Every year for International Women's Day, we publish a list of planning's Women of Influence, as nominated by the readers of The Planner. To date, we've simply added each nomination to the list, with the aim of highlighting the breadth, depth and variety of women working in and around planning.

This year we invited formal nominations and citations, and asked a number of distinguished planners to help us select a focused list of just 50 Women of Influence. Despite this new element of selection this year, we still regard this as a non-ranked, non-competitive list – our aim is not to tell you who we think the 'best' women in planning are; but to celebrate the impact of women on planning and planners. As such, some women are on the list because they've had a significant influence on national planning policy; others because they've inspired the planners who work with them.

Oh, and there are more than 50 women! Overall we have 50 entries, but several of them are joint awards meaning the total number of women acknowledged in this year's list is 55. Have a look!

Public sector

Including local authorities, central government bodies, other public bodies (incl development corporations and development agencies), politicians.

p15_pooja-agrawal.png

Principal regeneration officer at the Greater London Authority and co-founder of Public Practice

Pooja co-founded the social enterprise Public Practice in 2017 as a vehicle for placing talented built environment professionals into local authorities in need of their expertise. In doing so, she and her colleagues have broadened the horizons of practitioners and local authorities, while helping to stimulate debate about the value of the public sector.

Citation: "Through setting up Public Practice and using this to raise the profile of public planning to a wider built environment audience. Eg, she has been interviewed about planning for the London Festival of Architecture podcast and for various magazines, most recently Blueprint. SHE IS MAKING PUBLIC PLANNING ATTRACTIVE AGAIN - what isn't to love!"

Citation: "Leading the charge to improve the diversity and skills of planners in the public sector."

Rachael Bust MRTPI

Planning inspector, Planning Inspectorate

A past East Midlands young Planner of the Year and chief planner for the Coal Authority from 2008-16, Rachael is one of the small army of inspectors who are vital to the proper functioning of the planning system, and whose judgement can have a considerable impact on the way planing is practiced in England and Wales. She stands out not simply for her professional excellence, but also her dedication to enthusing the next generation of planners and planning inspectors, as wel as delivering training to legal practitioners.

Citation: "Rachael has made a significant corporate contribution assisting in the recruitment of new inspectors. Alongside her work she is also completing her PhD research topic (on minerals planning) and promotes the profession through talks to students. In previous roles, she has mentored young planners to help them attain RTPI membership. Through her professionalism and enthusiasm for planning, Rachael has always acted as a role model throughout her career."

"Planners need to remain relevant, inquisitive and eager to develop, whatever career stage they are at" Heather Claridge

Heather Claridge MRTPI

Principal spatial strategy and projects, Glasgow City Council

Heather is the current RTPI Young Planner of the Year and a community-minded planner who pushes hard to deliver innovative urban projects, such as the Stalled Spaces scheme which has found temporary uses for 130 derelict spaces in Glasgow. An inspirational speaker, she has run sessions at the RTPI Young Planners' conference and delivered a keynote speech as part of EU Cities and Regions Week in Brussels in October 2018.

Citation: "Heather’s approach to planning has been very inspiring as she seeks out solutions beyond the traditional boundaries of planning, particularly through partnership with the creative sector... She has used her role as Young Planner of the Year to encourage and influence other young planners across the UK and beyond to think creatively about urban planning. She is an active member (Young Urbanist) for the Academy of Urbanism and has volunteered on their annual congress and has led learning activities in Glasgow. Outside of work she has volunteered on the Voice of Experience project which champions intergenerational exchanges between significant women in the built environment. In addition, Heather has supported activities to explore gender in planning and public space."

Councillor Clare Coghill

Leader of Waltham Forest Council, chair of Investment and Infrastructure Board and Walthamstow Town Centre Board

Council leader at a time when hers is the London Borough of Culture, Clare is also overseeing considerable growth in one of the capital's fastest growing areas. There's pressure to build 12,000 homes, stimulate business and employment growth, maintain the health of the borough's town centres, improve the area for current and future residents and retain Waltham Forest's distinctive identity. Clare was jointly awarded the Labour Party's councillor of the year accolade in 2018.

Citation: "Approachable style means she engages people from all walks of life, to help ensure she can form the best relationships and strike the best deals for residents in her borough in the public interest. A brilliant face of the council that people trust and want to work with, encouraging investment into her borough. Articulate and well-spoken communicator, ensuring clear messaging when speaking at events. Genuinely leading the way in the London Borough of Watlham Forest."

Sarah Davies

Northern Powerhouse lead, Environment Agency

Describing herself as an "inclusive Northern ecofeminist", Sarah comes from an environmental/energy background and has held a number of key roles in the field of sustainable energy in the North of England, including head of strategy for Greater Manchester's low carbon hub team. Following a stint in a more economically-minded role as director of business for Rossendale Borough Council, she's now bringing a breadth of experience to bear on a new role embedding environmentally sutainable development in a devolved North.

Citation: "Since February 2017, she's been a strong advocate for positive, proactive engagement by the Environment Agency in supporting the Northern Powerhouse. She has achieved this in the face of an organisation which has tended to be reactive, risk averse and inward looking, and her approach has contributed to the success and momentum that the Northern Powerhouse has achieved to date. In addition, Sarah has spoken at RTPI conferences and is a powerful voice for women in planning."

Maria Dunn MRTPI

Planning policy team leader, Worcester City Council, chair of RTPI West Midlands

A former regional young planner of the year, now chair of her regional RTPI branch, Maria is also a Planning Aid volunteer and leads planning policy for a council engaged in joint working with two other authorities – giving her the opportunity to push the boundaries of local authority planning.

Citation: "Maria was chair of RTPI West Midlands in 2018, she led the regional planning summit showcasing the opportunities and challenges presented by hosting major events such as the Commonwealth Games, and the role of planning in delivering the required environment and infrastructure and seizing the regeneration opportunities. Maria leads the planning policy team at Worcester City Council working jointly with Wychavon and Malvern Hills Councils to undertake a comprehensive review of the South Worcestershire development plan, one of the only comprehensive strategy, policies and allocations local plans covering three Local Authority areas."

Harriet Fisher MRTPI

Policy lead for major contributions, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

In addition to holding a significant role within the Ministry for Housing, Harriet does her fair share for planning and equality beyond the workplace. She's an assessor for the RTPI's Assessment of Professional Competence, a member of Women in Planning and Planning Out and a Fair Treatment Ambassador for her workplace.

Citation: "In a time where politics is obsessed with nothing but Brexit, Harriet has worked under extreme conditions to push through key policy and legislation regarding developer contributions. Whilst undertaking this work, she has introduced greater consultation within her department in order to get a wider opinion from outside government and also to encourage collaborative working."Citation: "A leader in her field, she mentors her team, marks RTPI papers, gives talks at planning conferences and involves herself wholeheartedly in planning. Alongside her role at MHCLG, she is also involved in developing a Fair Treatment commission aimed at ensuring fair working practices for everybody. Through this work she has invited external experts from the LBGTQ+ community to hold seminars to try and increase understanding of issues posed to the community whilst working. This work has seen Harriet travel up and down the country giving talks and training to councils and gaining feedback. She is also there for anyone to talk to on a one to one basis should they need help or support."

Caroline Harper MRTPI

Chief planner at Be First Regeneration Ltd (Barking and Dagenham's planning and regeneration function)

A leader in a new wave of local authority housebuilding, via arms-length vehicles that blend a commercial approach with a public service ethos. Caroline is also part of a wave of private sector planners moving into the public sector and bringin their commercial mindset with them, having moved across from private sector consultancy JLL in early 2018 to become head of the team at Be First Regeneration tasked with delivering some 50,000 new homes and 20,000 new jobs in one of the UK's fastest-growing boroughs – with all profits reinvested in public services.

Citation: "Demonstrated you can move from the private sector to the public sector at any time in your career, into senior positions. Is forward thinking, refreshing in her approach and unafraid to test new ways of working, but at the same time pragmatic. Proactive in pre-application engagement."

Anne Morgan

Head of strategic planning, Greater Manchester Combined Authority

Citation: "Anne has led the progression of the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework. It’s more than a plan. Anne has advocated and communicated the role of strategic planning and the difficult choices that need to be made, such as the balance between national policy and devolution, between housing number and the natural environment and low carbon targets, between housing and transport infrastructure. Anne has undertaken this task without complaint or fault, with honesty and utmost professionalism. Anne is the Emmeline Pankhurst of planning, a suffragette of strategic planning and an inspiration to all who wish to work in planning."

"There is a lot to do to ensure more women reach leadership level" Charlotte Morphet

Charlotte Morphet MRTPI

Principal policy officer, London Borough of Waltham Forest; co-founder, Women in Planning

One of planning's most prominent networkers, Charlotte is co-founder of Women in Planning, the professional network for women who work in planning, which is giving a platform to hundreds of women in planning (and men) to make the case for greater equality in the profession. Women in Planning has undergone considerable expansion in the last two years and now boasts 13 branches across the UK. Charlotte is also a member of the RTPI's General Assembly and was nominated for Young Planner of the Year in 2018 an again in 2019. On top of this, she's building a presence and impact within Waltham Forest's planning team.

Citation: "Being a co-founder of the Women in Planning network throughout the UK, she inspired me to not only follow the network but become the chair of the Women in Planning Northern Ireland Network. Her dedication to providing a platform for celebrating influential women knows no bounds. This is evident in her recent nomination for Young Planner of the Year 2019."

Citation: "Practising what she preaches - being a consistent voice to champion more women in planning on ever bigger stages, while also delivering in her day job."

Claire Pearce MRTPI

Chief planner and assistant director of inward investment and growth, Sedgemoor District Council; project director, Hinkley Point C

A woman of considerable influence within the South West, working on one of the UK's biggest and most complex infrastructure projects, leading economic planning in her region and bringing new people into the profession via her support for planing apprenticeships.

Citation: "Claire is a leading strategic planner at Sedgemoor District Council and is the main project director for Hinkley Point C, overseeing strategy and implementation to ensure legacy and compliance. Hinkley is one of the largest construction projects in the UK and Claire is responsible for leading a team made up of three authorities ensuring compliance and transparent change management as project requirements change.

"She also leads one of top performing planning teams in the country. As a strategic planner with vision and multi disciplinary skills and the ability to shape and deliver investment, she is now working with investors to create a new era enterprise zone at the heart of the South West: an innovative industrial campus recently named as Gravity. Claire has established an apprenticeship for town planning technical support and is an advocate for the degree level apprenticeship programme. She is also a Local Government Assocation peer review manager and a mentor for Reading University for Reading Real Estate Foundation."

Councillors Mandy Perkins and Linda Haysey

Leaders of council and executive members for planning, Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council and East Herts District Council

Politicians, rather than planners, but two women whose presence has shaken up their two authorities' joint approach to built development. The citation explains the reason for the joint award.

Citation: "Mandy Perkins (Welwyn Hatfield) has been a strong advocate of planning and chaired Hertfordshire Infrastructure and Planning Partnership (HIPP) for many years, pushing efforts to debate and agree cross border issues. The partnership recently completed an infrastructure prospectus to understand the scale of services and utilities that need to be funded and delivered over the next decade. It will be immensely useful to councillors as we begin to approach government agencies to discuss growth deal options.

"Despite a valiant battle, Mandy unfortunately died of pancreatic cancer in September 2018. She has been replaced as chair of HIPP by her friend and colleague, Councillor Linda Haysey (East Herts). Both women have been instrumental in establishing a Hertfordshire Growth Board comprising leaders and chief executives to debate long-term planning and infrastructure. Mandy had a genuine passion for good planning, place-making and affordable housing. She was known to virtually everyone in the council and warmly regarded by every planner. Linda is a formidable advocate of masterplanning and unafraid to archly criticise when all-male teams of landowners/developers turn up to promote sites to a mix of female/male councillors and officers."

Lindsey Richards FRTPI

Head of planning and enabling, Homes England

Citation: Lindsey is a key individual within Homes England. She manages and coordinates the Planning and Design Network and establishes and maintains relationships with key planning partners such as the RTPI, TCPA as well as other women's planning networks. Lindsey is also responsible for ensuring that the organisation is the delivery arm of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and provides regular feedback which helps to shape and influence policy. She regularly speaks at functions supporting the work that the organisation does to help speed up housebuilding and promoting design quality. Lindsey also mentors a number of individuals within the organisation helping them progress their planning career."

Citation: "Lindsey was awarded the status of FRTPI in 2018. She is an enthusiastic planner and her leadership, innovation and problem solving skills shine through all of her activities. Lindsey has always been an excellent manager and colleague. She is supportive and helpful to staff within her own teams and always listens to people and ensures that they feel valued. Lindsey has also made time to mentor other planning staff within the wider organisation and to promote the planning profession itself. Lindsey established an Agency wide planning network and she regularly hosts events for Homes England planners and also extends the invitation to the wider MHCLG family including PINS, so staff can network and learn from best practice across the whole sector. "

Emma Williamson MRTPI

Assistant director of planning, London Borough of Haringey

Citation: "Between 2013 and 2019 Emma Williamson has been instrumental in transforming Haringey’s planning service from a failing service (named in Parliament as an example of a poor local planning authority) to one of the country’s top performing. She has:

Guided contentious major schemes through to permission and delivery, exerting influence with the borough’s members and Greater London Authority (GLA) and the Mayor. These include applications totalling some 4,000 new homes at Tottenham Hale and more than 2,500 at Wood Green, along with the redevelopment of (and around) Tottenham Hotspur Football Club's stadium within the last 4 years.

Ensuring Haringey achieved its borough wide target of 40 per cent affordable homes throughout this period, by negotiating hard with developers, on-boarding lead members, other stakeholders and the GLA.

Fronting, and promoting London Borough of Haringey as a place for development and investment in the face of well-publicised political uncertainty.

Promoting and leading on the use of POCA (Proceeds of Crime Act) in enforcement within Haringey as a means of enforcement and funding the planning service."

p45_Judith-Winters-MRTPI-2.png

Senior planning officer, Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council

A prominent figure in the Northern Ireland planning world, Judith has majored on taking planning to children and young people since graduating as a mature student from Uslter University in 2010 – as her dissertation on children's participation in planning and regeneration might have indicated. She's a regular visitor to schools to talk about planning, an RTPI APC mentor and 2018 chair of the RTPI Northern Ireland executive committee.

Citation: "In 2018, Judith was instrumental in facilitating RTPI NI's partnership working with Belfast Healthy Cities on a project entitled Healthy Places Healthy Children. During these last two years, Judith has been invited by Ulster University to participate in World Town Planning Day to promote the role of planning in creating healthy places and sustainable development to over 100s of local school pupils and to university students. In addition, she has returned to Ulster University on many occasions as a guest lecturer in various modules on the MSci Planning, Regeneration and Development course. More recently, Judith has been involved in the Playshaper Programme, working with community planning partnerships in order to explore how play opportunities can be enhanced for children at a local level.

"Since transferring to Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council (in 2015), Judith provides leadership in enforcement and since her team’s inception, they have been consistently the highest performing planning enforcement team in NI."

Planner WoI Square.png note about judging

After collating the 337 nominations for 192 diferent women, we asked our judges to consider:

- timeliness (we wanted to feel that nominees had had an impact in the last two years)

- influence and impact (on individuals and planning as a whole)

- relevance and topicality - ie, how this impact relates to current issues in planning

- location (it's far too easy to create a list that's focussed on key cities, such as London; we're keen to highlight women around the UK and the world)

- variety (private sector, the public sector, the third sector, and so on)

- the X-factor, because some people just stand out.

Some citations gave us more information than others, so we allowed our judges to do additional research to build a bigger picture of nominees – but the citation remained at the core of our judgements. In some cases, too, nominations were made primarily for the voluntary work that someone had done outside of their regular job; nevertheless, we categorised them according to the sector in which they work.

Our approach was far from perfect - it's the first time we've managed a nomination and judging process, and we're learning a LOT for 2020. But we think our judges have helped us come up with a good list of notable women across a range of categories, all of whom deserve recognition. Of course, we can argue about this all day, but there's always next year...

We'd like to thank our judges for giving up their time and offering their expertise: Mary Fortune MRTPI (national co-chair, Women in Planning), Heather Claridge MRTPI (RTPI Young Planner of the Year 2018-19), Ian Tant MRTPI (RTPI President 2019) and Sara Parkinson MRTPI (planning team lead with Galliford Try Partnerships) and Laura Edgar (news editor, The Planner) and Simon Wicks (deputy editor, The Planner). One of our judges appears on the list; she had absolutely nothing to do with this decision, but is there entirely on merit.

Private sector

Sarah Ballantyne-Way MRTPI

Associate director, hgh Consulting

Citation: "Prior to joining hgh Consulting in Summer 2017, Sarah ran her own town planning practice at the same time as having two young children. Sarah solely employed other mums with young children providing the opportunity for highly skilled and experienced town planners to continue to practice and gain experience whilst working flexibility around caring for children, which was not permitted by many employers. Three of these ladies – myself included – went on to secure other roles which may have been more difficult had we not continued in work."On a personal level Sarah helped me gain a huge amount of confidence after a short time out after having children. Since joining hgh Consulting, Sarah has continued to inspire and assist with the career development of more junior staff within the practice, as well as leading on complex projects. In recent months she has represented an expert panel member (Roger Hepher) at a number of meetings of the Rosewell Review of planning appeal inquiries providing valuable input into the review. She has also provided input as a member of the British Property Federation to various consultations on planning law and policy ,including engagement with MHCLG."

Donna Barber MRTPI and Becki Hinchcliffe

Co-founders of Eden Planning

Citation: "As part of an established professional planning partnership forming Eden Planning three years ago, Donna and Becki have grown Eden Planning within a year to employing a team of six planning consultants in the North West. They employ flexible and sustainable working practices, which are at the core of the business, and the company supports the Working Forward initiative of the Equality and Human Rights Commission that encourages businesses to adopt best practices for expectant and new parents in the workplace. This innovative approach is a welcomed and exciting contribution to private sector planning consultancy practices which is worthy of recognition."

Polly Barker MRTPI

Principal consultant, economic development, AECOM

Citation: "Polly's main role at AECOM is to deliver effective solutions and outputs for clients but her pro-activeness means she offers so much more, particularly on the CPD and human resources side. Polly’s influence can be emphasised firstly through undertaking some challenging project work in Saudi Arabia where she was part of the team taking forward a city scale project in a country which has some of the strictest cultural rules for women. By visiting and working with the client team out in Saudi Arabia, and taking a leading role on the project, she has performed an important role in driving positive change in a regime which is slowly catching up with the modern world.

"Polly has also developed and set up an initiative called “lunch and learn” within AECOM, where the focus is on enlisting colleagues to promote internal collaboration and colleague-led professional development. Polly’s main reason for establishing the initiative was to provide an opportunity for those who typically may not get this at present. Polly also demonstrates a genuine interest in supporting and promoting staff, empowering them at work – she is currently mentoring two people outside of own team. Polly also actively promotes gender equality at work, including engaging with AECOM’s global diversity and inclusion agenda."

"I think we need to completely shake up the way we undertake community engagement as we’re really outdated in our approach" Kim Cooper

Kim Cooper MRTPI

Town planner, Arup

Kim is well known to The Planner, having joint-edited our November 2017 young planner's issue in her role as chair of RTPI North West Young Planners and lead organiser of the 2017 Young Planners' Conference. She's been heavily involved in a variety of other extra-curricular initiatives, including setting up Jane's Walks in Liverpool and supporting university students while they undertake research. Kim's also on the RTPI's Education and Lifelong Learning Committee, is vice-chair for RTPI North West and the youngest board member of the North West Construction Industry Council. In her day job, she's involved with one of the biggest regeneration schemes in the UK.

Citation: "Kim is a dedicated and passionate planner, who never misses an opportunity to promote the profession and who goes above and beyond her day-to-day role to do so. In her role as town planner at Arup, Kim is working on numerous high-profile projects including Liverpool Waters (the single biggest planning application in the UK) and research with the UK Innovation District Group to inform government policy.

"In 2016 Kim established the Arup-University of Liverpool Dissertation Scheme, providing final year students with a chance to have industry support while completing their research, learning from ‘real world’ practice. Now in its third year, Kim has recently recruited three new students for this year’s scheme and will be supporting them with their career progression.

"In addition to this, Kim also coordinates work experience opportunities for secondary school children to encourage them into the planning profession and gives careers talks at schools and career fairs. She is currently part of the RTPI Membership Guidance Review Panel, where she advises the RTPI on the clarity and suitability of their chartership guidance and standards."

Kim joint-edited our 2017 young planner's issue and interviewed then Young Planner of the Year Luke Coffey

BLOG_Jo_Davis.jpg

"As an industry, we need collaboration and action to ensure that digital infrastructure is inherent in the design, implementation and creation of new places" Jo Davis

Jo Davis MRTPI

National head of planning, development and regeneration, GVA

One of the few women who is national head of planning for a sizeable consultancy, Jo is a regular speaker at property and planning events around the country. Previously head of GVA's Bristol office, she was deeply engaged in the regional growth of the business, not least through her involvement in planning many of the South West's most prominent regeneration and housing projects; since her appointment as national head of planning in 20917, she's also been integral to the national growth and successful performance of the consultancy. Jo is also a champion of GVA's inclusion strategy and an advocate for the embrace of technology in planning.

Citation: "Jo is so inspirational and so knowledgeable. She has a passion for doing the right thing, for communities and for place-making. She has so much energy, and that's inspirational in itself! She is respected by her clients and she has been involved in many of the South West's major development plans over recent years."

Joanne Dennis-Jones MRTPI

Director of real estate, Deloitte

Citation: "Joanne was instrumental in organising a 2018 joint event with the RTPI about diversity, titled 'Planning for an inclusive future'. This included speakers from Planning Out and BAME in Property. Her push for diversity in the industry has continued since with talks with Victoria Hills and Steve Quartermain. Joanne has also been recently elected to the RTPI's Education & Lifelong Learning Committee, and works frequently with the British Property Federation (BPF) looking at some of the biggest issues facing planning today.

"In her daily work, Joanne leads and has helped deliver real estate projects for some of the firm's largest clients, and is a key member of the Deloitte Real Estate leadership team. In her leadership role, Joanne has also championed the importance of wellbeing at work, whilst also putting steps in place to ensure team members know how to access advice relating to mental health."

Vicky Evans

Associate director and UKIMEA residential business leader, Arup

With significant experience in housing, planning and infrastructure, Vicky leads Arup's residential business in the UK, Middle East, India and South Africa. She's been heavily involved in preparing for the arrival of HS2 in the East Midlands; but has also helped vulnerable communities overseas.

Citation: "Vicky is a passionate advocate of the East Midlands. Most recently, she has been leading on a planning and delivery framework for HS2 at Toton on behalf of Nottinghamshire County Council and is also providing advice on the economic narrative for the locally led development corporation

"Vicky has a keen interest in housing... and oversees a programme of internally funded housing research pieces, including a piece on Modern Methods of Construction. she's also an independent board member for Nottingham City Homes. She spent three years working for Arup in South Africa. This included a secondment to Oxfam for six months helping to establish community scale wind farm projects. Vicky is a passionate advocate of diversity and inclusion and was the Diversity and Inclusion Programme Manager 2014-17 within Arup's UKIMEA region."

Suzanne Holloway MRTPI

Associate at Vail Williams

After two decades in local government, Suzanne moved into the private sector with Vail Williams in 2016. As a local authority planner in Crawley, she played a pivotal role in the regeneration of the Manor Royal Business District, and continues to show a commitment to the long-term growth of the scheme, both in her new role and as a member of business groups that have formed around the project. Her commitment extends to her relationships with colleagues, where she's particualrly supportive of younger planners taking their first steps in the profession.

Citation: "Not only does Suzanne provide knowledgeable advice to clients and developers, she will always do the same for her colleagues and peers. She is always willing to help when asked, and always endeavours to help find an answer she cannot easily give, no matter how busy. She plays a pivotal role in the wellbeing and teaching of others and, outside of her busy planning routine always makes herself available to assist others where she can, no matter the time or day. She is that unsung heroine who is not only assisting in the transformation and reimagination of places and spaces, but is also a fantastic mentor, guiding and teaching me from graduate to a successful APC result, and supporting the university work placement students and other graduates that have been part of the team over the past two years."

Holly Lewis

Co-founding Partner, We Made That

Citation: "Holly Lewis is a co-founding partner of an urbanism practice with a strong public conscience that only works on public projects. She is driven by a conviction that the built environment can – and should – benefit all members of society. Holly’s emerging voice includes advocacy for community involvement with the design process, the role of women in the built environment and equitable city-making (and running a practice that is majority women).

"She has led two landmark pieces of influential policy work that is shaping the built environment in London: High Streets for All (PDF), a study for the Mayor of London on the social value of London’s High Streets; and Industrial Intensification and Co-location design guidance for the Mayor of London, which sets out ambitious plans for retention of industrial employment space alongside new housing across the city. She is appointed as a Mayor’s Design Advocate for the Greater London Authority and CABE Built Environment Expert."

Mary Parsons

Group director, regeneration and placemaking, Places for People; chair, TCPA

In addition to her work with Places for People and the TCPA, Mary is a trustee of MOBIE - the Ministry of Building and Innovation, an educational charity founded to "train and inspire young people to innovate in the design and construction of homes".

Citation: "Mary is an outstanding chair of the TCPA. She is a visible advocate for the sector and is often seeing speaking at events in Parliament, such as the All Party Parliamentary Group on New Towns. She regularly chairs TCPA conferences and is a huge supporter of the team’s work, particularly on health and garden cities. In her day job, Mary has been involved in planning and creating a number of strategic new communities, including in Milton Keynes and most recently in Gilston, north Harlow."

Jenny Taylor-Smith MRTPI

Head of town planning, Asda

Citation: "Jenny is a passionate and fearless leader who is spearheading change in the sector. She worked with the government on the 'agent of change' principle to put the onus on developers to mitigate against any issues arising from existing, adjacent stores. This was a groundbreaking move, with significant impact for the rest of the retail sector and the policy has now been adopted in the 2018 National Planning Policy Framework. Jenny is an active member of the women's development programme within Asda's Property and Construction team and represents Asda for the WIRED Women in Real Estate Development with the wider Walmart network. She is an ambassador for women in the industry and actively looks to support them by giving them access to role models, providing peer-to-peer support, encouraging collaboration and giving women practical guidance for improving confidence and impact."

Citation: "Jenny recognises, supports and encourages women to reach their full potential. She actively bangs the drum on the importance of women in the boardroom, she wants women heard and is changing and shaping attitude everywhere she goes by speaking up... Jenny knows that woman are powerful, she encourages others and cheers when others achieve."

Joanna Wright

Director of environmental planning, LUC

A committed environmental planner, Joanna's field of expertise is environmental impact assessments, garnered thorugh working on high profile, complex and environmentally sensitive projects. She's written good practice guidance that puts environmental concerns at the heart of development; has earned an MSc in carbon management while working part-time; she speaks regularly at conferences on environmental matters and has recently been elected a Fellow of the Insitute of Environmental Management Assessors. And she's an inspiring colleague.

Citation: "In my experience of working with Joanna, she actively questions the status-quo, posing thought provoking discussions with colleagues, sub-consultants, developers and clients. She excels at communicating complex EIA planning issues in a concise and unembellished manner, enabling non-planners to understand what are often complex planning matters. Joanna has an accessible and unequivocal approach and will stand her ground to ensure that her point is articulated and understood, which is very empowering to witness.

"Working with Joanna is always a positive experience as she injects humour into motivating teams and she seeks to strengthen and establish old and new partnerships within LUC and beyond. She supports and listens to contributions from all team members and encourages more junior staff members to take on thought-provoking planning tasks, yet she makes time to talk over tricky concepts and provides valuable feedback. Overall, Joanna is someone I aspire to... It is a privilege to work alongside her and follow in the footsteps of a personable EIA technical master."

Academia

Dr Rachel Aldred

Reader in transport, Westminster University

Rachel is one of the UK's leading transport researchers and a prolific writer, with a special interest in active travel. Her contributions to the understanding of what makes cycling and walking-friendly infrastructure and to the policy case for streetscapes that promote active travel can hardly be overstated. She blogs, is frequently in the media, constantly has projects on the go, and maintains a relentless schedule of talks to fellow academics, built environment practitioners and campaigners across the UK and Europe.

Citation: "Rachel is an academic specialising in transport but has a particular interest in the promotion of, and research into, safe and inclusive cycling in the UK. This includes ongoing research, policy steering and activism. Already a multi-award winner in her field, I think that this is an award that she also deserves. As a mature planning masters student over the past few years, I was fortunate to have been lectured to on a few occasions by Rachel and it was always a pleasure, always on the cutting edge and always inspiring. She's a world-class academic and activist and a pleasant person, too, which has won her much polularity."

“One day every council estate was new and everyone thought it was lovely. How did it go from that to being a sink estate?” Janice Morphet

Dr Janice Morphet FRTPI

Visiting professor, UCL Bartlett School of Planning

A doyenne of British planning, Janice has been a local authority planner, a county council chief executive, an adviser to government, a board member of both the TCPA and the RTPI, a prolific writer and academic. In the last two years, she's conducted research into local authority housebuilding for the RTPI, and published a book on the complexities and potential consequences of Brexit – in addition to planning, Janice is an expert on European instituions and how they shape public policy. Oh, she's also raised a daughter who is on this list, too (and who provides the citation).

Citation: "My mum is a mentor to many. She is always generous with sharing her knowledge and experience in planning and related fields; always on the end of an email for people to answer questions. Within the last two years, she has been the leading planner on Brexit, and we have all learnt about the process from her. Janice has learnt about an area of planning that had never been her focus – housing, specifically public sector building housing – through commissions for the RTPI and NPF (National Planning Forum). This has raised the role of planning in this process, and opened up conversations for the RTPI that perhaps they were not having, as well as providing a useful resource of activity. In addition, she continued to lead on infrastructure planning through commissions for NIPA on how to improve the DCO process and she still manged to publish a new book on spatial planning. I am one extremely proud daughter and to me she is the ultimate woman in planning."

Third sector

Including charities, membership bodies, think tanks, advisory bodies, networking groups.

"Just before the revised NPPF was published the Woodland Trust was aware of 586 ancient woodlands under threat in England" Victoria Bankes Price

Victoria Bankes Price MRTPI

Planning advisor, Woodland Trust

A passionate and enthusiastic campaigner for the conservation and management of ancient woodlands, Victoria is probably the leading planner in this field. Over the last two years, she's made it her mission to improve protections for ancient woodland within national planning policy (successfully) and increasing the awareness of planning's role in protecting ancient woodlands – resulting in development of a toolkit and RTPI CPD module for planners. She's also an engaging speaker and presenter, whose enthusiasm is infectious.

Citation: "Successfully influenced MHCLG to change national policy and strengthen the protection for ancient woodland. Used evidence tailored to meet ministerial concerns to successfully lobby for a change in position, as well as campaigning skills to show public support. Worked openly and efficiently with MHCLG policy colleagues so it felt like a joint victory in the end."

Nicola Barclay MRTPI, Tammy Swift-Adams MRTPI and Nikola Miller MRTPI

Chief executive, director of planning and head of planning practice, Homes for Scotland

We received such strong citations for each of these three women – all of whom have prominent roles within the small team at the industry body for Scotland's housebuilders – that we thought they were deserving of a joint award.

Citation – Nicola Barclay: "Last year she led the development of the organisation’s new five-year strategy which has at its heart the wish that everyone with an interest in increasing housing supply can unify around Homes for Scotland's primary purpose of delivering more homes for Scotland. She also co-authored a “barriers and solutions” discussion paper, exploring what is required to help home builders deliver at scale to meet housing need and demand, and which focused on the changes which need to be made to Scotland’s planning system, far beyond the auspices of the current Bill passing through the parliamentary process, if we are to ensure a system which is genuinely focused on delivery. Nicola is an active member of Women in Property and also currently sits on the Scottish Government’s Joint Housing Policy & Delivery Group, the CITB Scotland Nation Council, NHBC Scottish Committee and the Board of the Consumer Code for Home Builders. She also mentors young people coming into the industry, and enjoys seeing their careers take off! She has corralled a team of volunteers from across Scotland’s home building community for a Habitat for Humanity build in Kenya later this year."

Citation – Tammy Swift-Adams: "Leading Homes for Scotland’s (HFS) planning, land and infrastructure workstreams, Tammy has been at the forefront of shaping the long-running programme of planning reform in Scotland. With the Planning (Scotland) Bill about to enter its third and final round of debate and amendment, the work she has coordinated to date has helped secure a definite shift from conflict to collaboration, and a focus on the original stimuli for reform: the need to build more homes whilst addressing public disenfranchisement from the planning system... her approach has earned the respect of home builders, wider stakeholders and politicians and ensured HFS is regularly at the table when issues – from planning performance to land reform – are being discussed. Tammy was recently elected to the General Assembly of the Royal Town Planning Institute, having already served for four years on the institute’s Scottish Executive Committee. She is a member of the recently launched Vacant and Derelict Land Task Force, as well as the Scottish Government-led Infrastructure Delivery Group. Outside of her day job, Tammy is a published poet, and her writing often touches on the subjects of planning, development, design, community and home."

Citation – Nikola Miller: "One of planning’s great optimists, Nikola’s zest for planning and collaboration has seen her take on board roles for PAS (formerly Planning Aid Scotland) where she is vice-chair and the Built Environment Scotland Forum (BEFS). She is an RTPI Assessor and a longstanding PAS volunteer. Since joining Homes for Scotland from RTPI Scotland in 2016, Nikola has significantly improved the way home builders in her regions (north Scotland and south East Scotland) work with hard, persuasive evidence to justify their view on emerging plans and guidance. This hasn’t stopped her instilling a consensual approach to melding the views and experience of different players in planning and development, something which in 2018 saw her promoted to Head of Planning Practice. A very active Twitter user, Nikola has over 1,300 followers from across the planning community."

"We need chief planning officers back at the top table in local government" Victoria Hills

Victoria Hills MRTPI

Chief executive, RTPI

Almost a year into her role as chief execuive for the industry's main membership body, it's fair to say that Victoria has made her presence felt. Her hands-on, campaigning leadership style is opening doors, generating headlines and revving up the membership – and she's an ever-present speaker at events on all aspects on planning and the built environment. Of particular note are her campaign to get more chief planners at the 'top table' in local authorities and the successful drive to introduce a degree level apprenticeship for planning. This is a major victory for the industry that will open planning up to a much wider range of young people in future. Victoria is also an ambassador and adviser to Transitions, a social enterprise that seeks to place skilled refugees into appropriate employment.

Citation: "Although being chief executive of the RTPI is pretty influential, it's not about that. Victoria is championing diversity, inclusion and equality through the RTPI more publicly than the RTPI has ever done before, culminating in a statement about equality, diversity and inclusion. For that I think she should be thoroughly applauded."

Sarah James

Membership development officer, Civic Voice

Civic Voice is the national charity for the civic movement in England. Its aim is to foster and promote civic pride by heping to make places more attractive, enjoyable and distinctive.

Citation: "Sarah James is Civic Voice's membership development officer and is vital in influencing the policy direction of the civic movement. Sarah's role is to ensure the community voice is placed at the heart of Civic Voice's parliamentary work. Representing the thoughts and the needs of 255 community groups is no easy task. Through Sarah's work, we pull the voice of community across the country into a single, more comprehensive and authoritative voice. This started with the 50-year celebration of conservation areas; campaigning against the loss of conservation staff in local government; the poor quality of new housing and, more recently, opposing the relaxation of permitted development rights."In the past two years, Sarah has produced guidance on local heritage listing, co-ordinated Civic Voice's response to the Housing White Paper, National Planning Policy Framework and the government's latest permitted development rights proposals. It is from her practical role that Sarah then delivers training, briefings and support to community groups across England."

Brenda Jones

Developments manager at Stornoway Port Authority

Working in a highly-specialised area (ports) in what some would consider one of the more remote parts of the British Isles (Lewis and Harris off the west coast of Scotland), Brenda nevertheless makes her presence felt, through industry bodies,networking organisations and by contributing to national consultations.

Citation: "Brenda oversees the masterplan for a £66 million development project that will boost economic growth in marine tourism and other sectors, taking a collaborative approach to gaining the multiple consents required for Stornoway Port Authority's development projects. She is closely involved with the work of Women in Property in Scotland, sitting on the association's Scottish Advisory Board and working closely with women in construction and property, most topically organising a lunch for International Women's Day in Stornoway.

"She is committed to supporting women working in the industry, having this month (February 2019) completed evidence for Scottish Parliament’s Economy, Energy and Fair Work Committee addressing Scotland’s Construction Sector Inquiry. Brenda is a past national chair of Women in Property (2017-18), when she did a great deal to raise awareness in the professional media to issues surrounding disrespect and discrimination when #MeToo was top of the news agenda."

zoe-lenkiewicz-profile-250.png

Head of programmes and engagement at WasteAid

Zoë is passionate about waste – or rather, waste management. So passionate that she has dedicated the last three years of her career to growing waste management charity WasteAid, which works with community-based organisations around the world to help develop waste collection and recycling businesses. this activity is built on the premise that helping communities and governments manage their waste properly is vital to achieving the Sustainable Developoment Goals. Zoë's worked in the public and private sectors and is now sharing her expertise with communities around the world to make the world a nicer, less polluted place.

Citation: "Over the last three years, Zoë Lenkiewicz has grown WasteAid from the ground up. She is a driving force behind the movement to attract international attention to the power of waste management as a tool to meet many of the Sustainable Development Goals. Zoë was the chief author of the award-winning online toolkit Making Waste Work, which provides step-by-step guides to managing waste using no-cost or low-cost techniques. Since it was published in 2017 the Toolkit has been accessed by more than 77,000 people in over 200 countries. Zoë is now delivering the first ever WasteAid plastics recycling programme in Gunjur in The Gambia. The project will train a total of 90 local participants to turn plastic waste into saleable products, including paving tiles. In turn this will create green jobs, improve public health, and protect the environment. Zoe has sought trainees from amongst the most marginalised in the community, including disadvantaged women, people with disabilities and young people. Zoe is a woman of influence, and also my role model for the energy and determination with which she sets about empowering people to turn their waste into useful products."

"To get people into planning and related disciplines, they need to see people who look and sound like them" Lisa Taylor

Lisa Taylor

Chief executive, Future of London

Lisa leads Future of London, a network for built environment practitioners that aims to "build better cities" through knowledge sharing, skills sharing, influencing, research and training.

Citation: "I was on the Future of London Leaders Plus programme during 2017-18 (9 months) and had an opportunity to know Lisa's work better. Lisa's drive to build bridges across professional boundaries has been phenomenal. Over the past few years, under her leadership, Future of London has grown incredibly, expanding its sphere of influence and tackling main issues year on year with focused research projects and conferences. The last year's theme of projects on 'Overcoming Barriers' and my work on unlocking opportunities in pooling public sector industrial land holdings would not have been possible with out her support."

Citation: "She's been the driving force behind initiatives like Future of London's speaker diversity pledge, aiming to get more diverse voices on panels at built environment events. She champions talented up-and-coming built environment practitioners and connects them to opportunities for networking, working with senior mentors, building confidence, and new roles. She uses her vast personal and professional network throughout London to bring together public and private sector organisations and professionals who might not otherwise know each other or have reason to work together, and encourages them to share experiences from their respective projects and areas of expertise."

Citation: "Lisa is a huge influence to the regeneration of London... Her work in the last year focused on barriers to growth has been thought provoking and invaluable. She has also supported us in Brent to develop a Business Board to bring together high profile business leaders and the local authority, higher and further education, to collaborate in delivery of place marketing, employment and skills initiatives, and policy debate."

Priya Shah .jpg

Founder, BAME in Property

Coming from a prperty communications background Priya launched BAME in Property in 2018 and made an immediate impact, not least with The Planner. She has very rapidly become one of the key campaigners for diversity in the built environment industries. In late 2018 Priya travelled to South Africa to conduct research in to the relationship between the Indian diaspora community and the housing market, wth a view to discovering how the UK housing market can learn to better serve ethnic minority communities.

Citation: "She has galvanised professionals in the property space to pay more attention to the makeup of the industry and is passionate about the property and planning sector representing the communities that they serve."

Citation: "She has provided a fantastic platform for individuals from a BAME background to be recognised in the property industry, and helped them to progress. Whilst also working tirelessly to break down barriers and creating a more inclusive industry that is massively diverse.

Gill Wright

Founder of Historic Pools of Britain and project development manager for Victoria Baths in Manchester

Citation: "Gill Wright is the founder of Historic Pools of Britain, the first body ever to represent historic swimming pools in this country. She is also the project development manager for Victoria Baths in Manchester, a grade II* listed swimming pool and Turkish Baths complex which has been undergoing restoration work since 2002. I met her while I was preparing a documentary for historic Turkish Baths in the UK. I was very impressed with her knowledge, enthusiasm, and found her very inspirational. Gill is not a planner, but is someone who has been of influence in raising the profile of historic pools and baths, encouraging people to become involved in preserving and restoring our architectural and community heritage, and where possible getting them open to the public as affordable facilities. This is of interest to planners, especially now when the important link between health and town planning is high on the agenda again.

"With a significant number of historic pools already lost, Histori Pools of Britain gives a voice to those that remain and brings them together to share experiences and provide mutual support. Gill has attended seminars and conferences to raise the profile of historic pools and baths, given interviews in the media, provided support to local campaigns and interacted with local authorities on behalf of historic pools. Today there are twenty-four member pools in the network with a shared voice from as far afield as the beautiful Victorian Western Baths Club in Glasgow to the Art Deco splendor of Saltdean Lido in Brighton – some of the UK’s most historically important, community focused and architecturally exciting swimming pools.

"During Gill’s period as project manager at Victoria Baths, the building has been partially restored and established as a busy, vibrant heritage visitor attraction with over 35,000 visits each year. Victoria Baths Trust is now a successful social enterprise employing 11 members of staff, engaging around 100 volunteers and demonstrating that local communities can make a significant and positive impact on the historic built environment."

Media and communications

Jane Groom

Board director, London Communications Agency

Citation: "Jane Groom works, almost exclusively, on challenging, complex schemes that require sensitivity to local politics, boundless energy for community engagement and consultation and an instinctive understanding of how the two come together. As a board director at London Communications Agency (LCA), Jane advises private and public sector clients on how to navigate the planning process. She is an absolute force of nature and a huge role model for the rest of the 40-strong team.

"Jane has advised most of the biggest names in London property... and I would venture that she has had a hand in a significant percentage of east London regeneration in the last decade. In the last year my conservative estimate is that she has facilitated delivery of over 10,000 new homes in east London alone.

"Jane’s influence is felt throughout the agency, and her energy and joie de vivre is contagious, whether she’s discussing politics (she was chief comms advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister before joining LCA), cooking or the latest LCA book club read. The volume in the office ticks up a good number of notches when she walks in! Beyond LCA, Jane’s stature in a male-dominated industry is undeniable. I have never known her to be intimidated or muted in a world where both would be understandable. She is truly inspiring in her approach, which is to be unapologetically and energetically excellent at what she does."

"The building industry is in some respects incredibly sophisticated... But for some reason this sophistication falls away in the run-up to a planning committee" Anna Sabine-Newlyn

Anna Sabine-Newlyn

Chief executive, Meeting Place Communications

Citation: "Anna has been the Chief Exec of Meeting Place Communications for two years and it has been a transformational experience for our company. She has championed diversity internally, ensuring a gender balanced workforce with a negative gender pay gap. She promotes family-friendly flexible working policies for all staff and she has recruited a number of career break parents back into the workforce in leadership positions. In 2019 she will also be implementing a new policy that ensures that if we have any BAME applicants for roles, at least one of them will be included on any shortlist for interview.

"Anna also launched a new bonus scheme last year where staff are rewarded for a mix of financial performance, teamwork, innovation and social benefit. This has created a supportive culture where colleagues regularly nominate each other for good deeds and where good practice is positively encouraged and rewarded. At MPC we are all increasingly aware that there are many examples of women’s networking groups, but not any formal efforts to engage men in the industry on the question of gender diversity. This is why in November, with Nicky Morgan MP as our guest, Anna launched MPC’s Gender Champions campaign, seeking to find a hundred male gender champions.

"She is working hard to put her views on workplace culture, gender and diversity into practice in the way she runs our company and the way she interacts with the wider industry. She has spoken at a number of industry events on subjects ranging from regeneration to retirement living, sitting on predominantly male panels. She believes the industry can often be guilty of paying lip service to diversity but until male colleagues understand the issues their female colleagues face, there will always be a limit to what can be achieved, and although her campaign has risked criticism, she believes it is important to challenge some of the complacency that exists on these issues."

Law

Sarah Baillie MRTPI

Partner, Addleshaw Goddard

Citation: "Sarah is uniquely qualified as the only dual qualified planner and accredited planning law specialist in Scotland. Over the last two years she has been involved in a number of major energy, retail and housing projects in Scotland – which have contributed to the Scottish Government's energy targets, economic growth and affordable housing delivery programme. Sarah has also devoted a significant amount of her own time raising the profile of planning as well as educating and influencing the Scottish Planning Bill via talks, articles in the press and also with the work she does as a member of three committees to try and influence policy and legislation. These committees are: Law Society of Scotland Planning Committee; Scottish Property Federation Planning And Development Committee; and Construction Scotland's Planning and Building Control Working Group.

"Finally, Sarah leads the planning team in Scotland at Addleshaw Goddard. She has a real and active passion for everything that relates to the built and natural environment. Sarah is also really active at training and supporting junior lawyers."

Constanze Bell

Barrister, Kings Chambers

Citation: "As a committee member of Women in Planning (Yorkshire), Constanze (Stanzie) has been instrumental in founding the group and securing sponsorship, and she will chair a panel discussion for the group on International Women's Day. As an executive member of Kings Chambers, she represents the interests of junior barristers in chambers. As a mentor for 'inspiring the future' she visits schools in Yorkshire as a volunteer to give careers talks and inspire women to consider a career at the bar. She has also acted as a mentor for the Young Citizens mock trial for high school students. Stanzie makes time outside her practice to help others, particularly women."

"Diversity makes you think more creatively, you see things from varied perspectives and you have access to 100 per cent of the talent and potential" Jan Bessell

Jan Bessell FRTPI

Strategic planning advisor, Pinsent Masons

A former planning inspector and a leading adviser on major infrastructure, Jan sits on the council of the National infrastructure Planning Association and has played a key role in raising awareness of planinng across the infrastructure and legal sectors. She's been an RTPI General Assembly member and helped to shape policy and practice for planners. She is a long-term Planning Aid volunteer and sits on the Partnership Accreditation Board for the University of West of England. As an employee at Pinsent Masons, a law firm which is leading the way with its fair recruitment policies, Jan also flies the flag for diversity in planning and law.

Citation: "Jan has been a key influencer in infrastructure development for many years – on a project level (advising specific promoters) and in best practice (through her work for the National Infrastructure Planning Association)."

Citation: "Jan continues to be at the forefront of planning, particularly in relation to infrastructure planning across numerous sectors. Alongside this, and key to the nomination, her ongoing work on the RTPI General Assembly, with NIPA and, critically, support for the future of the profession though her work with universities highlights her as a worthy nominee."

Citation: "Not only is she a leader in her field, she is generous with her advice, with a positive solution focused approach that makes her a go-to for tricky projects that need clever ideas and a confidence on how to approach."

LEGAL_Estelle-Dehon.png

"The current state of scientific understanding indicates there are likely public health effects, but to what extent is not yet known, as fracking is still new" Estelle Dehon

Estelle Dehon

Barrister, Cornerstone Barristers

With particular expertise in environment, planning, climate change and data protection, Estelle is a campaigning barrister who has been at the centre of some of the most high-profile fracking cases in recent years, representing communities opposed to fracking in their locale. Beyond fracking, she is developing considerable expertise in the area of data protection and sits on the European Commission's GDPR expert group. she's a contributing author to books about human rights and information law, a regular conference speaker and conducts training for solicitors, local government officers and others.

Citation: "Estelle has been heavily involved in a number of high profile public inquiries and High Court cases concerning fracking to defend the interests of the environment and those of local residents. She has been committed, good natured and tireless. A true woman of influence to us all!"

MarthaGrekos250.jpg

Barrister, Hardwicke and running her own practice

Currently a barrister at Hardwicke alongside setting up her own practice, Martha is a leading adviser on major infrastructure schemes who was until recently partner and head of planning at Howard Kennedy, where she set up the planning team. She pubishes widely, sits on the board for Cambridge University Land Society, Women in Transport and the TCPA. She has recently been appointed by the Civil Aviation Authority to sit on their advisory panel to assist them with the expansion of Heathrow Airport.

Citation: "Martha is a force of nature. From the quality of the projects in which she is or has been involved, in key sites in London (Barking, Holborn, Shaftesbury Avenue) and regionally (Welwyn Garden City, Cambridge), it is clear that she is operating at a very high level handling complex, high value and high profile planning cases."

Citation: "She set up from scratch a planning team at Howard Kennedy, setting up an all-female team to encourage more women into that industry... She then set up her own legal consultancy and at the same time went back to the bar as a barrister at Hardwicke Chambers. She has been instrumental in promoting women in to the industry by being a very powerful role model not only in helping others along this path but also by being out there: being a judge on various property awards; writing articles; speaking at conferences; writing books; winning awards."

Kathryn Jump LARTPI and Lisa Tye

Partners and national heads of planning, Shoosmiths

Jointly nominated because they are in the unusual position of job-sharing in a significant role at a major law firm, Shoosmiths. This alone is worthy of applause. Both women worked in local authorities before moving into the private sector and both have been identified as leading individuals for planning legal work in the Legal 500.

Citation: "Kathryn and Lisa are unique in that they are not only incredibly talented lawyers they are exemplars in how senior women in the private sector can job share successfully. Not only that they also support women they work with to succeed and challenge the status quo. These are two amazing people."

Nathalie Lieven QC

Barrister at Blackstone Chambers and High Court Judge

Recently appointed a High Court judge, Nathalie has long been one of the country's leading planning barristers, with a practice covering the range of public, planning, environmental and human rights law. Her most high profile planning cases have tended to involve major infrastructure: Nathalie promoted the Crossrail Bill, represented EDF at a judicial review of Hinkley Point C and brought a judicial review of HS2. In addition to her legal practice, she has been an advocate for increasing diversity in the legal profession; she has sat on the Bar Standards Board Equality and Diversity Committee and in 2017 she chaired a JUSTICE working party on judicial diversity.

Citation: "Nathalie Lieven QC has recently been appointed to the bench as a High Court judge in the family and planning courts, after years of a successful career at the bar as a planning lawyer."

Sarah Reid

Barrister, Kings Chambers, committee member of Women in Planning North West

Citation: "Sarah is one of only three female planning barristers at Kings Chambers. As well as being a national committee member of the Planning and Environmental Law Association, she has been an active member of Women in Planning North West since its inception. Sarah organised inquiry training for Women in Planning event in October 2018, which gave a number of women valuable experience in how to give evidence in inquiry conditions. At least one of these participants has now been asked to give expert witness in a major inquiry, which may not have been possible without Sarah's training and encouragement from. She is always positive and encouraging, and will always take time to be supportive and provide assistance. She is also keen to increase the presence of women at the bar, who at the moment are vastly underrepresented."

Citation: "Sarah is an extremely professional and experienced planning barrister who has been beyond helpful at planning inquiries. Her friendly manner has built my confidence and influenced my experience of inquiries and giving professional evidence."

Citation: "Outstanding advice to my local authority in support of the preparation of our local plan. She has been able to articilate the new policy requirements of NPPF/ NPPG in a practical and clear way – not only to my team but to our specialist consultants. Easily one of the best barristers I have worked with in my 20 years as a planner."

International

K Driggins 250.jpg

Director of Strategic Planning, City of Detroit, USA

As director of strategic planning for Detroit, Kimberly has – arguably – one of the most challenging planning roles in the USA. But it's also on of the biggest opportunities, to reshape a city that lost its heart and its identity. Kimberley is responsible for comprehensive planning, capital improvement planning, open space planning, historic preservation and, crucially, creative placemaking. It's here that she brings her real expertise to the fore, as both the Mayor of Detroit's representative for arts and culture, and a Loeb Fellow at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design; where she explored the intersection of design, civic engagement and creative placemaking through the lens of equity and inclusion.

Citation: "She's replanning and rebuilding DETROIT?! She is also chair of the Gehl Institute and a Loeb Fellow. She also happens to be a black woman in senior leadership, of which we have far too few."

Lynn Ross_250.jpg

Founder, Spirit for Change Consulting

Citation: "Lynn is leading some of the most interesting planning work in the US. She is part of the US philanthropic team leading the Reimagining the Civic Commons initiative, which is changing the way cities plan, design, operate and engage community around public spaces. She’s also co-chairing the American Planning Association’s working group on Planning for Equity. This working group will produce APA’s first-ever policy guidance for the field of planning on equity. She’s also a key member of the Spaces & Places collective, an influential group of urbanists of color who organize a popular “unconference” in conjunction of the APA’s National Planning Conference each year to create more space for marginalized residents and organizations to engage in community building. Lynn doesn’t know me, but she’s a big influence both in her professional work and the way she advances the field through volunteer leadership roles."