Tracey McEachran: Reflections on my Time at WISH

When I first joined WISH as a London board member in 2017, I didn’t arrive with any particular ambition to lead. About a year later, when our then chair stepped down, I was asked to take on the role. I didn’t step forward; I was invited. That moment has stayed with me because it says a lot about how leadership is often perceived in a voluntary context: all of the work the regional boards do is voluntary, and from the outside a leadership role can look like a lot of effort with not much obvious upside.

Over time, I came to see that part of the work of leading in that setting is making the role feel attractive, purposeful and shared, so that people can imagine themselves stepping into it.

From early on in my time as London chair, succession planning became a quiet but consistent focus for me: build a board around you, stay connected, and always be thinking about how you make leadership feel possible for the next person.

Alongside leadership, what has kept me with WISH for so long is the culture of our networking. Walking into a WISH event feels different. There is a generosity in the room, a sense that you can talk to anyone, that hierarchy softens and nervousness is met with warmth rather than judgement. I remember one woman who later joined our board; she was very nervous about attending her first event. Within minutes she was talking to me, and soon after, talking to others. She felt like she belonged, quickly and genuinely.

One of the defining chapters of my time with WISH was, of course, Covid. As a networking organisation built on live events, it was a profound shock to find ourselves unable to gather in person. At the same time, I was involved in a large European facilitation group, and in that first week of lockdown, around fifty of us were online together, figuring out how to use Zoom and other tools to deliver training and connection in a completely new way. By the second week, I was delivering a session for that group on creativity.

That experience helped me move WISH quickly: we ran a national online event for all our boards, a short session which gave people confidence to run their own online events. My focus as London chair during that period was very simple: the well-being of my board. I checked in regularly, created spaces where board members could speak openly, feel seen and heard. That care for the board naturally translated into how they served our members.

Another milestone was becoming Chair of the WISH CIC board and the first president, where I created the Hear Her Voice campaign. Together, we raised the agenda around the fact that women are around two and a half times less likely to ask a question at a conference, a pattern that sadly still shows up at events I attend now. The facilitation guide that grew out of Hear Her Voice, designed to help hosts and organisers create spaces where women’s voices are more actively welcomed, is something I continue to share with organisations for whom hearing women is not just desirable, but vital.

As I step down from my role as chair, I feel deeply proud of what we have achieved together, and genuinely humbled by the talent and commitment I’ve encountered along the way. I feel privileged to have been part of this organisation for such a long time, and clear that the need for WISH has not diminished. Some of the barriers women face may be less visible than they once were, but they are still present, and their impact is still felt. That is why having a dedicated space for networking, connection and voice for women in housing remains so important.

I step down with gratitude, with fierce hope, and with a quiet confidence that WISH will continue to nurture women, challenge systems, and make leadership feel possible for those who are yet to see themselves in that role.

Warm wishes,
Tracey McEachran
Outgoing Chair, WISH