Our team

Rachel Fisher is Chief Executive of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI). She was most recently Deputy Director for Food at the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). 

Prior to her position as Deputy Director for food strategy and security, Rachel spent five years as Deputy Director of land use policy, bringing in biodiversity net gain and the land use framework for England.

Rachel was also a deputy director in the Cities and Local Growth Unit, within the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, where she led on regeneration investment and policy, from high streets to HS2 growth strategies.

An associate member of the Institute for over 15 years, Rachel has expertise across the built environment, delivering policy change both in and outside of Government.

Following a number of marketing and business development roles, both in the UK and Europe, Richard has nearly twenty years’ experience of commercial and corporate services leadership roles with leading membership and third sector organisations. At the RTPI he is responsible for the Human Resources, Information Technology, Facilities, Governance, Membership, EDI and CPD Training. He also leads the RTPIs commercial development activity including the national events programme and membership growth activity. Outside of work Richard holds a Burnley FC season ticket, keeps hens and is a listening volunteer with the Samaritans.

Caroline is a chartered town planner and experienced planning academic. Her research and teaching interests focused on green and blue health, cycling and walking, sustainability and urban form.

Over the years she has been involved in several international research collaborations and is currently part of the child-focused cities network with researchers in Brazil, Australia, Africa and Europe. For the last six years Caroline was Senior Editor at the journal Cities & Health - helping to develop a place for the dissemination of cross-disciplinary research spanning academic, policy and practitioner boundaries in urban planning, public health and policy. 

Caroline is the Director for Scotland, Ireland Research and Practice. In this role she leads the Institute’s policy, public affairs and member services work in Scotland and Ireland and is the lead Director for our Research and Practice work. 

Outside work Caroline ferries her children to and from sporting activities and is Membership Secretary at Edinburgh diving club, where her daughter is a competitive age group diver. She spends not enough time on her allotment and also likes to knit and sew. 

Mark is a Chartered Town Planner with over twenty years’ experience working in the public sector in Wales.  This included development management, planning enforcement, appeals and policy followed by management and leadership roles.  Prior to starting at the Royal Town Planning Institute in March 2024, Mark was a Head of Service with responsibility for planning, building control, regeneration, highways and flooding.  He also has seven years’ experience of the planning system in Northern Ireland, having been commissioned by the Department for Infrastructure to advise on measuring planning performance and by a District Council to review its planning service and advise on the implications of the 2022 Northern Ireland Audit Office and Public Accounts Committee reports.

Mark is a past Chair of the Planning Officers’ Society Wales and of the South East Wales Strategic Planning Group, was an external examiner for Cardiff University’s School of City and Regional Planning, and is a past member of the RTPI’s General Assembly.  He is passionate about the role of planners in making the world a better place, and the collaborative approach with all built environment professions that is needed to achieve this.

As the Director for Profession, International, Cymru and Northern Ireland, Mark is responsible for leading the Institute’s policy, public affairs and member services work in Wales, Northern Ireland and internationally.  As Director of Profession, Mark oversees the conduct of our 27,000 members around the world, ensuring our members behave professionally and ethically to safeguard the reputation of the profession and Institute. 

Outside work, Mark lives with his partner and Wilson the beagle, Sebastian the cat and Karma the chameleon.  He enjoys travel, caravanning, photography and socialising.

Simon is responsible for all external channels including public affairs. He has extensive experience in the professional and membership space, having worked for four separate membership bodies including the Institution of Civil Engineers, The Russell Group and The Association of Colleges. He also spent five years working in Government communications for the Department for Business where he finished his time as Press Secretary. His primary focus is the long-term value of awareness campaigns and the use of clear communications tactics involved in supporting Pillar Three of the corporate strategy. Prior to working in comms he was a national newspaper journalist in Ireland and spent time living in Dublin, Belfast and Glasgow.

Lesley is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and has experience working in HR roles in the NHS, leisure management and membership sectors. Based in the Edinburgh office, Lesley is responsible for human resources, governance and compliance across the RTPI and aims to ensure that all colleagues are inspired and supported to achieve their full potential. Lesley also volunteers as a Trustee for a small counselling and psychotherapy centre in Edinburgh.