Board Members

Nicola is a Director at Steer, where she is responsible for client relationships in the North of England. She has expertise in strategic planning, including the development of transport strategies and plans, major scheme business cases, and the integration of land use and transport planning. Prior to this, Nicola was Head of Strategic Planning, Insight and Innovation at Transport for Greater Manchester. She led the development of Greater Manchester’s fourth local transport plan as well as the development of several new policy agendas.

She is a chartered town planner (MRTPI) and transport planning professional (CTPP) and was awarded TPS Transport Planner of the Year in 2017.

Lisa has 30 years’ experience designing and implementing strategies and programmes which have successfully delivered increased use of sustainable transport. Her current focus is supporting airports to deliver their surface access strategies, working with clients including London City, Heathrow, Luton, Stansted, Belfast City and Birmingham Airports.

At Steer, she has undertaken a number of senior management roles including leading the Planning Division in the UK, establishing a Planning Division in the United States, and serving as the UK Managing Director.

Lisa was elected to the TPS Board in 2022, and for a second term in 2025. She also fulfils a new role of Operations Director.

Kieran is a former transport planner with London Transport Planning, where he worked on business planning, policy development and strategy, and at London Borough of Hounslow. He joined Steer as a consultant and later became Company Secretary there.

Legally qualified, Kieran has experience in board governance in the NHS and private sector. He is a former member of the board of the Employee Ownership Association. He is now a freelance consultant on transport and governance issues.

Interests include the politics of road pricing and promoting active lifestyles. During lockdown he wrote a website promoting the use of public transport for leisure walking — walkbyrail.co.uk

Bruce leads the team that develops and delivers transport and public realm policy and projects for the City of London Corporation, helping to ensure the Square Mile remains a great place to live, work and visit. Previous roles include Principal Strategy Planner at Transport for London, Senior Policy Advisor at the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) and Trustee of Living Streets.

Ben Plowden is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Campaign for Better Transport.

Ben has held roles as an Associate at PA Consulting, an Associate at LSE Cities and a Visiting Professor at the UCL Centre for Transport Studies. Prior to joining PA, Ben spent twenty years in a number of senior transport planning and project sponsorship roles in TfL and was the founding CEO of Living Streets.

Rob Goodall is a Chartered Transport Planning Professional (CTPP) Associate Director, Decarbonisation expert and Global Active Travel lead at Arup. He has 18 years of experience in assisting clients developing local and regional transport strategies for delivering sustainable, decarbonised movement networks for the benefit of all users. He has worked with Local, Regional and National Governments, statutory providers and with Major Infrastructure Projects to develop Transport, Active Travel and Climate Action Plans to seek to respond to Net-Zero ambitions and aspirations.

Rob has specific focus on leading and delivering strategic multi-modal, walking and cycling infrastructure plans and developing policy to make most efficient use of the transport network in rural areas, towns and cities in the UK and internationally. Rob is passionate about representing the views of TPS members, and is looking to support the Board in expanding the TPS membership, increase engagement and lead to securing new sponsorship and collaboration opportunities, which in turn will support the Society’s vision and contribute to our continued collective success.

Darren is an Associate Director in Strategy Funding and Appraisal team at SYSTRA. He has almost 20 years’ experience working in transport policy and strategy; developing and implementing transport strategies and infrastructure plans, and making the case for investment to improve regional connectivity. Prior to joining SYSTRA in 2018 he worked client side in a range of policy roles including for the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, Transport for Greater Manchester, and Stockport Council.

Liani is a transport planner and social value expert at Arup. She specialises in embedding outcome-focused approaches within policy, major programmes, and place-based strategies both in the UK and internationally. She has years of experience working across various geographies, supporting knowledge-sharing and dissemination of good practice for the implementation of more inclusive, people-centred and outcome-focused transport solutions. She was awarded the TPS bursary 2021 for her research paper in scenario planning and how it can be adapted to suit various contexts.

Leigh Bramall has more than 15 years’ experience of working in transport in both private-sector and political roles. He is currently Director of Transport and Sustainability at Counter Context, a national consultancy specialising in strategic communications and advisory services, public consultation, stakeholder engagement and construction comms in support of projects and policies in the built environment. Leigh has been at Counter Context for nine years and has led on Transport since 2020. He has supported the delivery of transport projects and policies as diverse as the Manchester City Centre Transport Strategy; West Yorkshire Mass Transit; Cambridge Biomedical Campus; and TCF, CRSTS and Active Travel Fund projects in Bradford and Sheffield; the transformation of Bradford city centre; Kirklees Council’s Penistone Line Levelling Up Fund bid; and the Sheffield Clean Air Zone. He also leads on Counter Context’s inhouse research on the dynamics of public consultation and community engagement and he regularly speaks at national conferences on the challenges of communicating in support of transport projects in an age of polarisation, and engaging with seldom-heard groups. Alongside his time at Counter Context, Leigh acted as the co-chair of the pro-manchester Transport Committee up to the end of 2025.

Immediately prior to joining Counter Context, Leigh was a politician in local government. He was a councillor on Sheffield City Council for thirteen years between 2004 and 2017. From 2011 and 2017 he held a senior position on the Council as the Executive Member for Transport, the Economy and Devolution. For the final two of these years he was also Deputy Leader of the council. Leigh also served as vice-chairperson of the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Authority for two years, during the period within which it transitioned towards becoming what is now the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority. Through both his roles on the Council and SYPTA he played a part in negotiations with government to secure the Sheffield City Region devolution deal — the first to follow Greater Manchester.

Karishma Kumar is a Principal Transport Planner at AtkinsRéalis, where she leads and delivers a wide range of transport and urban planning projects across the UK. With more than ten years’ experience spanning the UK, New Zealand, and Australia, she has worked in consultancy, local government, and central government, giving her a broad and grounded perspective on how transport decisions shape people’s everyday lives.

Karishma is passionate about creating transport systems that genuinely help communities thrive. She cares deeply about accessibility, fairness, and using evidence to support better choices — whether that’s reducing emissions, improving walkability, or making it easier for people to move around safely and sustainably. She is particularly motivated by work that empowers local places to make decisions that reflect their own needs and aspirations.

Alongside her project work, Karishma contributes to sector-wide best practice through the Transport Planning Society Policy Panel and enjoys connecting with others who share her enthusiasm for shaping a more inclusive transport future.

Nicky is a Technical Director at WSP, with over 25 years transport planning experience working in the public and private sectors. Nicky has extensive national and international experience with expertise in travel demand management, stakeholder engagement and communications and leadership roles in major projects and programmes. She is passionate about cultivating strong partnerships, collaboration, equality and inclusivity for all in decision-making and delivery. Nicky is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Highways and Transport.

Panos brings over 11 years of experience in transport planning across major consultancies such as Jacobs and Ramboll, as well as specialist practices like Markides Associates. He is a genuine ‘all-rounder’ with a strong portfolio spanning transport planning for development, strategic policy and network planning, traffic modelling, business case development, and the design of active travel, bus priority and placemaking schemes. He has devised transport strategies for award winning projects and contributed to exemplar masterplans that champion sustainable mobility and high quality urban environments.

Panos believes firmly that sustainable transport should directly contribute to a healthier, happier and more liveable world. He brings a bold, people focused approach to street design and is highly experienced in applying placemaking principles to complex street and network projects. His passion for creating great places extends beyond project work: he contributes to the shortlisting for the Academy of Urbanism’s Great Streets and Places awards, helping to recognise excellence in urban design and the public realm.

He is also committed to thought leadership, delivering lectures at UCL, Newcastle, Cardiff and Aston on future mobility and vision led transport planning. Panos is recognised for turning complex transport trends into clear, actionable strategies that support better decision making.

In his TPS Board Director role, he aims to support a variety of portfolios, with a particular focus on the Transport Planner of the Year and Young Transport Planner of the Year awards. He looks forward to engaging with people across the industry to ensure that outstanding talent, innovation and best practice continue to be recognised and celebrated.

Oliver is a Graduate Transport Planner at PJA, based in the Manchester office, working across a range of public sector and development-led projects. His experience includes supporting residential and commercial planning applications through access and junction assessments, transport modelling and network development, alongside contributing to active travel–focused feasibility studies, LCWIPs and wayfinding audits. He has a strong interest in inclusive street design and the delivery of high-quality active travel and public realm schemes that balance movement, placemaking and safety.

Alongside his role at PJA, Oliver sits on the Transport Planning Society Board as Young Professionals Lead and is a member of the North West TPS Committee. In these roles, he champions early-career professionals and supports learning, collaboration and engagement across the transport planning industry. He looks forward to delivering effective and inclusive networking, learning and development sessions, while strengthening the presence and profile of TPS across the North West.

Felicity Tidbury, Assistant Director for Economy, Transport and Planning at Portsmouth City Council, is a leader who has built her career championing the role of transport in creating thriving, well‑connected and inclusive places.

Felicity is a champion of the transport planning profession. She is committed to working across professional disciplines to bring together diverse expertise and ensure transport decisions genuinely reflect the people and places they serve. This includes collaboration across planning, public health, regeneration and regional partnerships to raise the visibility, credibility and impact of transport.

She chairs the Solent Transport Partnership, leads the Transport Devolution Workstream for the Hampshire and Solent Combined County Authority, and plays an active role in Transport for the South East. Through these roles, she works closely with local, regional and central government to turn policy into practice, championing the importance of connectivity as a driver of economic, social and environmental outcomes.

As TPS Board Director for the Nations and Regions portfolio, Felicity is focused on strengthening regional resilience, supporting volunteers and helping to build a confident, connected and future‑focused professional community. She is passionate about ensuring that every TPS member, wherever they are based, feels supported, represented and part of a joined‑up profession with a strong collective voice.

Keith was Director of the MTRU consultancy and has over 30 years’ experience as a transport planner in a wide range of roles. A previous Chair of the TPS, he has been leading on policy issues including “Agenda for Change”. In July 2015 he became TPS Director of Skills.

Jonathan is a researcher at the Centre for Transport and Society, UWE Bristol. His research and publications have included autonomous vehicles and their interactions with pedestrians and cyclists, as well as looking at aspects of street design, with a particular focus on side road junctions, including projects with Sustrans, Transport Scotland and the Road Safety Trust. He is on the Executive Committee of the Bristol Walking Alliance and through Scientists for Cycling is on the Scientific Committee for Velo-city, hosted by Lisbon in 2021.

Jonathan has an MSc in Transport Planning from the University of the West of England.

Tim is Director of Transport Planning at Jacobs and a leader within the wider Cities and Places part of the business. He has over 30 years’ experience in the industry and has held senior management roles in a number of top-tier consultancies both in the UK and overseas. Developing urban transport strategies, preparing business cases, transport master-planning, and sustainable modes are Tim’s primary areas of expertise. He enjoys working with young professionals and is a supporter of the transport planning apprenticeship scheme, TPS Professional Development Scheme and the TPP qualification. In his spare time he enjoys mountain biking and country walks.

David is a Chartered Transport Planning Professional with 30+ years’ experience developing transport projects across the world. He works at Mott MacDonald helping deliver transport strategies for large infrastructure projects. In recent years he has worked to review the impact of Lower Thames Crossing, develop a Mass Rapid Transit scheme in Milton Keynes and help Transport for Greater Manchester prepare 50+ transport business cases. Transport planning has enabled him to work on projects in many countries such as Chile, Puerto Rico, Nigeria and Jordan. Outside work on most Saturday mornings David can be found at his local Park Run.