Deborah has a long career in Built Environment spanning interiors, architecture, sustainability, landscape, planning and policy, and uses this breadth of experience to develop environmental strategies for projects. She is a Design Advisor to the Mayor of London and for HS2, and sits on many design and quality review panels in London and the South East. Deborah is a passionate advocate for design with nature as the basis for sustainable development and is a regular speaker on built-environment issues. She is again participating in Design Council’s Design for Planet conference.
As a landscape architect she founded Uncommonland: her scheme for the University of Warwick with FCBStudios is a 2023 Stirling Prize shortlisted project. She is a partner of Nagan Johnson Architects.
Using her keen commercial acumen, she’s a recent appointee to the Terra Instinct Board as Non-Exec Advisor on biodiversity strategy. This follows policy-driven work as Director of Place & Nature for Future Homes Hub, where she worked with volume housebuilders and as Head of Global Sustainability for Handley House, giving international projects a stronger, more sustainable and ethical focus. Deborah is an independent trustee of the Landscape Institute, and a trustee of BOST.
When not working she can be found on the river, attempting to reach flow state with her rowing crew, or in her garden, a wild and productive rooftop oasis in the heart of London.