Ambassadors

Head of Let’s Go Zero - Ashden

Alex Green is the Head of Schools for Ashden, a climate solutions charity based in London. Alex leads on Let’s Go Zero 2030, a campaign that supports UK schools working together to be zero carbon. She leads the national Let’s Go Zero Climate Advisors network and sits on the DfE User Group for their Sustainability & Climate Change Strategy and previously managed Ashden’s sustainable school awards and peer to peer LESS CO2 programme. Alex has a Masters in Environmental Management from the University of Cape Town and has previously worked running an environmental business awards scheme for a local authority, supporting small businesses to cut carbon and regulating industry at the Environment Agency.

UK Account Director, Schools, Trusts and Local Government Education - Arcadis

Andrew leads our UK offering to Schools, Trusts and Local Government Education clients. He has been supporting Education sector clients with developing and enhancing their estates for 20 years, with experience across Universities, Schools and Diocesan Portfolio Holder Clients as well as Multi Academy Trusts. His primary focus is around delivering large volumes of refurbishment and extension schemes, capital condition projects and strategic property related advice. Andrew has held key roles in supporting the Department for Education, particularly relating to condition strategy and led the Technical mobilisation of the Condition Data Collection Programme.

Partner - Haverstock

Claire Barton is a partner at Haverstock and has extensive experience of providing architectural design, client design advisor and technical advisor architectural services to SEND Schools at nursery, primary, secondary and higher educational level together with experience in residential settings. Claire also works as a technical advisor for the DfE and PSBP and has an in depth understanding of the current SEN requirements and specifications in line with the current Department for Education funding streams. She is passionate about innovative SEND design that respects and supports children and young people and their families/carers.

Education Director - Galliford Try

Claire Jackson is education sector strategy lead at Galliford Try and is a Chartered Building Surveyor with over 30 years’ experience in construction, working client side, in a consultant role and now for a main contractor. For the last 12 years Claire has specialised in education, delivering new and refurbished schools through Building Schools for the Future (BSF), Priority Schools Building Programme (PSBP) and Free schools programmes. At Galliford Try, Claire leads the national education team who are responsible for driving innovation and collaboration across the company, ensuring the delivery of high quality education buildings.

Director and Head of Education - HLM Architects

Claire Wakelin is a Director and Head of Education at HLM Architects.

She has specialised in the education sector since 2006, and has worked on a diverse portfolio of education projects, to improve and provide new facilities for schools and higher education institutions. Her focus is on developing and delivering innovative solutions, and her extensive experience of leading teams in providing outstanding designs has included working direct to Trusts and Universities, with central government bodies, local authorities, major contractors and developers, as well as acting as client-side in technical advisory roles.

Claire’s creative approach to designing new buildings, masterplanning and repurposing existing facilities, delivers award winning design solutions through a collaborative process to meet the client’s vision and budget that are responsive to their site and context. Her open and lateral thinking adds significant value to our HLM portfolio of projects, most recently on the new London Institute for Healthcare Engineering for King’s College London, and Addington School in Reading, winner of Education project of the Year at the Offsite awards.

Head of Architecture - AtkinsRéalis

I am an Architect with 20 years experience in the Education Sector. As Head of Education Architecture for AtkinsRéalis, I bring together our team designing everything from nurseries to university facilities. I have a passion for working with stakeholders to promote the value of good design, whilst embedding the importance of human centred design and wellbeing.

Director of Practice - Scott Brownrigg

Helen's commitment to sustainability, diversity, inclusion and supporting the next generation has driven her work in Education design for nearly 20 years. She is passionate about cross industry collaboration, engagement and research. She played a significant role in the establishment of Modern Apprenticeships in Architecture and was recently made a Fellow of the RIBA and is currently an Honorary Research Fellow at Oxford Brookes University

Strategic Facilities Adviser -King's College London

Ian is a chartered architect, graduating from Strathclyde University in 1977, with a further qualification from MIT in 2013. His early career included experience in private practice, local government and central Government where he was responsible for projects for a variety of clients including the Royal Palaces, the Ministry of Defence, the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery in London, the National Galleries of Scotland and the Supreme Courts of Scotland.

In 1989 Ian joined Deloitte where he carried out project and property assignments for a number of major clients, and in 1991 he was appointed Director of Estates and Services at Sheffield Hallam University, where he masterminded their redevelopment strategy. Ian was then appointed to be been Director of Estates at Imperial College London, following which he joined King’s College London in 2002 as Director of Estates and Facilities. In July 2014 he became Facilities Advisor at the College including a period as Acting Director of Space Management until March 2015, where has been assisting development of the Estate Strategy to support the College’s Strategic Vision for 2029 and assisting development of spatial briefs for projects such as the major refurbishment of Bush House, the former HQ of the BBC World Service, introducing new collaborative teaching, learning and working spaces and spaces for interface with external communities.

Ian is a Trustee and Past-Chairman of the Higher Education Quality Design Forum and contributed to the book “Future Campus” published by RIBA Publications in July 2017.

Design Team | Technical Standards | Capital Directorate | Operations Group  -Department for Education

Jennifer Singer is an architect and education design advisor, leading the DfE design team’s advice across early years, schools and colleges in major capital programmes. Her work includes the development of new standards in FE college projects and guidance on sustainable estates, as well as improving quality across hundreds of projects. 

Jennifer’s background is in design strategy and evaluation, stakeholder engagement and the use of research and evidence to create high quality, sustainable places for education.  She is a trustee in Latchmere Academy Trust, a small primary school MAT in southwest London, and sits on the New London Architecture Education Expert Panel and the Advisory Board for UCL’s MSc in Learning Environments.

Director - Education Sector - Reds10

Joe has been involved in the construction industry for over ten years, having started his career as a civil engineer at Jacobs, working on major highways projects for central government. Later, he worked as a project manager on the London City Airport redevelopment programme with Arcadis,  before getting involved in education projects for the Department for Education (DfE).

Joe has specialised in the education sector since 2017 and has built up a wealth of experience delivering complex projects as part of the DfE Free Schools, Priority Schools, and School Rebuilding programmes, using both MMC and traditional forms of construction. Joe’s experience has enabled him to have a clear insight of what is required to achieve successful outcomes for all stakeholders involved in an education project.

Joe is currently Education Sector Lead at Reds10, the off-site volumetric construction specialist, where he oversees their work under the DfE’s ‘Off-site Schools’ Framework.

Director of Estates - LSE

Julian is Director of Estates at the London School of Economics, responsible for the delivery of all capital development, facilities and property management. He has delivered many high profile projects including the RIBA London Building of the Year 2014, when the LSE was also named AJ100 Client of the Year.

Holding post graduate qualifications in Town Planning and Surveying, most of his working life spent as a client side project manager. He was a CABE Enabler and is Chair of the Higher Education Design Quality Forum (HEDQF). In September 2016, Julian was made an Honorary Fellow of the RIBA and appointed to the National panel for Civic Trust Awards in 2017.

Consultant - TG Escapes

Mark has spent time in marketing with Unilever before moving into advertising as a strategist with Leo Burnett, Creative Director at Starcom and founder of award-winning creative agency Weapon7. He has a passion for sustainable eco-buildings and has been with TG Escapes for 8 years building the brand and helping expand the business into education. Built around a timber frame, these natural buildings enhance well-being and educational outcomes. Mark also runs the social enterprise Street Wisdom, providing free creative workshops around the world.

Design Advisor (SEND & AP Lead) - Department for Education

Design Adviser lead for SEND, AP & Inclusive Design and Post Occupancy Evaluations - Department of Education

Since February 2019, Mark has worked as the DfE Design Adviser lead for SEND, AP & Inclusive Design, contributing to a range of design guidance documents, building programmes and individual projects. He is currently working on strategic SEND design support for the current college, special free school and AP, and school rebuilding programmes.

Mark is on the RIBA register of Client Advisers and has been a SEND specialist in private sector architect and project management companies with DfE and many local authority clients.

His presentation will provide more detail on the DfE Design Team approach to SEND provision across the sector and capital programmes, to ensure more inclusive education settings.

Associate - Barker

Formerly the Director of Estates for one of TTN’s founding Multi-Academy Trusts, Matt has begun a new role with a leading property consultancy, bringing with him over a decade of ‘client-side’ experience in property management and capital project delivery.

With 14 years of first-hand experience working at the forefront of Education Estates management he has worked with staff and colleagues across the Trust sector from the “C-Suite” level to the operational Facility Management teams. In doing so he has developed and established a variety of strategic and tactical approaches to support and enable the effective management and operation of the property portfolio for the schools of the Trust.

Head of Planning - Capital Directorate - Department for Education

Mike joined the Department for Education in 2016 after a spell in local government and 10 years in private sector planning consultancy, including as a Director in the Planning and Development Team at Jones Lang LaSalle. Mike leads an in-house team of 14 planning professionals within the Capital Directorate of the DfE, working across Operational and Forward Planning. The team operates on a regional basis across the two main school delivery programmes (Free Schools and PSBP), and alongside the likes of MHCLG and Homes England on a range of strategic planning initiatives to secure allocations, land and/or funding for schools.

Trust Estates and Facilities Manager - Plymouth CAST

Paul Stewart is the Trust Estates and Facilities Manager for Plymouth CAST multi-academy Trust and oversees the management and operation of 34 schools. Paul, with over a decade of experience in the Education Sector, has devised and instituted almost all the Trust's estates and facilities systems, streamlining processes, and significantly improving efficiency. This has led to recognition on the national stage by the Department of Education (DfE) and LocatED for the development of “exemplar estates data systems”. Paul remains engrossed in several innovative projects leveraging cutting-edge technologies such as Building Information Modelling (BIM), Virtual Reality (VR), and Data Lakehouse. These technologies enhance accessibility and utilisation of estate data sets.

Principal, Education - Arcadis

Sector Lead on schools and educationally led mixed use developments in London and the South.  His portfolio covers all education strands, including nursery, primary, SEN, secondary and sixth form, in the new build and refurbishment/remodel sectors.  He is an RIBA Registered Client Advisor, and actively supports education providers across the age ranges, including STEM Ambassador, and ICC member at the University of West London. 

Principal & RIBA Client Adviser - S Williams Architects Ltd.

Sarah Williams of S Williams Architects is a strategic RIBA Client Adviser and architect, working with private developers and Local Authorities, implementing high profile schemes of up to £150m.

Sarah set up S Williams Architects in 2013 having spent the last 25 years working in private practice in the UK and overseas. She is a practitioner and also works strategically as an RIBA Client Adviser, often collaborating with other architectural practices.

Sarah is known for her collaborative approach. She has participated in a number of design review panels, is an accredited RIBA Client Adviser and Chair of the RIBA steering group, regularly speaks at conferences and has organised and judged various competitions and awards. Past and previous clients include RIBA, Winchester City Council, The Crown Estate, The Department for Education, Berkeley Homes, Sevenoaks Town Council, and various other private developers and Local Authorities.

Senior Associate - the-Learning-crowd

Sharon is an Education Adviser and over the past 18 years she has worked with education leaders, architects and contractors to create the best possible learning environments on a wide range of projects nationally and internationally. Previously she worked as a civil servant and was Managing Director of the not for profit company School Works.  

Warneford Consulting

Tim Warneford is an experienced academy funding consultant who provides a range of bid management and strategic estate management services. He is a SEND Link Governor at the Wootton Academy Trust where is also advises on estate and energy strategy. He is the producer of a series of podcasts, Developing the Trust' in which he explores best practice from fellow professional service providers across the academy sector. With degree's in both building surveying and social policy, he is particularly interested in the causal link between environment and life chances.

Director of Estates & Facilities - University Design Forum

Trevor is Chair of the University Design Forum (formerly HEDQF) which is a charity dedicated to the promotion of excellence and best practice throughout the university environment. He works at the University of Plymouth as Director of Estates & Facilities where he has responsibility for services ranging from the capital build programme through to day to day running of the campuses. Prior to joining the higher education sector fifteen years ago, he held a similar position in the NHS at acute hospital trusts. Earlier in his career, Trevor worked in consultancy advising education sector clients and for ten years at the children's charity Barnardo's in their property department. He believes that we should be building or adapting for net zero carbon and that this must therefore be the principal driver of business and design decisions.

SEND Director - Noviun Architects

Zane Putne is a Senior Architect at Noviun, specialising in education projects with a particular interest for special education needs learning environments. Zane leads Noviun’s SEN sector alongside Design Director Peter Stephens, overseeing all SEN projects within the practice. She is passionate to explore how designs can enhance pupils’ experience and believes that collaborative approach to learning environments achieve the best results. Zane leads practice’s research group that undertakes studies of how our designs perform, once in use and exploring research into special needs.