I am the Director of Stead & Co., a Chartered Architectural Practice based in Leeds.

I qualified as a Chartered Architect in 2007 and became a mother in 2018. I was awarded an MBE for Services to Construction and Architecture in 2019’s New Year’s Honours. I am the Vice Chair and Immediate Past Chair of the Construction Industry Council Yorkshire and Humber, having chaired the Board for six years. I sit on the RIBA Yorkshire Council. I am a judge for the RICS and Constructing Excellence Awards, and previously judged the RIBA and York Design Awards.

I have been a member of the Regional Design Review and I am an RIBA Conservation Registrant. I am on the teaching staff of York College, teaching HNC Construction and Built Environment and Constructing the Built Environment Advanced Technical Diploma. I have extensive experience of facilitating consultation and design workshops with a range of participants, ranging from Elected Members through to school children. I have recently worked with the Construction Industry Council, the Baroness Warsi Foundation and the Department of Work and Pensions, in addition to a number of primary and secondary schools, on learning initiatives and careers events that aim to increase greater diversity in the construction industry.