Steering group

Jane is a Planning Consultant with Geddes Consulting. She previously worked for the public sector across national, regional, and local government in both development planning and development management. Jane graduated from Glasgow Caledonian University with a BSc in Environmental Management in 2014, and from University of Glasgow with a Masters in Planning and Regeneration in 2015 and became Chartered in 2019. Jane was the Student Representative of the SYPN Steering Group in 2014/15, and joined again as an Ordinary Member in 2017. She was Convenor of West of Scotland Chapter in 2019, and has recently stepped down after being on the committee for seven years. Jane is the Scottish Young Planner of the Year for 2021.

Sepideh is a chartered member of the RTPI and IHBC. With a multidisciplinary background in architecture and community-based development, she moved to the UK and graduated from University College London (UCL) in 2011 (MSc in Building and Urban Design in Development). She has had a number of roles within Aberdeen City Council in the areas of Development Management and also Masterplanning, Design and Conservation. She is currently working on completion of her PhD research project on Future of UK City Centres in Northumbria University. Sepideh Joined the SYPN in 2019.

Sean is the Immediate Past Chair of the Scottish Young Planners Network. He is a Senior Project Officer at Glasgow City Council and has recently started a new role working within the City Centre Regeneration Group. This involves working with a wide variety of partners to translate strategy into delivery. Sean graduated with a BA (Hons) in City Planning and an MSc in International Spatial Planning and is a chartered member of the Royal Town Planning Institute. He is also an Academician with the Academy of Urbanism and currently co-chairs the Academy’s Scottish Advisory Group.

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://connectingnature.eu/

Twitter: @seanuc

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-vincent-kelly-mrtpi-1b4758101/

Paul joined the SYPN as the Scottish Government representative at the beginning of 2018 and provides the link between the SYPN to Scottish Ministers and the Planning and Architecture Division. Paul is a Chartered Planner at the Scottish Government and graduated from Dundee University with an MSc in Spatial Planning with a specialism in Environmental Assessment. Paul has had a number of roles within the Scottish Government, but is now a permanent member of the Planning Decisions team and deals with a variety of planning matters such as notified applications, called-in cases and environmental assessments. Paul has particular interests in the digital transformation of the planning system, as well as getting more young people interested and involved in planning.

Hannah joined the Steering Group in 2021 and currently works as a Planner with Savills. She graduated from Heriot Watt University in 2018 with a BSc (Hons) in Urban Planning and Property Development. After graduating, Hannah started at Savills on their graduate scheme and then went on to gain her RTPI Chartered Membership in September 2020. She is based in Savills Edinburgh and Perth offices and assists clients in bringing forward housing, infrastructure and tourism developments across the whole of Scotland, with a particular focus on rural areas. Hannah also has experience in influencing future planning policy by contributing to rural planning research projects with the Scottish Government and other bodies. Hannah also has experience working within the public sector whist completing two summer placements at Perth & Kinross Council, within the Strategy and Policy team whilst at university.

Aaron is a Graduate Planner based in Stantec's Glasgow Office with experience working on a variety of public and private sector projects, in particular: Community and Key Stakeholder Engagement; Development Management; Socio-economic Analysis; and Policy Research. Areas of interest include achieving Net Zero; Smart Cities; urban regeneration; and economic development. Aaron has been involved with RTPI Scotland for a number of years through the Scottish Executive Committee, Scottish Young Planners Steering Group and West of Scotland Chapter. Aaron is also actively involved with other organisations including the RSA and Fuel Change.

Aaron has a passion for ‘planning with people at the forefront of decision making’ and is a strong advocate for effective community engagement and collaboration.

Hester joined the Steering Group in early 2022 as a student member while completing her studies in MSc City planning at the University of Glasgow. She graduated from the University of Amsterdam in 2020, obtaining her B(A) in Social Sciences, majoring in sociology after completing participatory research with communities in the Netherlands and the UK. Outside of studying she is a keen sailor and enjoys doing art and design in her spare time.

Ian joined the SYPN Steering Group in January 2022 and is currently a Graduate Planning Consultant at Ryden, based in Aberdeen with projects ongoing across the UK in a diverse range of sectors. He also continues to volunteer for Planning Aid Scotland (PAS) as an advisor. He was previously a Planning Officer at Aberdeenshire Council. In December 2020, he graduated from the University of Glasgow with distinction in MSc City Planning and Real Estate Development, a joint RTPI-accredited and RICS-accredited degree, and won several academic awards. Prior to that, Ian graduated in June 2016 from the University of Aberdeen in MA(Hons) Geography. He will soon become a Chartered Member of the RTPI and recently began his RICS Assessment of Professional Competence, following the planning and development pathway.

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ian-scott-ryden-planning

Lenka joined the Steering Group in 2020. She is a Project Officer at PAS where she led the youth engagement of the National Planning Framework 4, currently supporting a local community piloting a multigenerational centre project. She is also a committee member of Women in Planning. She graduated from Heriot Watt University in 2018 with BSc in Urban Planning and Property Development followed by MSc Global Sustainable Cities at the University of Strathclyde. Outside of work she is a keen gardener, wild swimmer and enjoys all sorts of sports. 

Max joined the Steering Group in early 2022. He has recently graduated with an MSc in Geographical Information Science from the University of Edinburgh. He also holds a BSc in Urban Planning and Property Development from Heriot-Watt University. He has been a volunteer with Planning Aid Scotland (PAS) since May 2018 for various projects such as Heart of Newhaven and the A9 Dualling Consultation. He is currently a licentiate member with the RTPI. When not at his desk, he is an avid runner and holds a second-degree black belt in Uechi-Ryu Karate.