Our Senior Team

Cym D’Souza
Chief Executive

Our Senior Team

Cym D’Souza became Chief Executive of Arawak Walton Housing Association in 1998. Cym is a qualified Chartered Accountant.

Cym sits on the Strategic Housing Partnerships in Manchester, Trafford and Stockport.

She is currently Chair of BMENational which is the umbrella forum for over 35 BME housing associations which aims to promote equality and diversity in the provision of housing and support serves. It works under the banner of the National Housing Federation.

She is a member of the advisory group for the North West Housing Forum and the Greater Manchester Providers (Chief Executives) Forum.

She has been a member of the Greater Manchester Police Ethics Committee since 2014 and as of August 2020 became a member of Inside Housing’s new BAME editorial panel.

Ruth Welford
Operations Director

Ruth Welford - Operations Director

Ruth joined Arawak Walton in March 2022 and has a  BA (Hons) Applied Community Studies. DMS (Diploma in Management Studies ) and a MA in Management.

Ruth has 20 years’ experience of leading teams and partnerships within the voluntary sector in a range of complex service areas including early help, mental health, adoption and family support. She has held regulated roles including chairing adoption panel’s and safeguarding groups. Her robust skill set includes leading integrated service delivery, safeguarding and risk management, service design and business development.

Ruth is particularly passionate about creating the conditions for people’s voices to be heard so that they can achieve their potential and influence service provision and development. Above all, Ruth is committed to working with and for the communities in Greater Manchester in the pursuit of better outcomes for all.

Amanda Harris
Finance Director

Our Senior Team

Amanda joined the Association in May 2019. She is a CIMA qualified accountant and also has a BA (Hons) degree in European Finance and Accounting.

She has worked in housing for over 22 years and has undertaken many roles within Finance - such as Head of Finance, Financial Accountant and Management Accountant. She’s been involved in many partnership projects and joint ventures and enjoys working for a sector that puts tenants and communities at the heart of housing.

Amanda oversees all aspects of finance and IT, including treasury, long term financial planning, insurance and Value for Money.