Sandra Ferreira, the new CEO Designate of Ferry Project, has won the ‘Women in Social Housing Award’ at the inaugural Housing Executive Awards.

This year, Housing Executive Magazine launched the Housing Executive Awards. It consisted of 10 categories and received entries from all around the country. The awards help shine a spotlight on the people and projects that make a big difference to communities across the UK.

The Women in Social Housing Award looks to recognise the hard work of talented and dedicated women in the social housing sector. Judges were looking for a strong commitment to best practise and providing consistently high-quality services; a strong work ethic and a determined mindset towards reaching their goals; and being a clear difference maker both to their organisations and residents.

The winner of the award, Sandra Ferreira, recently joined Ferry Project, an award-winning homelessness charity and social enterprise based in Wisbech, as CEO Designate. She will take over as full CEO in April 2026.

She is a dynamic leader with 13 years of experience embedding trauma-informed and restorative approaches across housing. For 12 years in management, she has led diverse services from social housing, homelessness hostels to semi-independent accommodation for young people and homes for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. Her leadership is unapologetically client-centred, rooted in lived experience, advocacy, and a fierce commitment to justice. Sandra drives systemic change through inclusive governance, strategic clarity, and deep compassion. She challenges housing to be braver, more accountable, and radically human amplifying voices too often silenced and building services where dignity is non-negotiable. Her work is both anchor and catalyst: reshaping systems, inspiring teams, and forging spaces where healing, choice, and equity thrive. Sandra’s approach is bold, values-led, and transformative. A call to reimagine housing not as crisis response, but as a foundation for belonging, recovery, and lasting change.

Sandra Ferreira says, “I’m deeply honoured to receive the Women in Social Housing award, a recognition of the values I hold close, compassion, courage, and the power of leading with authenticity. This award reflects years of hard work, bold decisions and a belief that change is possible when we stay true to our purpose.”

The awards evening took place in Bolton Wanderers Football Stadium on Tuesday 14th October, and was hosted by Andy Crane who was a children’s presenter on the BBC in the 1980s as well as a news anchor. He is now a popular voice as host of The Late Show on Greatest Hits Radio.