Our Team
Our people are our foundation and together we work to change the lives of our residents for the better.
Our Executive Team at Bridge Housing leads over 100 staff to deliver quality housing services. They are guided by a strong framework of governance, accountability, and transparency.
Laurie Leigh
Chief Executive Officer
Laurie joined Bridge Housing as CEO in August 2024. She is an established CEO and NED with a varied experience across aged care, disability, health and mental health, property development and education. She has previously successfully managed the operations and leadership of complex national and international organisations with a turnover of up to $300M, assets under management of $1.6B and a workforce of 4000. Laurie is passionate about developing high performing teams through a collaborative and engaging leadership style.
Simone Parsons
Chief Operating Officer
Chief Operating Officer
MPA
Simone Parsons joined Bridge Housing in the role of COO in January 2024. She brings a wealth of experience in domestic violence, homelessness, partnerships, service innovation, community engagement and advocacy. Prior to joining Bridge, Simone was the Deputy CEO of Women’s Community Shelters (WCS). She is the Chairof Shelter NSW.
David Miller
Chief Commercial and Financial Officer
BBus, MBA, CPA
David was appointed General Manager, Finance and Corporate services in October 2012 and is now the inaugural Chief Commercial and Financial Officer overseeing finance, treasury, investor relations, business transformation and IT.
David brings extensive leadership experience gained through a 25-year career in large property-focused listed companies, including Jones Lang Laselle, Investa Property Group and Clarendon Homes.
Christopher Dib
Executive Director, Homes and Development
BComm, Registered Valuer AAPI
Chris leads Bridge Housing’s acquisition program and oversees the maintenance of all assets under management. He is a registered property valuer and an Associate of the Australian Property Institute with considerable property development experience.
Prior to joining Bridge, Chris worked at AV Jennings overseeing development projects over $100m and at the NSW Land and Housing Corporation (now Homes NSW), developing and acquiring social housing.
Laura Duesbury
General Counsel and Company Secretary
LLB (Hons 1), BA (Hons 1), Member HCA and NSWCA
Laura joined Bridge Housing in 2022 as General Counsel and company secretary. She is responsible for a broad remit of legal, governance and compliance matters.
Laura is a senior commercial lawyer with more than 20 years of legal experience across the private and public sector, for organisations including the Sydney Opera House, Accor hotels and Clayton Utz.
Lindsey Gray
Development Director
Executive Director, Development
BPlan (Hons 1), MPropDev
Lindsey leads Bridge Housing’s development program, overseeing the delivery of the project pipeline. She brings 15 years of experience in social and affordable housing across government and the community housing sector.
Lindsey has led major estate renewals and infill development projects at the NSW Land and Housing Corporation (now Homes NSW).
Ellis Blaikie
Executive Director, Corporate Affairs
BPESS (Hons 1)
Ellis leads Corporate Affairs at Bridge Housing, overseeing stakeholder engagement, marketing and communications, impact and advocacy and strategic change projects.
Ellis has over a decade of experience in communications and engagement, research and strategy development. She has held senior management roles in community housing operations, impact and advocacy, strategy and new business.
Antoinette Holt
Chief People Officer
BA, Certified Executive Coach
Antoinette joined Bridge Housing in 2026 as Chief People Officer. She is responsible for organisational development, industrial relations, workforce planning, learning and development, diversity and inclusion.
Antoinette is an experienced HR executive, having previously held leadership roles at Standards Australia, City of Canterbury Bankstown and the University of Sydney. She is on the board of directors of the Jannawi Family Centre.
Our board, executive team, and staff show unwavering professionalism and share a common purpose.
The board uses their skills to make strategic decisions that align with our mission and values. Our executive team achieves our goals promoting inclusivity, innovation, collaboration, and growth. Our hardworking staff bring our purpose to life daily, performing their roles with dedication and compassion.
Together, we work as a united force to significantly impact our community today and create a legacy for the future.
Stephen Bull
Chair, and Member, Investment and Development Committee
BCom, BPsyc(Hons)
Director since 2020
Chair, Member, Investment and Development Committee, Member, Finance, Risk and Audit Committee
Skill Area: Real estate development and management, Finance, Community development, People and culture
Stephen has over 30 years’ experience in real estate, community creation and finance roles. In his executive career he held senior roles at Westfield, AMP and Stockland. The last five years of his executive career were as Group Executive and CEO of Stockland’s Retirement Communities business. Prior to his real estate career in Australia, Stephen spent several years working in investment banking in London. Stephen holds Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Psychology (Hons) degrees, is a member of Chartered Accountants (Australia and New Zealand), the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and the Institute of Directors New Zealand. He is currently a Non-Executive Director on the Board of Summerset Group Holdings Ltd (SUM.NZ/SNZ.AX), Capital Prudential Group and Parramatta Leagues Club Ltd. Stephen is also currently a Board Member of the ACT Government City Renewal Authority.
Karen Cooper
Deputy Chair, and Member, People, Innovation and Customer Committee
Dip Bus, Dip Training & Assessment, MBA, AICD, AHRI, ACM
Director since 2021
Deputy Chair, Member, People, Innovation and Customer Committee, and Member, Finance, Risk and Audit Committee
Skill Area: Strategic planning, Business transformation, People and culture, Governance and risk, Professional services consulting
Karen has over 25 years’ experience across financial services, human services, government, Indigenous and community sectors. She has held Executive Leadership Roles in listed and not-for-profit companies, most recently as CEO for RISE Ventures. She is currently the Principal of Cooper Consulting focused on business transformation, change management and building community capacity. She is a non-executive director and deputy chair of Yilabara Solutions and a non-executive director and chair of Services and Governance committee of Interrelate. She is a member of the Australia Institute of Company Directors or Governance Institute of Australia.
Jill Hannaford
Director and Chair, People, Innovation and Customer Committee
BappSc (AppEcG) (Hons 1), MUrb&RegPlg
Director since 2018
Director and Chair, People, Innovation and Customer Committee
Skill Area: Community and stakeholder engagement, social sustainability, inclusion and diversity
Jill is a social scientist who is passionate about diversity and social equity. Jill leads the Technical Communities of Practice at global professional services firm GHD, where she has worked for the past 30+ years. She is responsible for collaboration and the pursuit of technical excellence across the broad range of engineering, design, social and environmental sectors. Jill led the development of GHD’s Reconciliation Action Plan. She co-founded IAP2 in Australia in the 1990s and has strong community engagement expertise. Jill is a founding corporate partner of CareerTrackers: an Indigenous internship program and has worked very closely with CareerSeekers: an organisation that provides internships for refugee and asylum seeker professionals. She is a leader of Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace and in community organisations. She has guided change at GHD and in the infrastructure sector and was the inaugural Consult Australia Female Champion of Change in 2016. She is Chair of the Henry Halloran Urban Research Trust at the University of Sydney and on the Board of REdR Australia.
Liz Forsyth
Director, and Member People, Innovation and Customer Committee
BSW
Director since 2020
Director, and Member People, Innovation and Customer Committee
Skill Area: Housing and human service policy; Strategic planning, Service delivery and implementation, Government administration, Professional services consulting
Liz is a Director of Stride Mental Health and the Global Lead and founder of Forsyth Clement, a global advisory firm focused on the provision of advisory services in the Government, Human Services, Justice and Health sectors. Previously, Liz lead APM’s Aged Care and Disability Services business along with its Strategic Growth function for two and a half years remains a member of the APM Advisory Board. Liz also holds Board memberships with Relationships Australia (NSW) Limited and Aruma Pty Ltd.
Prior to this role, Liz was KMPG’s Global Industry Lead for Infrastructure, Government and Healthcare, Global Sector Head for Government and Global Human Services Lead. Liz has a passionate interest in working with vulnerable people and communities. Her professional career has concentrated in this arena, and Liz has worked in Australia and a range of countries (including in the United Kingdom, Canada, United States, India, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, New Zealand) and a global level (e.g. with the United Nations and World Bank).
Liz’s training as a Social Worker enables her to bring valuable skills in all aspects of her work. Across her career, Liz has been dedicated to producing better outcomes for citizens, improving access to opportunities for all and to support communities to be inclusive and welcoming of difference.
Vivienne Yu
Director, and Chair Finance Risk & Audit Committee
BEc, MRE, MBA, GAICD and FCPA
Director since 2022
Director and Chair Finance, Risk and Audit Committee
Skill Area: Finance, Risk, Investment, Real Estate
Vivienne has over 25 years of experience across the global banking, finance, property, and technology sectors. She currently serves on the boards of Heartland Bank Australia and AIMS APAC REIT (SGX: O5RU). Previously, she held various senior executive roles at Commonwealth Bank, including Executive General Manager and CEO in the International Financial Services division. Vivienne is a member of Chief Executive Women. She holds a Master of Real Estate from UNSW and a Master of Business Administration from AGSM. She is a Fellow of CPA Australia and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).
Jacqui Christie
Director, and Member Investment and Development Committee
B Ec/ LLB (Hons)
Director since 2023
Director, and Member Investment and Development Committee
Skill Area: Law, Governance, Property Development and Procurement
Jacqui has over 20 years of experience in legal and commercial roles across mergers & acquisitions, corporate governance, and strategic projects. Jacqui was a partner of a leading national law firm and subsequently held senior positions within NSW Treasury delivering transactions for the NSW Government. She is currently a commercial director leading projects in the infrastructure sector. Jacqui holds Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Laws (Hons) degrees. Jacqui is passionate about bringing commercial expertise to improve social outcomes.
Matthew Knight
Director and Member of the Finance, Risk and Audit Committee
LLB/ LLM, CA ICAEW, Dip. Social Leadership
Director since 2023
Director and Member of the Finance, Risk and Audit Committee
Skill Area: Finance, Risk, Real Estate Development and Funds Management
Matt has over 25 years of professional experience in the real estate and infrastructure industries working in a variety of roles across finance, funds management and development management including experience in Australia, UK, USA and Japan. He previously worked at Galileo Funds Management Group, Stockland, Rawson Property Group, Sydney Airport and Centennial. Matt is a qualified Chartered Accountant and is currently the Executive General Manager of Finance & Investment of Landcom.
Tina Tang
Director, and Chair Investment and Development Committee
BArch, GAICD, Cert Appl. Finance (SIA)
Director since 2023
Director, and Chair Investment and Development Committee
Skill Area: Finance, Risk, Real Estate Development and Funds Management
Tina has 35 years of experience in the property industry, working on mixed-use developments across all sectors in London, Hong Kong, and Australia. She began her career in Australia, then moved to London to work on boutique commercial developments and the Jubilee line Extension Project. In Hong Kong, she managed major mixed-use development parcels above and around the airport railway. Returning to Australia in 1997, Tina became Project Director at Lend Lease, managing the Aurora Place development, before joining Brookfield Multiplex where she secured key anchor tenants to the King Street Wharf precinct. In 2008, she became Group General Manager of Commercial Development at Investa Property Group, overseeing the growth and strategic direction of the Developments business. Tina now runs her own strategic property advisory business, Jattca property solutions, serving clients from the government, institutional, and private sectors.