42 Roles in the Built Environment

42 Roles in the Built Environment - Real Estate Advisor "The way I was always told earlier in my career to try and understand my own role in the process is to be the ‘ringleader'. Imagine it's a circus and you're the one that's trying to chaperone and cajole and bring everyone together. And on my best day, I like to think that that's what I do – that's what I add to the process" - Nicola Rigby With over 20 years' experience, Nicola is a property advisor with specific specialism in regeneration strategy and delivery. Based in Manchester for most of her career (aside from a brief stint in London), she leads the Avison Young regeneration offer nationally, overseeing a team of 13 people including planners, surveyors, and economists, working for both public and private sector clients. Nicola has a real passion for delivering meaningful positive change for existing communities – with specialisms in masterplanning and delivery strategy for existing housing estates and existing housing areas.

42 Roles in the Built Environment - Strategic Director of Growth "We have not seen a drop off in demand for commercial space – take up is still really strong – and, if anything, there is an undersupply – but people use the space differently" - Becca Heron Becca Heron is the Strategic Director of Growth and Development at Manchester City Council. Formerly Director of Economy and Skills at Wigan Council, Becca's career has included a number of different public sector roles, including previous positions within both Manchester City Council and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA). During her time with the GMCA, Becca led on a series of high-profile and complex initiatives, including the development of 2014 Devolution Agreement. At Wigan, she took on the economic development and regeneration brief, playing a pivotal role in bringing key sites forward for development and kickstarting the redevelopment of Wigan town centre. As Strategic Director of Growth and Development at Manchester City Council, Becca has a key role in the delivery of the ambitions set out in the Our Manchester strategy, leading the city's recovery following the pandemic, building on the successes of the last two decades to drive inclusive growth that will ensure the city continues to be one of the most exciting destinations in Europe to live, work and play.

42 Roles in the Built Environment - Architect Founder "Increasingly, all businesses are recognising the need to show and demonstrate what impact they're having on the environment, and the community. And there are many ways to do that, from reducing a building's operational carbon footprint, to improving access to amenities. But in addition to those environmental and social benefits, I think it's important to recognise that ESG brings value to developers – so climate-ready and healthy buildings are much more valuable" - Rachel Haugh Rachel co-founded SimpsonHaugh Architects in 1987, and has since played an integral role in building the practice's strong project portfolio and reputation as leading urban and civic design architects. Having studied at the University of Bath, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in 2018 by The University of Manchester and in 2021, received the ‘Outstanding Contribution' Award from the Manchester Society of Architects. Involved in all projects, practice management and strategic direction, Rachel is a strong, intuitive designer, powerful critic, and passionate advocate of the rigorous interrogation essential to maintaining design quality through to completion.

42 Roles in the Built Environment - Head of Regeneration "We want to bring people on the journey with us, rather than us as people from outside the borough coming in and saying, ‘this is what you should have in your town'. It's amazing how many people don't have that approach" - Cathy Palmer Cathy is an experienced regeneration specialist managing teams delivering large-scale complex projects to drive inclusive growth, build communities and improve outcomes for citizens. Utilising government funding often to rebalance risk on challenging brownfield sites, including working with Community Interest Companies, developers, a range of public sector agencies and multidisciplinary consultant teams, Cathy is passionate about new challenges and opportunities facing the UK's regional towns and cities.

42 Roles in the Built Environment - Interior Design & Strategy Director "We're talking about neurodiversity quite significantly these days - every person has a specific requirement from the office. We need to consider that the space is usable for every type of need. And allow people to give their best" - Atepheh Amid Atepheh is an Associate Director in AECOM Interior Design & Strategy team with specific interest in user requirements-centred design focusing on how built environments can function to support their occupants' needs. She has a strong background in understanding and developing initial analytical data and business objectives, into creative solutions that provide effective long-lasting design. She is recognised as a trusted advisor by her clients and a visible team lead who dedicates time to the driving client-focused design, innovation, lessons learnt and mentoring colleagues with a strong emphasis on future-proof design, sustainability, inclusivity, value-for-money, safety, wellbeing, and award-winning quality.

42 Roles in the Built Environment - Sustainability Consultant "Be curious. And stay curious. Keep learning, and if you see something you're interested in, even if it's a niche thing, go after it" - Wendy Broomhead Wendy is a Partner at Ridge and Partners, and was a founding director of Scott Hughes Design. She has over 30 years of experience in construction, as both a Structural Engineer and Sustainability Consultant. She enjoys working on a diverse range of projects from commercial developments through theatres & sports stadia to schools, universities, and healthcare facilities. Wendy has developed a reputation for being pro-active and client focused. Over the past twenty years, she has developed her sustainability services offering to include Net Zero Carbon, ESG, Sustainability Accreditations (e.g. BREEAM, Homes Quality Mark, LEED, SKA, WELL & Fitwel), Post Occupancy Evaluation and Life Cycle Costing.

42 Roles in the Built Environment - Residential Consultant "The naming of a scheme is the hardest part, and that's why you have great marketing and creative agencies – the name stays with a building forever" - Louise Emmott Louise specialises in residential consultancy and her career has spanned over 20 years working for Chesterton, King Sturge and JLL. More recently, Louise has set up her own residential agency, Kingsdene. Louise has been involved in many city centre developments in one form or another, working with developers such as Muse Places, Clarion Housing Group, Renaker, and Urban and Civic. She provides developers with either combined or individual UK and international sales and marketing strategies from conception to completion, and is passionate about delivering the correct design and specification of individual apartments and amenity spaces to create residential communities. Louise is also a committee member for Women in Property North West.

42 Roles in the Built Environment - Health and Safety Advisor "I sit at the table. If it's a good team, they welcome our professional input. But you don't always get such a good team. And that's the frustration; when you walk away and think they've heard nothing that I've said" - Karen Bennett-Jones Karen Bennett-Jones MSc is a Chartered Health & Safety Consultant with Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB), working in different sectors such as residential, science, retail, and infrastructure. She is based out of their Manchester office and leads the Liverpool office health & safety team. She has been involved in the construction industry for over 20 years after starting her career working for the family construction company and moving on into health and safety in the private sector and consultancy services. Karen has also worked in health and safety management and safety systems in the Middle East, within the hospitality industry.

42 Roles in the Built Environment - Property Services Manager "One of the biggest challenges we're facing in the social housing sector is ‘old design'" - Kerry Whittle Kerry is a building surveyor and social housing refurbishment specialist whose career has spanned over 25 years, working in the social housing sector, having had the opportunity to work both client (housing association) and contractor side. More recently, Kerry has been involved in PFI delivery with Housing 21 who act as managing agent on behalf of Oldham Council. Kerry has a passion for passing the opportunity ladder down to young people who are just starting their career path within the property and refurbishment sector, in particular the social housing sector, this led to Kerry being one of the first careers enterprise advisors for the North West, and founder member for Women in Social Housing North West. Kerry has also been involved with Women in Property North West where she was a committee member for 4 years, and has more recently become a trustee for Wigan and Leigh Community Charity, an organisation which supports the start-up and sustainable development of Social Enterprises in the Wigan and Leigh Area.

42 Roles in the Built Environment - Workplace Strategist "Sometimes, the biggest part of that workplace strategy is just engaging the people and letting them have a voice. That's key" - Kathryn Mitchell Kathryn is a leader in workplace strategy and design, balancing her understanding of buildings with insight, engagement, and creativity. She enjoys the transformative design process, delivering authentic purpose and where holistic sustainability starts with ‘making better use of the spaces we have.' Her career spans over 23 years within practice and on the client-side, where her in-depth knowledge of the corporate ‘client-side' governance process provides a unique lens for creating and delivering regenerative workplaces. She founded Intrinsic in 2013 building up a highly respected reputation for delivering successful workplace and education interior design strategies across the UK. Kathryn's other passion is rhino conservation with an inclusive community approach.

42 Roles in the Built Environment - Director of Commercial Research "The perception is that affordable workspace is a problem, but I think it's a solution to a lot of problems. You've got all these start-ups coming in to key cities – not just London – so if we can house them, and give them the right space, then we can allow them to grow" - Clare Bailey Clare Bailey is a Director in Savills' Commercial Research team and has written extensively on themes within the regional office markets. Clare has written a number of articles looking at the ‘S' of ESG and has contributed to Savills office magazine ‘Core' looking at the key ingredients to a happy and productive workplace, as well as recently writing a report (commissioned by the BCO) on the importance of affordable workspaces – a solution not a problem. Clare presents at a number of industry events including Savills regional ‘Cross sector' seminars and Savills Financing property events.

42 Roles in the Built Environment - Construction Owner "Generally, construction is a hard industry to be in. When it's going well, it's so rewarding and it's such a fabulous sector – you could start as a joiner and become a managing director in 15 years. There is a breadth of different roles you can become, and I don't think there's another sector like it. But it is a hard sector. It's very timebound, it's quite transient, you have to be able to work as a team - because it's all about collaboration" - Nicola Hodkinson Nicola Hodkinson is owner and director of family managed contracting and house-building business, Seddon, where her role is all about ‘people' – people Seddon employ and people Seddon work for.  Her role encompasses everything from overseeing employee wellbeing to company culture and upholding the Seddon values.  Nicola believes that an inclusive workplace is a better workplace and fits with her mantra that ‘everyone deserves to have a good day at work.' Her work with Girls Out Loud, where she now sits on the Advisory Board, demonstrates her commitment to ‘closing the gap' and making construction a more inclusive industry.  As an advocate for mental health awareness in the workplace and more specifically, the construction industry Nicola became a trustee board member for leading UK mental health charity Mates in Mind. In 2017, she led on the businesses new approach to mental health with the launch of the award-winning Jordan's Conversation initiative, a campaign that set out to let everybody know that ‘it was ok, not to be ok'.    As a passionate promoter of careers in construction she has been championing apprenticeships for many years and has worked hard to build strong industry connections to create a hub of knowledge and opportunities for construction skills. She believes that we need to celebrate apprenticeships more and look at alternative pathways to bring more talent into construction.  Nicola is the first female to be appointed to the Seddon board and helps to steer the family business alongside her brothers Jonathan and Jamie Seddon. Upholding family values is important to Nicola who believes that ‘how a business operates is as important as what they do' and with this in mind aims to create a business that is productive with a happy workforce, where employee wellbeing is as important as profit.   As a custodian of the Seddon family business and as fourth generation Nicola wants to ensure she is looking after and developing the business for the future, assuring longevity and a sustainable future for the next generation of the Seddon family and the families it employs.

42 Roles in the Built Environment - Landscape Architect "There are lots of different skills in landscape architecture. We are the jack of all trades and the master of none. You've got to know about horticulture, materials, planning, architecture, lighting and culture" - Kate Weston Kate is a director of Asri, a boutique landscape design studio based in Manchester, UK. Kate is a Chartered Landscape Architect and holds a degree and postgraduate diploma in Landscape Architecture from Leeds Metropolitan University.    Asri focusses on high-end garden design, residential design, and small scale bespoke commercial design. Asri's schemes aim to be evocative and awaken the senses, spaces that enhance physical and mental wellbeing are at heart of the practice. Asri has a strong focus on planting design with an emphasis on craft and beautiful detailing.  Outside of work, Kate loves all things constant yoga, food and travel.

42 Roles in the Built Environment - Building Services Engineer "Be inquisitive, don't be afraid to ask a stupid question of another discipline. If you don't know why an MEP engineer is banging on about something, just ask them" - Ellie Griffiths Ellie is a Senior Associate at Hoare Lea, specialising in Building Services design and leading multidisciplinary engineering teams to deliver a range of exciting buildings. These teams/services involve not only mechanical, electric and public health (MEP) services, but also sustainability, fire, acoustics, vertical transportation, air quality, lighting, ICT and intelligent buildings. Her key focusses are operational and embodied carbon reduction and finding pathways to the rightly reducing carbon level targets.  Ellie is passionate about diversity, equity and inclusion and the benefits it brings to individuals and the workplace. Outside of work Ellie loves the mountains and most activities involving them, a little contrary given she hates the cold and is scared of heights!

42 Roles in the Built Environment - Heritage Professional "These systems and regulations are there to make sure we have good places to live and work that are good for our well-being and family life and making sure we don't erode that" - Kate Kendall Kate Kendall is a historic environment professional with a love of conservation and historic buildings. Following 10 years in local government she left Manchester in 2011 to put her skills into practice on a new project. With her partner they renovated a French farmhouse which was completed in the summer of 2012.  On Kate's return to the UK, she completed a Masters in Commercial Building Surveying at Liverpool JMU for which she achieved a distinction in late 2013 and received an award for from the IHBC. After 9 years at Historic England working with heritage at risk, channelling grant funding and working on Heritage Action Zones, Kate left HE in summer 2022 to join the Heritage Fund, expanding her passion for all things heritage.

42 Roles in the Built Environment - Editor "I think curiosity is the most important skill to have as a journalist. I don't think you learn that you either have it or you don't" - Samantha McClary Samantha McClary is a real estate journalist with more than 20 years' experience in the sector. Beginning her career at Caterer & Hotelkeeper, she soon made the jump into pure commercial real estate with a job at “property bible” EG. Working her way up the ranks from reporter to news editor, deputy editor and for the last four years, editor, Sam is passionate about the business of real estate and a champion of its transformation, digitally, design-wise and from a D&I perspective.

42 Roles in the Built Environment - Safety Lawyer "Experience as much as you can outside of your school environment, try and invest in as many external extra-curricular that you can. The biggest piece of advice I would give, and I wish I knew this more when I was younger, is don't be afraid of failure. Failure is just a learning experience" - Erin Shoesmith Erin leads the Safety practice at Addleshaw Goddard. Her work includes general health and safety, fire and building safety, food and product safety mandates. She is regularly instructed by clients facing investigation and prosecution, whether that be the Police, HSE, Local Authorities or the Fire & Rescue Services.  Erin's remit also incorporates Public Inquiries and Inquests. She is working on the Grenfell, Manchester Arena, Scottish Hospitals, Scottish Child Abuse, Post Office and COVID-19 Inquiries.  Sources describe Erin as having "a deserved reputation as being in the very top drawer. Her dedication to her clients shines through. There is nobody better".

42 Roles in the Built Environment - Marketing Director Professionally I think I'm quite a good analyst. People think I'm creative because I work with a lot of creative people, but my strength is connecting what I think an audience needs, what I think the brief is and what best fits that brief. I've always thought I'd be a good curator of a gallery, rather than an artist - Katie McLean Katie is UK & Ireland marketing director for Crown Paints.  As the strategic marketing lead, Katie was instrumental in the development of the brand's better, braver, beautifuller. proposition, that demonstrates the impact of colour and paint to people working across the built environment. Formerly Head of Marketing at ao.com and a Senior Marketing Manager at L'Oréal Paris, Katie has over 15 years of experience as a corporate and consumer brand and marketing specialist, across a range of sectors including retail, beauty and consumer technology.

42 Roles in the Built Environment - Landscape Engineer "I turned up on site at West Ham Station with my suitcase; they threw it in a dumper truck and took me off to site. I thought, wow this is amazing. I was twenty-one then - the only female onsite with two hundred men" - Lisa Sawyer With over 20 years of experience and gaining chartered engineer status in 2004 Lisa has worked on a wide variety of structural and civil engineering projects both in contracting and consultancy.  Lisa's new role as Director of Sustainable Drainage at Land Studio will help bring together a fully integrated landscape and civil engineering approach, bringing sustainable drainage into the wider site design to enhance the landscape providing climate resilient designs which reduce flooding, enhance biodiversity and create a better sense of place. Lisa is a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers and Women In Property.

42 Roles in the Built Environment - Transformation Director "Transformation, think of it like a three-legged stool. People, process and systems. For all of those things, all of those aspects of transformation you need to have quite a systematic approach" - Kate Morris-Bates Kate is Group Resources & Transformation Director at Harworth Group, a leading sustainable regenerator of land and property for development and investment. Kate has responsibility for Harworth's HR, Business Support, Technology, Workplace Development and Internal Communications functions.  Working with the Executive team and across the business, Kate's role is critical to delivering Harworth's strategy to grow the business to £1bn by 2027. Kate has spent 25 years working within facilities, risk management, learning & development as well as a time running her own consultancy and wellbeing businesses. Kate and her family are self-confessed outdoorsy people with a passion for nature.

42 Roles in the Built Environment - Quantity Surveyor "I think it's really important to acknowledge that we make mistakes. I try to encourage a really transparent and open environment, but I think one of the main things that I always try to pass down is putting in the processes and the habits that will reduce mistakes being made. If then mistakes are made, I really want people to hold their hand ups, acknowledge, take ownership and resolve" - Amelia Hudson Amelia is a chartered Quantity Surveyor and Associate Director at Identity Consult. Responsible for cost and contract management through all stages of a construction project, Amelia has been in the industry for fifteen years, starting her career working for main contractors before making the move to consultancy in 2018.  Her passion lies in managing multi-party teams to successfully deliver a project and providing professional advice and guidance to her clients. She is also committed to training and development within Identity Consult and loves to see the next generation of Quantity Surveyors learn and progress.

Jess is a Senior Engineer at Sandy Brown and has worked at the company for the past 7 years, starting out as a year in industry student whilst studying at university. Still in the relatively early stages of her career, Jess has worked on a wide variety of both building and environmental acoustic projects, developing an appreciation of acoustic design grounded with good technical knowledge. Example projects include residential schemes such as Kampus, Manchester, healthcare projects including buildings at Salford Royal Hospital, office developments and even her favourite football team's stadium with the new Anfield Road stand in Liverpool.

Marion is an Architect Director whose career has spanned over 20 years, working in both the London and Manchester markets for practices including BDP, Sheppard Robson and tpbennett.  Marion has experience across a range of sectors including commercial, residential / mixed use, education and healthcare. More recently, Marion has been involved in award-winning projects such as HOME, the cultural arts complex in Manchester and The Alchemist at MediaCityUK. Marion is fully engaged with current thinking in relation to sustainability and the built environment and the urgent need to move the debate forward for both new and retrofit schemes. Marion is also a committee member for Women in Property North West.

  Louise is a dual professional Chartered Architectural Technologist and Interior Designer with over 26 years in practice. She is a business owner of M1NT Studio Ltd specialising in retail, commercial, hospitality and accommodation sectors for leading global brands. She loves stakeholder engagement in defining strategies and evolving them into inspiring design solutions, expertly delivered. As secretary for the North West C.I.A.T. committee, Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists, she actively promotes Architectural Technology in schools, colleges and universities. Raising awareness in routes of progression and the roles within A.T.  Every day is a school day for Louise she thrives on reverse mentoring and continually extends her thirst for knowledge.

With a background in fire testing and passive fire protection, Parina is a Chartered Engineer with 11 years of experience working in a consultancy environment.  Parina has applied her engineering knowledge of fire and materials to a diverse portfolio of projects and has project managed and developed integrated fire strategies for major developments from concept stage to handover. Examples include Crossrail, the Palace of Westminster, Manchester Town Hall, Chelsea Barracks, London Science Museum and several schemes for a multinational firm offering flexible workspace.

During a career spanning nearly two decades, Victoria has used her experience in business strategy to help international organisations refine their vision, define their markets and shape their teams to achieve outstanding results. A qualified mediator with extensive experience in organisational restructuring, new market entry and business growth, Victoria's strength lies in bringing people together to first articulate a collective goal, then helping them move all the component parts into place to achieve it. As co-founder of Grey Lemon, Victoria now works with her business partner, Rhonda, to help organisations transform and grow on their own terms.

Hazel is an experienced design manager, specialising in workplace design with a demonstrated history in education, residential and leisure design, as an interior designer, project manager and latterly a Senior Design Manager at NatWest. A committee member of the BCO Scottish Chapter. A personal interest in nature is reflected professionally; Hazel is a NatWest Sustainability Champion and leads the creation of the Workplace Wellbeing & Sustainability and Design guide.

Carrie works within a highly regarded Approved Inspector as a Building Control Surveyor, also providing Business Development services to the company, and works with a vast portfolio of clients working on projects ranging from small office fit outs to the construction of brand-new care home facilities.

Angela Mansell is Managing Director of Mansell Building Solutions, a Bolton-based specialist contractor manufacturing off-site built steel framed buildings that they finish on-site. She became Operations Director of her family-run business in 2002 before becoming MD in 2019 and served three years as the first female president of FIS.  With over 20 years in the sector, Angela has an unwavering passion for construction and is always looking to challenge the industry to improve outcomes for clients and communities. She's dedicated to looking at innovative ways of recruiting diverse talent and is ambitious with how we develop true social value whilst ensuring construction is fit for the future.

Sian is the Director of Development at Yorkshire Housing. Having been with YH for 8 years, and with a background in land buying, she is now responsible for New Build Development and Sales at YH.  As well as being able to work somewhere where she's able to make a difference by providing new affordable homes, she's also passionate about sustainability, focussing on moving Yorkshire Housing to low carbon development and reducing their overall impact on the environment.

Emma is an independent town planner who in November 2019, after 20 years in the industry working in corporate consultancies, took the plunge and founded her own business, Acer Town Planning.  She enjoys working on a wide variety of planning projects, from domestic extensions to stately homes, with her experience spanning a wide range of sectors including residential, commercial, leisure and retail. Originally from Wales, she has lived and worked in Manchester since 2003.  Away from the day job she is kept busy by her daughters, husband and volunteering as chair of a local park friends group. 

Shannon has worked in the residential development sector, focussing on city centre development, for almost 20 years. Starting out in estate agency, she then studied to become a Chartered Surveyor which led to her being a Residential Director at one of the world's largest property consultancies, JLL.  Since 2019 she has been working at Glenbrook, one of the UK's leading Build-to-Rent developers, helping design and fund large residential-led regeneration projects. She sits on the national advisory board for Women in Property, the board of her local Community Land Trust, and the GMCA's Ageing, Housing and Planning working group. In 2022 she was named a Property Disruptor by North West Business Insider, and Residential Property Personality of the Year in 2023.

Rebecca is currently Associate Director at Hydrock specialising in Smart Energy and Sustainability. She delivers expert advice on national and local level energy and sustainability policy to various sectors and has extensive experience in sustainable design and construction frameworks and securing carbon reductions towards net zero whilst maintaining a commercial and client focus.  Her passion lies in strategic advice to site masterplans for garden cities and new settlements as well as major residential, employment and NSIP sites to ensure the delivery of highly sustainable, forward thinking and climate resilient developments through this period of significant change for energy, action on climate change and increasing consideration of health and well-being impacts.

Victoria Checkley is currently Design Director at Curtins. She has over 27 years of experience as a Chartered Structural Engineer specialising in the delivery of commercial, retail, residential, secondary education, higher education, wastewater treatment works, industrial, leisure and refurbishment schemes across the UK.  

Rachel is the Head of Property and Projects at Eversheds Sutherland, one of the world's largest law firms. Rachel leads real estate strategy, delivering award winning environments and leveraging change. Her team deliver strategic projects and BAU service excellence in estate management.  A history graduate, Rachel fell into real estate by accident, when a six week temp job in NHS Estates became a two-year role supporting a major strategic estate programme. She has since worked for a private developer and manufacturing company.  Rachel holds a Master's Degree in Commercial Property Management, is a Prince2 and MSP Practitioner, and is a Chair of Eversheds Sutherland's Gender Network. Outside work, she supports Everton, is renovating a Victorian house, and enjoys a glass (or bottle!) of wine!  

Zoe Brooke is Director at Whitfield & Brown Limited, Principal Contractor operating throughout the North West and Founder & Chair of The Save Construction Initiative. She is a former Chair of the Constructing Excellence Clubs Network. Zoe played a pivotal role in championing Constructing Excellence with her involvement as Chair of the Liverpool Club before taking the Chair position for the North West in 2017.  Most recently, Zoe has become a Careers & Enterprise Advisor with Greater Manchester Combined Authority & Salford City Council, allowing her to positively promote construction in schools, address equality & diversity to future proof the industry from further skill shortage.

Sycamore Square Group was founded by Debbie Lewis FRICS, MCIOB, MAPM, AaPS and Will Roberts MAPM, AaPS, forged from a shared passion for providing high calibre advice to deliver true cost savings for their clients and a unique ability to provide quality, efficiency and comprehensive services for risk, development and site management. Debbie has over 20 years experience in SME and Global Property and Construction professional advisory services, coupled with over 8 years experience and participation on the RICS Yorkshire and Humber Board, RICS Assoc Assessor, and a Chartered Builder which has given her a wealth of experience and knowledge putting Debbie at the forefront of the industry. She is passionate about delivering a high-quality service that is holistic, pragmatic and efficient to ensure our clients can optiise their investments. Having worked with large blue chip organisations as well as, Developers, Facilities Managers and Investors across a breadth of sectors, Debbie brings a broad level of expertise and experience to each and every client.  

Liz Gatheral is the Director of Estates and Capital Projects at the University of Central Lancashire. With a professional career spanning architecture, project management, sustainability and estates management, Liz has worked for a variety of organisations in both the private and public sectors. For the last eight years, Liz has worked for several universities leading on masterplanning and capital development programmes. Passionate about sustainability, she is also currently focused on helping the university achieve its net zero carbon ambitions.    

Katerina heads up ESG in the Real Estate team at Federated Hermes, leading the net-zero agenda across over £6bn of real estate portfolios. With over 10 years of experience in sustainability in the built environment, she focuses on developing holistic approaches in meeting environmental & social commitments and helping teams increase their ESG capability.  Previously, Katerina led portfolio-level ESG implementation plans, being responsible for the sustainability of several construction and urban regeneration projects in London. Katerina holds a BSc in Management Science & Technology and an MSc in Applied Economics & Finance (Athens), and an MPhil in Environmental Policy (Cambridge).

Jenny Hodges is an experienced interior designer and stylist with a demonstrated history of working in the interiors and retail industry. She is currently Interior Designer at Sanctuary Care. A brand new role within Sanctuary Care, she has joined the team as their in-house Interior Designer.  Jenny is in charge of producing a new design guide and refurbishing the 112 care homes across England and Scotland. Designing care homes that not only look beautiful, but are homely, safe, practical and meet the needs of all their residents, being a happy place for them to live and making sure all her designs are dementia friendly too.

Kal is an experienced Chartered Architect and RIBA Conservation Architect with almost 3 decades of experience in the Property and Construction industry.  She is highly skilled at all RIBA work stages; feasibility studies through to Planning, Tender and Construction stages and technical design. Kal always strives for the highest quality in design standards. Additionally, Kal enjoys motivating the next generation of designers through mentoring and outreach work (all ages). She is an all-round people person and loves supporting worthy causes. Hates using emails and prefers to chat by phone or in person.

A Director in Deloitte's Real Assets Advisory team. Placemaking and regeneration specialist as a town planner with over 10 years' experience. Leading on some of the largest and most impactful mixed use regeneration areas including Mayfield and East Manchester. Sector specialism in heritage and conservation, leading Deloitte's Heritage team. Sits on Historic England's Places Panel advising local authorities across the country on their management of historic places. Enjoys working collaboratively across the built environment and has previously volunteered many years with the RTPI NW and IHBC NW including RTPI NW Chair.