Pictured above: Joanne Hooper receives her Tomorrow's
Leader award from RTPI President Martin Willey.
Drivers Jonas employee Joanne Hooper has scooped the Royal Town
Planning Institute (RTPI) West Midlands' inaugural Tomorrow's
Leader Award 2009.
Joanne (26) who works as a planner within Drivers Jonas'
Birmingham office is the first recipient of the award, initiated by
the President of the RTPI, in order to recognise future planning
leaders.
Chair of the RTPI's Young Planners Group in the West Midlands,
Joanne is an active member of the planning community, driving
forward Group activities and regularly hosting events for the 300
strong Young Planners, alongside contributing to industry
publications.
A popular member of the Drivers Jonas team, Joanne was nominated
for the award by John Acres, director of planning at Catesby
Property and Gary Cardin, head of Drivers Jonas in Birmingham:
"Jo shows all the signs of being a first class leader of the
future within the planning world," commented Gary Cardin.
"She has already shown great enthusiasm, dedication and
leadership in her current role at Drivers Jonas and provides an
important role in mentoring and providing regular support to
graduate members of the team. Jo is highly valued as a member
of the Birmingham team and we are thrilled that the commitment she
demonstrates towards colleagues, clients and the RTPI has been
formerly recognised."
RTPI President, Martin Willey added: "I'm delighted that
Joanne has been awarded the inaugural Tomorrow's Leader award.
These awards were established to recognise the outstanding
contributions of planners to their profession and Joanne's award is
fitting as she has played a leading role in driving forward
innovative initiatives in her roles as Chair of the West Midlands
Young Planners and at Drivers Jonas. The future of planning looks
bright with people like this leading the way."
A geography graduate from University of Wales, Aberystwyth,
Joanne, who lives in Harborne, joined Drivers Jonas as a planner in
December 2007 from King Sturge, Birmingham. Joanne is
currently involved in a range of projects across the UK including a
large marina scheme in Kings Lynn, a retail led development in Bath
and a large scale mixed-use redevelopment scheme in
Stechford.
"Being nominated by both a member of the RTPI Regional
Activities Committee and my own company was a real compliment and
having invested so much time in RTPI activities it is great to have
my efforts recognised," commented Joanne. "The hard work of
the other six members of the RTPI Young Planners Core Group is
central to the success we have in the Midlands and the RTPI West
Midlands Regional Activities Committee has also provided much
support both financially and in promoting and attending our events.
I am delighted to have received the award and hope the career
achievements and enjoyment that I have gained through being a
member of both Drivers Jonas and the RTPI will encourage more young
people to consider careers within the planning industry."
Drivers Jonas has developed a strong support network to guide
licentiate members of the RTPI through the Assessment of
Professional competence (APC), which takes between 1-2 years
following MSc planning qualification. The company regularly
hosts in-house workshops and focus groups at which licentiates,
mentors, assessors and line managers can discuss ways to support
licentiates through the process in order to achieve a high success
rate in joining the RTPI.