism and continuous development across the service.

Hannah’s achievements were recently recognised at a Highland Council Housing and Property Committee meeting, where councillors congratulated her on her qualifications and the inspiration she has provided to others.

Hannah has worked across all teams in the Inverness area and consistently performed to a high standard. Hannah is experienced, knowledgeable, professional, and diligent. Hannah has a particular passion for supporting tenants with rent arrears, making a meaningful difference in their lives. Between May and August 2025 and remarkably in such a short space of time, Hannah reduced arrears in her patch from £107,000 to £97,000—a nine per cent reduction that has had a significant positive impact for tenants.

Lyndsey Mateer, principal housing officer: "Hannah has shown real commitment and resilience in familiarising herself with a challenging patch. Despite having a patch with high levels of anti-social behaviour and high rent arrears, she has approached her role with professionalism, empathy, and determination. She works collaboratively with colleagues and contributes positively to team dynamics and service delivery. Her proactive attitude and willingness to learn have made a significant impact."

Debbie Delonnette, service lead, housing and homelessness: "Hannah is a credit to the department. She has shown strong commitment to a career in housing and to continuous learning. We are proud of her achievements. Her journey has helped shape a culture of professionalism and learning within the housing service. As one of the first recent staff members to attain professional qualifications, we look forward to seeing her continue to grow and succeed."

Outcomes and achievements

• CIH level 2 qualification 2020
• Modern apprenticeship completion 2024 
• Currently working towards CIH level 3 qualification 
• Success acknowledged at Housing and Property Committee 
• Permanent housing officer role achieved in 2025 
• Remarkable commitment towards learning and professional development 
• Significant reduction in patch rent arrears.

• Individual nominated: Bryony O’Donnell
• Organisation: Falkirk Council

Statement of support

Bryony is a young tenant who has been a real asset to youth engagement and an inspiration to staff and tenants; she has taken forward ideas with energy and commitment, supported by housing and has shared these ideas and success with other housing providers and organisations who want to learn from Bryony’s approach. Bryony feels strongly that young people’s voices need to be heard, as they face different challenges and support needs in managing their tenancies, and having a positive impact in their communities. One of Falkirk Council housing service priorities within the Tenant and Customer Participation Strategy is to attract new tenants to be involved in tenant participation and has actively sought to attract young people to help inform service participation, design and delivery. Housing services wrote to all tenants under the age of 35 and as s a result of this focused approach Bryony reached out to express her interest in becoming involved and joined the “Service Improvement Scrutiny Group” early 2024 to review the allocations process from a customer perspective. Bryony thrived in this role and provided invaluable input into the scrutiny process and helped design questions for surveys to engage other young peoples views and attracted more young people to join.

Bryony chaired an event at the local college, to inspire and recruit young housing volunteers and following this engagement a Young Persons Housing Forum was suggested by one of the people who participated in the event. Bryony is currently developing the “Young Tenants Forum” and has also written an article in Tenant Talk sharing her experiences and encouraging and motivating more young people to get involved.

Bryony has shown commitment, energy and support to young people and many of the young people asked her to take their enquiries forward which she had the confidence to do.

Outcomes and achievements

To date Bryony and the tenant participation team have:

• Engaged with over 2,000 tenants aged between 18 and 35, this engagement continues with the objective being to start a Younger Persons Housing Forum chaired by Bryony and supported by the community engagement team 
• Recruited seven young volunteers, who will be involved in the work being undertaken by the Service Improvement Scrutiny Group, and the Young Persons Housing Forum
• Bryony provided invaluable input into the scrutiny process and helped design questions for surveys to engage other young people’s views and attracted more young people to join
• Lead by Bryony the young people will develop the “Young Tenants Forum” and decide where and how often they will meet. They will also agree a terms of reference for the group and will select housing topics of interest, inviting staff responsible for these areas to take part in discussions with younger tenants.

• Individual nominated: Jenna Freer
• Organisation: South Lanarkshire Council

Statement of support

After leaving school Jenna was unsure of which direction her career would take, however in February 2017 she secured a modern apprentice, housing assistant position within the council. This position provided Jenna with a passion for housing and helping customers.

The role was busy and varied and proved to be a challenge for Jenna. She gained a Business and Administration Level 3, SVQ while learning her role and her confidence grew along with her knowledge of housing. This led to her securing a permanent housing assistant post and was quickly promoted to housing officer within the integrated home options team in June 2020. 

As a housing officer, Jenna’s confidence grew, and she quickly gained experience of housing area such as allocations and homelessness prevention. Jenna excelled in her role, expanding her knowledge and experience of housing services.

In February 2023, Jenna was promoted to lead housing officer and thrived on the additional responsibility of the role. She was quickly promoted on a temporary basis to team leader of the integrated home options team in August 2023. Leading a team of 17 in a high demand locality, this was a challenging role which provided an excellent learning and development opportunity. 

Jenna leads her team by example, she is positive and motivates staff by coming up with innovative ideas such as introducing light-hearted team games, which increase staff morale and has resulted in improvements in team performance.

In addition, Jenna has also been central to improving partnership working, which has led to improved performance and service delivery. Jenna introduced weekly in-person meetings between specific teams, which helped build relationships, enabled faster decision making and resulted in faster void turnaround. The result of this being that customers were able to move to a permanent home quicker, often life-changing for those in urgent need. 

Jenna is customer focused, and prides herself on ensuring her team work proactively to prevent homelessness and provide an excellent service to customers. Jenna works closely with the homelessness team to ensure customers’ needs are effectively met and fully understands the important contribution staff have in reducing homelessness. 

Jenna works collaboratively with partner agencies to ensure care experienced young people are supported throughout the transition from care to sustaining a tenancy. Jenna’s ability to balance practical housing solutions with genuine care for vulnerable young people shows her commitment to inclusive and person-centred service delivery. 

The council is in the process of introducing a new IT system and Jenna has played an integral role in developing the system, ensuring it meets service needs, while simultaneously supporting her team through this significant time of change.

Wellbeing of staff is particularly important to Jenna. She is a member of the council’s Health and Wellbeing Group, where she represents colleagues and works collaboratively to identify ways of working which improve colleagues working lives. Jenna recently established a wellbeing room in the office, a quiet, calming space where staff can decompress, meditate or simply take a break from dealing with challenging situations.

Jenna achieved her Chartered Institute of Housing Level 2 and 3 and is currently undertaking Level 4. 

In July 2025, following a competitive interview process, Jenna was appointed to a permanent team leader role. Jenna will move to role of homelessness team leader, ensuring that the council responds to the challenges presented by the national housing emergency. 

Jenna is an excellent example of someone who through hard work, developed her knowledge and skills and gained academic qualifications which have been invaluable in helping her to progress her career in housing and deliver effective housing services to customers.

Outcomes and achievements

Jenna has excelled in her career, she is a high achiever and has quickly secured promotions, rising through the ranks marks her as the best young achiever of the year, a true powerhouse in housing leadership. 

Now managing a busy, dynamic team of 17, she combines deep knowledge with a supportive, approachable style that empowers her team. Her genuine care for staff wellbeing shines through daily. Jenna fosters a culture of openness, encouraging honest conversations about workloads and challenges, ensuring her team feels valued and supported. As a result of this approach, performance and service delivery to customers has improved under her leadership.

In a sector facing significant pressures, Jenna not only delivers outstanding results but inspires those around her to excel. She navigates complex personnel issues with skill and humility, while committing to continuous learning and professional growth.

As a mentor to a new modern apprentice, Jenna uses her own journey as a beacon of possibility, demonstrating how passion and dedication can transform careers and communities. Her leadership is rooted in uplifting others and improving lives and communities.

Jenna’s achievements reflect a rare blend of talent, heart, and vision. She embodies the future of housing; driven, compassionate and unstoppable.

• Individual nominated: Mia Smith
• Organisation: River Clyde Homes

Statement of support

Mia’s Journey at River Clyde Homes

Mia joined River Clyde Homes in 2023 as a business administration apprentice within the customer experience team. From day one, she demonstrated exceptional customer service skills, earning praise from customers, board members, and local elected members for her professionalism and warmth at our public-facing reception.

Upon completing her modern apprenticeship, Mia successfully secured a temporary role within the team, quickly transitioning into a permanent position thanks to her dedication and performance.

In 2025, Mia volunteered to be part of a pilot initiative focused on complaints management—a challenging area requiring confidence, resilience, and diplomacy. Mia embraced the role wholeheartedly, showing maturity beyond her years. She has become a trusted and respected member of the complaints team, confidently managing complex cases and constructively challenging senior colleagues to ensure high-quality customer responses. Her understanding of the customer journey and commitment to fairness have made a tangible impact across the RCH Group.

Mia is also a passionate advocate for young people in the housing sector. She has mentored new apprentices and served as a role model across the organisation. During Apprentice Week, Mia played a key role in outreach activities, including speaking at drop-in sessions to inspire future apprentices by sharing her own journey.

Her leadership extends beyond her day-to-day role. During our annual Working in Neighbourhoods (WIN) day, Mia led a community litter pick project, coordinating volunteers, managing logistics, and ensuring safety protocols were followed. Her ability to lead with clarity and purpose was evident throughout.

Stevie McLachlan, customer services director added: “Mia is an exceptional young professional who has a genuine desire to improve services for RCH customers. I believe she has a very bright future in housing and I'm pleased to support her nomination for this very prestigious award.”

Mia's next steps in her housing journey see her embark on her first CIH qualification. Future showing her commitment to her future in the sector. 

More than her role-based achievements, Mia has become an integral part of the customer experience team. She supports colleagues, mentors new staff, and consistently goes above and beyond to deliver for our customers. Her growth, leadership, and unwavering commitment make her a shining example of the talent and potential within our sector.

Outcomes and achievements

• Achieving her modern apprenticeship in business administration within four months
• Being appointed into a permanent role within RCH within two years of joining the organisation
• Being part of a pilot project to tackle complaints management in the organisation, leading the way for performance improvements
• Showing commitment to our communities by leading a community project aimed at improving spaces and managing colleagues to ensure their safety.