Dr John Boyle leads the Rettie & Co Research Team, providing a cutting-edge research and consultancy function. His work informs clients on sales, lettings, investment and development opportunities. He also analyses the current status of property markets and assesses how they are likely to change. Over the last 17 years, he has worked for all of the major house builders in Scotland, the Scottish Government, many local authorities and investors. He led the Scottish Government’s study into the 5-year Review of the Home Report. He sits on Homes for Scotland’s Policy Advisory Group and is a member of the Society of Property Researchers and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Kenn Gibb is a Professor in the School of Social and Political Sciences in the subject area of Urban Studies. He is also Director of the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence (CaCHE) funded by ESRC, AHRC and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and established in 2017. CaCHE is located in the Olympia Building, Bridgeton, in the social sciences research hub. For four years, he was the first director of Policy Scotland, and also a co-director of What Works Scotland co-funded by ESRC and Scottish Government (until taking up the role in CaCHE).

He has been a full time member of staff at the University in various guises since 1989. He was an ESRC research fellow until his appointment as a Lecturer in 1994. After becoming a Senior Lecturer in 1999 and a Reader in 2001, he became a Professor (housing economics) in 2006. He was also Head of the Department of Urban Studies from 2005 to 2010 and Associate Dean of the Faculty of Law, Business and Social Sciences in 2009-10.

His research interests are focused on the economic, financial and policy dimensions of housing. He has carried out research for government departments, ESRC, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, trade bodies, the private sector and international organisations like OECD, the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute and the European Union. Recent research, including projects for the Scottish Funding Council and for the EPSRC, have shifted into the economics and evaluation of net zero and lower carbon retrofit of existing housing.

He was a managing editor of the Urban Studies journal for 10 years. He is a past president of RC43 (housing) of the International Sociological Association and is a former president of the European Real Estate Society. He is an associate editor of Housing, Theory and Society. He was a visiting professor to the University of Amsterdam in 2011. He has acted as advisor to the Scottish Parliament's Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee and has also worked for the Scottish Parliament's Welfare Reform Committee. He has given evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Finance Committee, Local Government Committee and the Social Security Committee (previously welfare reform), as well as the Scottish Affairs and Housing and Local Government select committees at Westminster.

He was a member of Lord Best’s housing affordability commission, he sits on an MLUHC expert panel considering implementation of the UK Government’s social housing white paper. He is a member of the Northern Ireland government’s housing supply task force and a member of the research and insights advisory panel of The Housing Agency (Ireland). He also chairs the advisory board of the Dublin Housing Observatory. He leads (with David Duncan) the University’s Glasgow homelessness initiative.

Sara joined Smart Energy GB as Director of Corporate Affairs in January 2022. In her role, Sara oversees the organisation’s relationship with industry, government and other stakeholder groups, as well as the team’s work engaging parliamentarians and stakeholders, and publishing research on the impact smart meters are having on consumers and Britain’s energy system now and in the future.

Prior to joining Smart Energy GB, Sara served as Head of Public Affairs at Centrica where she developed and executed British Gas’ public affairs strategies, coordinated internal policy positions for their company commitment of reaching net zero by 2045 and engaged directly with Whitehall on policy development.

An external relations professional, Sara specialises in public affairs and policy with fifteen years of experience in roles across a range of sectors and organisations, including the Medical Protection Society, the Federation of Small Businesses and UK Parliament.

Laura McGadie leads and develops our energy advice and renewables services across the UK and has more than 25 years’ experience as a manager in the domestic energy field. Laura joined us in 2009 to establish the advice service for the Scottish Government’s fuel poverty programme and went on to lead the Scottish home energy advice network. Our advice services have expanded across the UK and include the Welsh Government’s Nest fuel poverty scheme and work in Northern Ireland.

In addition to sustainable development, Laura has a particular passion for great customer service and high-quality advice delivery driving ongoing improvements to achieve customer satisfaction levels of over 97%.

A keen gardener, Laura has her own allotment in which she grows her own fruit and vegetables.

Frazer leads our team. He is passionate about the social and environmental justice aspects of sustainable development. He has worked for over 20 years at a senior level with large multi-nationals, public bodies, local business, charities, social enterprise and community bodies. He has developed and secured investments of over £150million from public and private sector investors and led successful tenders for high profile international programmes and projects that have made a positive impact on communities across Scotland and overseas. He has managed cutting edge policy and research management across a range of social, economic and environmental topics. He has authored and edited innovative work on employability in a greener economy and wellbeing as a measure of social progress. He is a board member of Aberdeen Heat & Power, our sister organisation National Energy Action and an Out of school charity for families in Stirling. In his spare time he can often be found out on the roads, cycling; or poolside, helping out at swimming competitions.

Johann is on the Public Affairs team at Smart Energy GB, the national consumer engagement campaign for the smart meter rollout. In his role he speaks to politicians across the nations of Great Britain, helping them to understand how smart meters benefit their constituents and how they will help us get to net zero.

Beyond reaching and influencing politicians and stakeholders to advocate for the rollout, Johann works on research projects which examine the range of benefits to upgrading Britain’s energy system, and how the future ways we all work, live and engage with energy will evolve. Through these activities he explores the applications for smart meters in helping to end fuel poverty and building a fairer, more equitable energy system that works for everyone.

Alison became Director of Shelter Scotland in June 2020. Her previous role was our Deputy Director, with responsibility for the leadership and development of our services across Scotland and for all aspects of volunteering and involvement. Alison joined Shelter Scotland in 2002, with extensive leadership experience in health and social care, mostly in the Third Sector, but also within local authorities and the NHS. Immediately prior to joining Shelter Scotland, Alison worked in the mental health field, where she played a leading role in the development of several innovative services, as well as making a major contribution to pioneering the involvement of people who experience mental health issues in the design, delivery and management of services. Alison began her career in the late 1980s, working in a large hostel for people who had long-term experience of homelessness.