A sociologist, Kay has built up twenty years of solid expertise in community and social policy research. Her research areas include applied social research and evaluation in housing, public policy and community development. Kay established CRESA in 1994 along with co-director Julie Warren who retired from the company in 2010.  Prior to  establishing CRESA Kay was an academic, policy manager and ministerial adviser.

She has extensive experience in quantitative and qualitative research design, evaluation, and policy analysis. Her research includes: benefit and funding policy for health, welfare, housing, disability and social services; mental health services; and housing.  Kay is committed to and a successful provider of public good research. She currently leads the public good science funded programme Ageing in Place: repairs and maintenance of older people's housing and is a member of the Building Energy End-use Study team.  In the past she was a member of the Healthy Housing Programme (Otago University), HEEP (BRANZ) and led the Sustainable Neighbourhoods Stream for the BEACON Consortium as well as contributed to the NowHome and retrofit evaluations.

Kay is a trustee for the Marlborough Sustainable Housing Trust, and was previously a council member for the Lifetime Design Foundation Council, a director of a charitable company and a member of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Warm Homes.

Ruth is of Ngai Tahu descent. She has a double Honours degree in law and social policy and has been an indispensable part of the CRESA team since 1995. Ruth’s main interests are in the areas of the rental market, resource management, energy use, and community development. She has extensive experience in face-to-face interviews and focus groups with a range of people and in data management and analysis of both quantitative and qualitative information. Recent research includes her research officer role for the Ageing in Place project and interviews with householders and data analysis for the Heat Pump Study She was also research officer for the evaluation of the Rural Housing Programme undertaken for Housing New Zealand Corporation, the NMT Affordable Housing Study led by MOTU, research on landlord practices for the Department of Building and Housing, and research on access to safe and secure housing for at risk and vulnerable young people.

 

Lorraine Leonard, BA (Hons), MA (Soci) works for CRESA on a contract basis in the area of housing research. Her MA "Retirement Villages: Promises of a Lifestyle" was completed at the University of Canterbury in 2002. Since then she has worked in housing research in various institutions and has been the co-ordinator of the Social Science Research Centre at Canterbury. More recently Lorraine worked with PUCM (Planning Under Co-operative Mandates) at Waikato University evaluating the Community Outcomes Processes for the LTCCP's. She is an active member of The NZ Assn of Gerontology (NZAG) and Sustainable Otautahi Christchurch (SOC).

 

A 2011 addition to the CRESA team Georgia is doing a bachelor of science in biotechnology and politics at Victoria University. Georgia provides general office and accounts  support and as well as undertaking data entry and research assistant tasks.  She is in the office part time Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

  
 

James works part time at CRESA, where he performs data entry related tasks, and other text and document centred work. James has an MA in English Literature from Otago University. He recently studied Greek and Latin at Victoria University and continues to study both subjects privately when not working at CRESA.