Dr Teri Okoro and Cindy Leslie have been appointed to the Architects Registration Board by the Privy Council following recommendations from Chris Pincher, Minister of State for Housing. Both members have been appointed for four years from 1 March 2021 until 28 February 2025.
Dr Teri Okoro is an experienced non-executive director and chartered architect with over thirty years senior experience. Teri is founder and director of architecture practice TOCA and has held prior leadership roles in the commercial and not-for-profit sectors. She is a RIBA fellow, an expert adviser for Historic England and a Construction Industry Council Diversity and Inclusion Panel member. Having provided extensive diversity and inclusion consultancy to the sector, Teri will contribute her broad industry knowledge, governance and inclusion expertise to the Board.
Cindy Leslie joins the Board as a lay member. She has had a successful career as a solicitor for many years, focusing on dispute resolution for a wide variety of commercial clients. Cindy brings to the Board significant non-executive experience in a number of different areas including regulation, Higher Education and the charity sector. Cindy has extensive regulatory experience as a fitness to practise panel member for the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the Health and Care Professions Council.
The Privy Council has also reappointed Derek Bray, a current lay member, to the Board for a further three years, commencing on 1 March 2021 until 29 February 2024.
ARB Chair Alan Kershaw said of the appointments: “I am delighted to welcome Teri and Cindy to the ARB Board. Between them they bring a huge amount of experience across several sectors, enabling us to further extend the breadth and range of qualities available to the organisation as we pursue the ambitious agenda we have set for this year and beyond. I eagerly look forward to exploring the areas where they can make a particular contribution to our work of protecting the public and upholding the reputation of the architects’ profession. I am similarly delighted that Derek Bray will continue as a member of the Board. He has been a strength to us over the past two years and we will continue to benefit from his knowledge and experience.”
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Notes for Editors
o The Architects Registration Board (ARB) is the statutory body established by Parliament under the Architects Act 1997 to regulate the UK architects’ profession in the public interest.
o Among other duties, the Act requires ARB to:
– Maintain the Architects Register
– Prescribe the qualifications needed to become an architect in the UK
– Issue a code laying down the standards of professional conduct and practice expected of architects
– Investigate allegations of unacceptable professional conduct or serious professional incompetence
– Investigate and where appropriate prosecute unregistered individuals who unlawfully call themselves an architect
– Act as the UK’s Competent Authority for architects
o ARB has a Board of 11 members all appointed by the Privy Council. This includes one independent, non-executive Chair and ten non-executive Board members made up of five members of the public and five architects.
o ARB has an Information Pack detailing its key messaging intended for use by the press and other stakeholders.
For further information please contact media@arb.or.uk or 020 7580 5861.
