As some of you may be aware I'm due to be on maternity leave from early September 2009.  Alison Grant has been appointed as Business Manager to provide maternity cover and will take up the role full-time from 7 September, based at the Tea Factory in Liverpool with the rest of the team.  I'm hoping to come back in the summer of 2010 but in the meantime Alison will provide strategic leadership to the programme and specialist business support.  Alison was appointed after an interview process because of her excellent grasp of the national and regional context in which Places Matter! operates.

A registered architect with over 20 years experience in private practice some of you will be familiar with Alison from her time as Regional Director RIBA NW (1996 - 2001).  Alison went on to lead the RIBA Regional Network for 3 years and has subsequently been involved in private property development. Anyone wishing to make an appointment with Alison in advance of her starting date should contact myself in the first instance annie.atkins@placesmatterco.uk / 0151 703 0135.

Callum Gilbert 22 of Mossley Hill, Liverpool,  our successful candidate from the Architecture for Everyone workshop organised earlier in the year with the Stephen Lawrence Trust and Liverpool John Moores University is back from his six week visit to the Harvard Design Summer School in Massachusetts.  Callum left school at 16 with no qualifications but is now in the final year of a diploma in 3D design at Liverpool Community College.  Callum has been talking about his trip on BBC Radio Merseyside and in this week's Liverpool Echo but we hope  to feature a longer interview with him in the next edition of RIBA NW's award winning A Magazine due out in the Autumn.  If you don't currently receive A Magazine and would like to be added to the mailing list please send your postal details to Sian Edgerton at RIBA sian.edgerton@inst.riba.org

Have a good week whatever places matter to you!

Annie