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EPISODE 54:
Sarah Elliott
CEO Shelter: Fighting for home
“Home is everything. Its how you build your family. Its how you put roots down in a community. Its the base on which you can find and sustain employment or get into education. If you take that home away, then you take all of those other things away.”
Sarah Elliott is a leading voice in the UK voluntary sector, with over two decades of experience driving change and championing social justice. She joined Shelter as Chief Executive in September 2025, where she leads the organisation’s fight for home. Sarah believes there is no greater challenge facing England and Scotland today than the housing emergency.
Before joining Shelter, Sarah guided the sector through the many challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic as Director of Policy and Volunteering, and later as Chief Executive, of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO).
Before that, Sarah spent nearly a decade in health charities — as Director of External Affairs at Epilepsy Society and then as Chief Executive of The Neurological Alliance.
She began her career in local government, including working for the Mayor of London and later in the Charities Office of (then) HRH The Prince of Wales.
Alongside her executive career, Sarah has remained deeply committed to voluntary service. She is a trustee of the food poverty charity Trussell, where she chairs the Remuneration Committee, and has previously served on the boards of National Voices and The Brain and Spine Foundation.
Sarah recently completed the Senior Executive Programme at London Business School.
Links
Ep 54. Sarah Elliott, CEO Shelter:
Fighting for home
Sarah Elliott started as the new CEO of the UK charity, Shelter, in September 2025, having previously run the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) for 5 years.
Shelter exists to defend everyone’s right to a safe home. Campaigning for housing justice since 1966, Shelter has fought hard to change the housing system in the UK.
In June 2025, UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves, announced a £39 Billion investment, for social and affordable housing. The Renters Rights Act, passed in October, also brings much needed, widespread reform to the UK’s private rental sector.
A second-time guest on the show, in this episode, Sarah reflects on Shelter’s impact, her approach to leadership, and the joy of working in a cause-led organisation. We explore her experience of partnering with government and now seeing the Civil Society Covenant come to life. She discusses Shelter’s hard-hitting report My Colour Speaks Before Me on racism and discrimination in the housing sector, and shares her vision for the charity’s future.
Recorded November 2025.
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