Head of Placemaking at the UK's Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government / Biljana Savić is Head of Placemaking at HCLG, an urban planner and architect with a passion for creative and responsible placemaking. Her work spans large-scale urban projects, participatory design, and research on movement, spatial analysis, and the value of design. Biljana has lectured internationally, served on design review panels, and held trustee roles with the Design Council and Academy of Urbanism. 

Founder and Director of make:good / Catherine is Founder and Director of make:good, her work focus on involving local people in local change in the full spectrum of what that means. From temporary installations, public art, street furniture, masterplans and programming meanwhile spaces alongside local people of all ages; make:good are experts at finding ways to uncover and amplify the unique joy in places.

Director at Narrative Practice & more / Dhruv is Associate Director at HFM Architects with 12 years of retrofit and refurbishment experience in the retail, commercial and healthcare sectors. He also leads Narrative Practice, where his research focuses on promoting diversity through integration of long-term mentoring into architectural practice and academia. In recognition of his work, he has been selected as a RIBAJ Rising Star, Curation Panel Member for the London Festival of Architecture 2025 and Emerging Individual of the Year by TET. Dhruv teaches at Syracuse University London and Central Saint Martins.

Julia Nicholls Communications Ltd & TET Associate / Julia is a communications strategist with over 25 years’ experience working across the built environment, design, and cultural sectors. She founded Julia Nicholls Communications to help organisations tell their stories and reach wider audiences through impactful messaging. As a TET Associate, Julia has been closely involved in advancing the charity’s mission to empower children and young people in shaping their environments, using communications as a tool to amplify voices and broaden participation.

Director at Jan Kattein Architects / Jan is founder and director of Jan Kattein Architects, a practice known for its pioneering work in community-led design, placemaking, and meanwhile use projects. His work often brings together local authorities, communities, and young people to co-create vibrant spaces that respond to real needs. With a strong belief in architecture as a social act, Jan’s projects demonstrate how inclusive design processes can foster pride, ownership, and long-term social value.

Community Engagement leader and Director of Events and Training at Association of Collaborative Design / Nataly is co-founder of the Association of Collaborative Design, a network dedicated to participatory and socially engaged design practices. Her work champions collaboration across disciplines and communities, placing young people and local stakeholders at the heart of the design process. She brings expertise in collective approaches to placemaking, amplifying voices that are too often left out of decision-making.

TET Trustee and Founder of HomeGrown+ / Neil is an educator and activist dedicated to widening access to architecture and design for underrepresented young people. Through HomeGrown+ and initiatives such as Celebrating Architecture and GLAM, he has inspired thousands of students to see themselves as future shapers of the built environment. Neil is widely recognised for his passion, creativity, and tireless advocacy for greater diversity and inclusion across the sector.

Historian of the built environment and heritage advocate / Neal is a historian of architecture and the built environment, with a particular interest in how heritage informs contemporary practice. He is an advocate for opening up conversations around history, culture, and place to broader audiences, including young people. His work highlights the importance of connecting past, present, and future in shaping inclusive environments and informed civic identities.

Architect & Project Lead for Placemaking at Great Ormond Street Hospital / Magali is an architect whose recent work includes leading design projects at Great Ormond Street Hospital, where the built environment directly impacts children’s wellbeing. Her practice bridges healthcare design, community engagement, and architecture’s role in creating supportive, healing environments. Magali is passionate about involving young people and their families in the design process, ensuring spaces respond to their needs and voices.

RIBA President 2023-2025 / Muyiwa Oki is a chartered architect and President of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) 2023-25. For more than a decade Muyiwa has worked on shaping the built environment on large-scale infrastructure projects, such as HS2 Euston and the North London heat and power project, all while driving high standards of inclusive design. As well as his presidency, Muyiwa is an architect at the construction consultancy Mace Group. He was previously at Grimshaw Architects where he was founder and chair of the Multi-Ethnic Group and Allies network that drove cultural change for colleagues globally. Whether it’s a column for the RIBA Journal or a panel discussion on climate action at global events like the UN Conference of the Parties (COP), Muyiwa’s mission is to ensure that the architecture profession builds connected communities fit for the 21st century.

Prof Architecture and Pedagogy at Newcastle University / Roșie is Professor of Architecture and Pedagogy at Newcastle University, where her research and teaching focus on design education and the empowerment of learners. She is recognised internationally for her work on architectural pedagogy, mentoring, and collaborative learning environments. Her practice and scholarship emphasise how education can foster critical thinking, creativity, and agency in young people—skills vital for shaping a more equitable built environment.

Co-Founding Director: Black Females in Architecture / Selasi is an architect, innovator, and co-founding director of Black Females in Architecture (BFA), a network that supports and amplifies underrepresented voices in the built environment. She is passionate about socially responsive design, with experience across housing, placemaking, and infrastructure. Selasi’s work explores how architecture can address inequality and how young people, particularly from marginalised communities, can be empowered as co-creators of the built environment.

Delivery Lead at London Borough of Waltham Forest / Silvia is an architect, LSE MSc Cities graduate, and Public Practice alum with over 20 years of experience in the built environment. Her expertise spans architecture, public realm design, and participatory engagement, grounded in a commitment to shaping more inclusive urban futures. Across Barcelona and London, she has led child-friendly initiatives ranging from the design of schools to the transformation of streets and parks. Silvia has also developed cross-disciplinary learning programmes that spark children’s curiosity and deepen their understanding of how cities work. Her mission is to empower young people as co-creators of resilient, inclusive, and fair cities—amplifying their voices in urban decision-making.

Developer and ex Bywater Properties / Theo is a developer and business founder with a deep commitment to supporting creativity as well as climate and social impact through the built environment. Formerly a co-founder of Bywater Properties, Theo led Bywater’s championing of the use of mass timber in offices to deliver one of the lowest carbon offices buildings in the UK. The first of many pipeline projects, Theo helped establish Bywater on a pathway to specialise in timber-led projects across residential as well as office sectors and led Bywater’s BCorp accreditation, one of the first UK developers to achieve this standard. He promoted a schools partnership programme while at Bywater aiming to embed local school outreach work into all projects to help make the built environment more approachable to local communities. Previously Theo worked in the Development and Asset Strategy consulting team at Jones Lang LaSalle advising private and public sector clients and spent two years on secondment to Homes England (then English Partnerships). He is a steering group member of Platform Places, an organisation empowering community groups to take take control of disused high street assets and is a long standing Parish Councillor.

Director at Fisher Cheng / Yuting is an architect and educator, co-founding Fisher Cheng with a mission to deliver socially driven architecture through collaborative and equitable means. She believes the process of architecture should engage people just as much as the outcome. Working across housing, community spaces, public realm and grassroots-led placemaking, the studio places dialogue at the centre of design, believing long-term success lies in the custodianship of local stakeholders of all ages. Outside of practice she is an associate lecturer at Oxford Brookes University for the Level 7 Apprenticeship in Architecture, and a practice mentor at the Royal College of Art.