EDI Leaders' Action Group

RIBA EDI Leaders' Action Group

The RIBA EDI Leaders' Action Group brings together EDI professionals from across RIBA Chartered Practices to action meaningful change in the profession. The group works to identify where employers need support, co-create practical resources and tools to highlight good practice, and encourage uptake and implementation.

Meet the group members

Dagmar Binsted

Dagmar is an Associate at Scott Brownrigg Architects. Having studied at The Bartlett, she has extensive cross-sector experience in designing schemes, coordinating construction teams and assisting in clients' brief development. Dagmar's recent projects include a new commercial development in Newmarket Road, Fordham, the refurbishment of No.1 Puddle Dock, and 5-6 St. James’s Square in London.

Dagmar is also part of the Scott Brownrigg group involved in the Architecture Apprenticeship Trailblazer.

Colin Briggs

Colin is an accomplished architect and Associate Director at Bowman Riley, where he leads the architectural team in the Leeds office. With his position as a key member of the senior leadership team, Colin demonstrates a strong commitment to fostering diversity and promoting inclusion within the industry.  

Colin's dedication to advancing diversity and inclusion within the industry is evident through his proactive efforts. Recently, he contributed to an insightful RIBA article titled "How can Architects apply the principles of Pride all year round?"

In 2020, Colin played a pivotal role in ensuring that Bowman Riley became a signatory of the RIBA Inclusion Charter, effectively demonstrating the practice's resolute commitment to promoting diversity and cultivating an inclusive environment.

Giacomo Calisti

Director and co-founder of Beyond Design, London + Mumbai studios, Giacomo oversees the practice's strategic development in the UK, Europe, and Indian markets. With over 10 years of experience in the construction industry, Giacomo leads projects of various scales and sectors as an architect and developer.

An advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion in the industry, working with grassroots organisations to develop and bring accessible tools to implement EDI strategies and effect positive change in the workplace and the industry.

Giacomo is a member of Architecture LGBT+, the RIBA EDI Leader’s Group, Freehold mentor, and corporate partner of BAME in Property - engaging regularly in pro-bono work focused on diversity and inclusion. These philosophies are equally applied in practice through the projects undertaken by the studio and the engagement of the team.

Grace Cooke

As Employee Engagement and Development Associate, I am responsible for developing our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion strategy. The goal is to develop a culture which respects and celebrates everyone who chooses to work with us – striving to acknowledge and exceed our responsibilities as a conscientious employer that is only successful when our people feel valued and share that success. 

Grace Choi

Grace graduated from the Mackintosh School of Architecture being awarded the prestigious RIAS silver medal and portfolio prize for Scotland and has worked for several renowned UK practices before leaving traditional practice.

Challenged by social, ethical, and economical imbalance whilst raising a young family, Grace founded a practice in the North East. Her value led and design-oriented practice now focusses on the transformation of local communities and homes.

Grace is the current RIBA NE co-chair, led the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion group and sits on the RIBAJ editorial panel, and founded the JEDI talks.

Lienkie Diedericks

Lienkie is the Inclusion and Diversity Specialist at RIBA. She works closely with the Director of Inclusion and Diversity across the organisation to make RIBA and the profession ever more inclusive, accessible and equitable.

Before joining RIBA, Lienkie completed a PhD on tuberculosis as the physical and social embodiment of South Africa's colonial/apartheid history at King's College London and has written pieces on philosophy, health care, and accessibility.

Jess Dunning

Jess is the equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) Advisor at BDP and is responsible for driving BDP’s EDI strategy as well as working to increase awareness, educate and celebrate through initiatives, events, policies and guidance and blogs. She works closely with their EDI network, BDP Belonging, across the UK, Ireland, and Toronto.

Jess also works with BDP Belongings priority project groups (family friendliness, gender equity, race and lack of Black representation, social mobility, inclusive design, recruitment, external profile) to drive positive change forward through action plans as we foster an inclusive workplace.

Penny Fitzpatrick

Penny has over 30 years' business experience and is an equity partner and director of Fuse Architects.

With a deep dedication to equality, diversity, and inclusion, Penny focuses on a people first philosophy with a particular emphasis on equality in earnings. Penny leads an active steering group, round table events, activities in local schools and colleges and thought leadership webinars.   

Penny manages the commercial aspects of the Fuse, with a passion for housing and social enterprise. Additionally, Penny has mentored and overseen teams of personnel both within Fuse and as part of other initiatives including Forging Links - a free to all group that she co-founded in 2017.

Ashwin Goyal

Ashwin is an architect with over 20 years of experience, working with a variety of scales, budgets, and sectors. He is the associate director at Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM), where he has lead and developed projects such as Bream Street (Lock No. 19) and 225 City Road (The Arc).

At AHMM , Ashwin leads up the equality, diversity, and inclusion external engagement working group which includes developing relationships with external organisations such as the RIBA, ARB, Paradigm, Blueprint for All, Architecture Foundation, BITC, and others.

He also recently joined AHMM’s people board to advise and contribute to the strategic development of the practices culture, staff, and recruitment and is part of the management group with a focus on policy change at the Architecture Race Forum which brings together over 50 practices in the UK to improve EDI in the profession.

Amina Hassan

Amina Hassan is a Marketing Assistant at Fuse Architects. Amina has extensive experience in the marketing field and expresses great interest in art and literature.

She actively promotes equality, diversity, and inclusion in all aspects of her work and is an integral part of the Fuse EDI steering group and the women’s empowerment group, Forging Links.

Dave Hughes

Dave has over 30 years' experience in architectural design and is an equity partner and Design Director of Fuse Architects. With a profound commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion, Dave champions - and has chaired debates on - a non-archi speak culture, with an emphasis on plain speaking and putting people at the heart of everything they do; after all you don’t usually build and design for architects. 

Dave has also led teams to win numerous design awards and has a particular skill in delivering complicated planning approvals. His impressive portfolio of award-winning developments ranges from residential regeneration to intimate theatres.

Dipa Joshi

Dipa is an architect with almost 30 years cross sector design experience in areas including residential, commercial, recording studios, and cultural space design. Her background includes running clubs and performing in bands in the 90’s.

She has extensive expertise in residential design across all tenures and was a contributor to the ULI Build to Rent Best Practice Design Guide. In her role as partner and residential lead at Fletcher Priest Architects she leads projects across all scales from master-planning to interior design.

A champion for increased diversity across the industry – as a former Mayor’s Design Advocate she was on the steering group for the GLA handbook, “Supporting Diversity”, is FPA’s diversity champion and chair of the NLA diverse leaders committee.

Her mantra is “measure, monitor and mentor”; he asserts that the industry needs to widen its catchment of candidates at all levels, move away from unconscious bias, and appreciate the opportunities presented by a diverse team to unlock a huge potential to design better quality, inclusive, and safer built environments.

Siân Milliner

Siân is the People Manager at ADP Architecture, having been in the role for just over a year, she has been navigating how to improve EDI across multiple studios within the UK and in Europe. She is part of the EDI task group at ADP which has been focusing on outreach and celebrating diversity. Prior to her role at ADP, she worked in the culture and charity sectors where she was focused on promoting inclusion in museums and architectural events.

Karen Mosley

Karen has spent 37 years with HLM, becoming Managing Director in 2017. She is passionate about creating an inclusive and inquisitive learning environment, developing the HLM Academy, and she’s the Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Board Sponsor.

Her two year Presidency of the Sheffield Chamber of Commerce focussed on unlocking untapped potential across South Yorkshire and she remains committed to creating a more agile skills system, breaking down barriers for young people to enter the workplace by co-chairing the South Yorkshire Skills Advisory Board and chairing the new SY Institute of Technology.

Her focus on more inclusive business structures means she's a passionate advocate of the Employee Ownership Model driving HLM's transition to an EOT in 2020. She is part of the RIBA Future Leaders Steering Group as well as the RIBA EDI Group focussing on expanding inclusive outreach activities across our profession.

Esther Njie

Esther is a dedicated HR professional who began her career in 2017 working in the public sector and catering industry. In 2018, she joined Foster + Partners as an HR Assistant and quickly progressed to become an HR Advisor while completing her CIPD Level 5 in 2020. In July 2023, Esther decided to follow her passion and transitioned into a specialist role focusing on equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Embracing her mixed heritage as a Black British woman with a Nigerian father and Scottish and Jamaican roots from her mother, Esther is deeply connected to her diverse identity. Esther is in tune and proud of her heritage, fuelling her commitment to fostering inclusive and equitable environments for all. Where employees feel respected, valued, and empowered to bring their authentic selves to work.

Matt Osmont

Matt is the Practice Director of Donald Insall Associates. He studied sustainable architecture at the Manchester School of Architecture and has worked in the field of conservation since graduating in 2006. He joined Donald Insall Associates in 2014 and is currently their Studio lead for Conwy.

Matt completed a part-time masters at the Welsh School of Architecture in Sustainable Building Conservation in 2018 and has been on the register of Architects Accredited in Building Conservation (AABC) since 2012. Matt sits on Donald Insall Associates’ Employee Ownership board of trustees and is leading their strategic ‘people’ group to augment the support they provide colleagues through their stages of employment within the company.

Jane Samuels

Growing up in London, conversations around social justice and human rights were ubiquitous across the family dinner table. This influenced her hugely. As an undergraduate Jane studied Painting, Performance and Peace Studies. She also has a MA in Museum and Galleries Studies and was a visiting lecturer on the same MA programme between 2004 – 2014.

Jane has spent over 20 years championing and embedding equity, diversity, inclusion and access across the cultural sector, including twelve years at the British Museum (2003 – 2012) and seven years at the Natural History Museum (2015 – 2022). She joined Foster + Partners in June 2022.

Since starting at Foster + Partners, Jane has championed equity, diversity and inclusion on the London campus and globally, steering culture change through a range of initiatives across all platforms, including championing inclusive design, commissioning workforce awareness and inspirational speakers, supporting the growth of the employee networks, developing EDI guidelines and best practice and advocating for new inclusive resources.

Judith Topley

Judith is Practice Director at Jo Cowen Architects and is a qualified architect and people professional, working within the senior leadership team on strategy, people, organisational and operational management of the practice.

Judith is passionate about EDI and broadening diversity within the architectural practice and wider built environment sector. She actively pursues opportunities to enable this across all stages of a career from outreach to schools to career progression within practice and mentorship, continually striving to create and maintain an inclusive workplace.

Robbie Turner

Robbie is Director of Inclusion and Diversity at the Royal Institute of British Architects. He works with the CEO and Executive Team to make both RIBA and the profession of architecture increasingly inclusive and equitable. He is also committed to furthering Equity, Diversity and Inclusion outside work and volunteers in a number of different roles.

Bhavika Varsani

Bhavika has worked in the industry for 9 years, and faced challenges in a male-dominated practice where she felt overlooked and deprived of opportunities for growth; despite voicing her concerns to senior members, she continuously saw her male counterparts exceeding and progressing. Frustrated with the lack of progression, she eventually joined DB3 Architecture, where she found renewed support and ambition to succeed in her profession.

Bhavika advocates for individuals who may feel silenced in their profession and is now applying the same advocacy to drive transformation within the construction sector. She is resolute in her commitment to eliminating the barriers of discrimination entrenched in the construction industry, striving for positive change.

Her hope is to break down the unconscious biases that exist within the industry and create a welcoming and invigorating profession for all individuals to contribute and thrive. She envisions an industry where everyone has a fair chance to succeed, regardless of their background, and where diversity is embraced as a strength.