Recorded in front of a live audience of 150, the evening brought together a group of brilliant, lively, curious people who all believe in the power of amplifying inspiring women’s voices.

Today, we are delighted to be able to share that live episode with you.

What made this episode different?

🤝 An introduction to the evening and podcast - by host Zoe Smeeth
🌟An incredibly honest opening speech from Laura Collins outlining her 20-year career
🎤 Powerful conversations with Claire Gott, Michelle (Mitch) Lloyd Jones, Amanda Salt, and Diana Pego on how they are shaping their industries and leadership
💬 Audience questions

Thank You

This live recording was made possible by partnership with WSP in the UK & Ireland and JAC Project Management. Their support allowed us to create a space where these conversations could unfold with intention.

We’re especially grateful to our guest speakers.

• Claire Gott - Head of Building Structures UK, WSP

• Michelle (Mitch) Lloyd Jones - Former Fighter Pilot & Qualified Flying Instructor, Ascent Flight Training

• Amanda Salt - Managing Director, EMEA, Insidesource

• Diana Pego - Project Director, Area

• and Laura Collins - Senior Development Director, Stanhope PLC

You can watch their full individual episodes on YouTube or listen on your favourite podcast platforms.

To everyone who joined us in the room - thank you for your engagement.

🎧 Listen Now

📺 Watch the Live Podcast and full Season 2 episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PlacessheShapes ✨ Stay connected - follow us on TikTok and Instagram: @PlacesSheShapes 🎧 Now streaming on all podcast platforms - don’t miss it: https://pod.link/1812292057

The Places She Shapes Team

She didn’t stop there. Mitch reapplied, was selected to be a fighter pilot, and went on to fly the Tornado F3, deployed to exercises across the globe. After two years on squadron, she found her real passion teaching as a qualified flying instructor. Today, she trains generations of fast jet pilots and works with Ascent Flight Training on the Texan aircraft as part of the UK’s military flying training system.

In this episode, Mitch shares the sliding door moments, the challenges she overcame as one of the first female fighter pilot instructors in the UK, and what it really takes to step into the cockpit when the odds are against you. Her story is unforgettable.

🎧 Now streaming on all podcast platforms - don’t miss it: https://pod.link/1812292057

You can now watch full Season 2 episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PlacessheShapes

✨ Stay connected - follow us on TikTok and Instagram: Places She Shapes

Una Barac grew up in the former Yugoslavia before moving to the UK in the 1990s. She began her career at Foster and Partners, working on landmark projects across London, New York, and Sydney. But despite her training as an architect, Una realised her real passion was interior design - creating spaces that are not just iconic, but functional and human.

One gut decision sparked by a single email became her sliding door moment, setting her on the path to founding Atellior, her international design studio. Today, with offices in London and Croatia, Una and her team specialise in luxury, hospitality, and residential projects, shaping everything from historic restorations to contemporary new builds.

In this episode, Una reflects on resilience, instinct, and the importance of understanding both the client and the end user when designing spaces that truly inspire. Her story is proof that sometimes the boldest designs begin with the boldest decisions.

🎧 Now streaming on all podcast platforms - don’t miss it: https://pod.link/1812292057

You can now watch full Season 2 episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PlacessheShapes

✨ Stay connected - follow us on TikTok and Instagram: Places She Shapes

This event is about the moments that shape us - the unexpected opportunities, the quiet persistence, and the dedication that opens doors over time. It’s a chance to bring the podcast off the headphones and into the room.

We’re proud to be hosting this live recording in partnership with WSP in the UK & Ireland and JAC Project Management, whose support helps make space for these important conversations.

What to expect

✨ A live podcast conversation with inspiring women shaping the built environment
👥 Guests from architecture, engineering, aviation, and furniture
🎤 A special guest speaker - a changemaker we can’t wait to introduce
💬 Audience Q&A and thoughtful discussion
🤝 Time to connect and network with like-minded people after the recording

Our mission remains the same: amplifying the voices of women and exploring the moments that have shaped their journeys - honestly, openly, and in community.

Want to join us?

Spaces are limited to keep the evening personal and conversational.
📩 DM to reserve your spot
♿ Accessibility matters to us - please share any access requirements when you RSVP so we can support you fully.

Can’t make it in person? We’ll be sharing highlights and moments from the night across our social channels, so you can still follow along wherever you are.

We can’t wait to welcome you into the room.

— The Places She Shapes Team

#PlacesSheShapes #LiveEvent #WomenInEngineering #WomenInLeadership #BuiltEnvironment

For Claire, it was saying yes to a school trip to Tanzania. Growing up shy but competitive, she found her spark on the netball court, and that trip opened her eyes to a career where she could make a real difference.

That single “yes” set her on a path from co-founding a charity in Cameroon, which, 15 years later, continues to deliver schools, medical centres, and clean water - to being awarded an MBE by the then Prince Charles. Today, she’s the UK Head of Structures at WSP, leading hundreds of engineers on some of the country’s most complex projects.

In this episode, Claire reflects on the sliding door moments, the setbacks that became turning points, and what it really takes to lead with ambition, resilience, and purpose. Her story proves just how much one person can shape the world around them.

🎧 Now streaming on all podcast platforms - don’t miss it: https://pod.link/1812292057

You can now watch full Season 2 episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PlacessheShapes

✨ Stay connected - follow us on TikTok and Instagram: Places She Shapes

Trish Watson built a business, lost it in the crash, and built again. Today, she’s Managing Director of Thirdway Interiors, leading teams that design some of London’s most dynamic workplaces - but the road here has been anything but straightforward.

In this episode, we talk about the sliding door moments, the battles she’s fought, and the resilience it takes to carve out your own place in an industry that doesn’t always welcome you. Trish’s story proves that sometimes the only way forward is the one you create yourself.

🎧 Now streaming on all podcast platforms - don’t miss it: https://pod.link/1812292057

You can now watch full Season 2 episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PlacessheShapes

✨ Stay connected - follow us on TikTok and Instagram: Places She Shapes

Places She Shapes didn’t begin with a strategy document or a pitch deck.
It began, rather unglamorously, in the shower.

New Year’s Day 2025, somewhere between shampoo and conditioner, I had a very clear thought: Why are all these podcasts just men talking to largely men?

I work in construction and property. I know first-hand how many intelligent, creative, quietly brilliant women are shaping the places we live, work, and move through every day. And yet, when it came to hearing their stories - properly hearing them - there was a gap.

Five minutes later, wrapped in a towel, I announced to my boyfriend Paul and my brother Dan that I was going to start a podcast. They humoured me. Sensibly.

But the seed had been planted.

Setting the Scene

The idea was simple, at least on the surface: a podcast hosted by a woman, featuring women, talking honestly about their journeys in the built environment.

Not glossy success stories. Not elevator pitches. But the real stuff, the sliding-door moments, the missteps, the resilience, the decisions that only make sense in hindsight.

Around the same time, I emailed Nick Judge, our non-exec director at JAC Project Management - fully expecting him to tell me this was a terrible idea.

Instead, he said yes. Damn!

That yes led to another conversation, and then another - including one across the Atlantic with Stewart Reynolds (aka Brittlestar) and his son Owen, both of whom actually knew how podcasts work. Suddenly, this wasn’t just a nice idea. It was becoming a project.

At first, I called it Spaces She Shapes. It sounded neat. Too neat.

It didn’t take long to realise that spaces felt static. What we’re really shaping are places - lived-in, emotional, evolving things. So, Places She Shapes it became.

Abbey Road and the Making of Season One

From the outset, we made a deliberate decision: if we were going to do this, we’d do it properly. I wanted best in class sound, visuals and atmosphere.

We chose Abbey Road Studios not because it’s famous (though it is), but because it represents best-in-class - in sound, in craft, in care. I wanted Places She Shapes to feel aligned with that standard. The stories deserved it.

With the help of Design Religion, the visual identity took shape early on - clean, confident, understated. I wanted the brand to feel like the conversations themselves: thoughtful, human, and not trying too hard.

Season One was recorded in The Gatehouse, a beautifully contained studio within Abbey Road. Intimate, calm, and quietly charged with history.

Across a few days, we recorded six episodes with six remarkable women: Marian Ferguson, Amanda Salt, Diana Pego, Julie Rees, Sarah Atherton, and Gurvinder Khurana.

Each came prepared to talk not just about what they do, but how they got there - the choices, compromises, courage, and persistence involved.

Behind the scenes, the team made it all work: Stewart directing with calm authority, Owen producing, Cory capturing the moments between the moments, Gordon and Tom engineering the sound, and Anita ensuring every guest felt welcome, seen, and looked after.

The conversations were honest, often funny, occasionally emotional.

And when Season One launched into the world, people listened. Amazing!

The Growing Collective

One of the unexpected joys of Places She Shapes has been how quickly it became a collective effort.

What started as a small team grew to include designers, filmmakers, sound engineers, social media leads, hair and makeup artists, editors, and content creators - each bringing their own expertise and care to the project.

Season Two expanded that circle further, with Lara shaping our social storytelling, Gregor capturing behind-the-scenes content, and Sonny ensuring everyone felt their best on camera.

This collaborative rhythm - thoughtful, respectful, creative - has become the heart of PSS. It mirrors the very thing we talk about on the podcast: that places (and projects) are shaped by people working together, often quietly, often generously.

Season Two - New Horizons

Six months after Season One, we returned to Abbey Road. Same studio. Growing team. Bigger ambition.

Season Two features eight new voices - women from journalism, law, architecture, engineering, aviation, comedy, and beyond. Different paths, different personalities, shared honesty.

Back at Abbey Road, we used The Gatehouse again for recording and added the Front Room this time - a space for preparation, calm, and filming the introductions. Familiar surroundings, but with a sense of evolution.

Season Two feels more confident. Not louder - just clearer.

The conversations go deeper, the laughter comes quicker, and the themes feel timely: leadership, visibility, balance, courage, and what it really means to shape a career on your own terms.

October 8th, 2025 - The Gathering

By August, it felt right to bring people together in person. Before heading off on holiday, I left the team with one instruction: “Find us a space.”

By October 8th, that space had transformed into a room full of energy - around 70 people gathering to celebrate what Places She Shapes had become.

The evening began with Season One guests returning to the stage, followed by a spotlight on two organisations doing vital work - Girls Can Build and Dress for Success Greater London - and then an introduction to some of the Season Two voices.

It wasn’t slick. It wasn’t overproduced. It was warm, thoughtful, occasionally chaotic - and exactly what it needed to be.

For me, it was a moment of standing back and realising that this project had moved beyond a podcast. It had become a shared space.

The Ongoing Journey

So why does this matter?

Because hearing women’s voices - in full, in context, without interruption - changes things.

It changes how industries see leadership.
It changes how younger women imagine what’s possible.
And sometimes, it simply changes how someone feels about their own path.

Places She Shapes isn’t about shouting the loudest. It’s about listening better.

Season Two is partly released, with the next episode landing on 4^th January 2026. And beyond that? Who knows.

But wherever this journey goes next, it will stay rooted in the same belief that started it all - that women’s stories deserve space, time, and world-class sound.

-Zoe Smeeth

🎧 Now streaming on all podcast platforms - don’t miss it: https://pod.link/1812292057

You can now watch full Season 2 episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PlacessheShapes

✨ Stay connected - follow us on TikTok and Instagram:

Rosie Holt trained as an actor, waited tables between auditions, and hustled her way through fringe theatre before finding her voice on the stand-up stage. She’s been heckled, ignored, and underestimated - but she refused to give up.

In this episode, we talk about the journey that shaped her comedy, the moments that demanded resilience, and the fearless way she challenges the world with wit and insight. Rosie’s story is a reminder that persistence, talent, and a little audacity can turn every “no” into a stage for success.

🎧 Now streaming on all podcast platforms - don’t miss it: https://pod.link/1812292057

You can now watch full Season 2 episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PlacessheShapes

✨ Stay connected - follow us on TikTok and Instagram: @PlacesSheShapes

Zoe Moss grew up with a work ethic forged through paper rounds and café shifts, and stumbled into construction almost by accident. She built a 20-year career defined by grit, big opinions, and a refusal to play small.

The biggest leap came when she co-founded Cast Interiors, the first majority female-owned fitout contractor, growing it in just five years into one of the industry’s most disruptive firms.

In this episode, we talk about risk, resilience, and what it really takes to shape a business, and a culture, that refuses to apologize for ambition. Zoe’s story proves that sometimes the boldest growth comes from walking away with nothing.

🎧 Now streaming on all podcast platforms - don’t miss it: https://pod.link/1812292057

You can now watch full Season 2 episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PlacessheShapes

✨ Stay connected - follow us on TikTok and Instagram: @PlacesSheShapes

Share Places She Shapes

Faye Allen BSc (Hons), PgDL, FRICS, MAE - author of Building Women: How Everyone in Construction Can Win and Regional Director at Rimkus APAC and EMEA, has spent over three decades in construction, breaking barriers, challenging bias, and reshaping the rules as she went.

From apprentice surveyor to industry leader and author, Faye has seen it all, and she’s determined to make construction safer, fairer, and more respectful for the next generation.

🎧 Now streaming on all podcast platforms - don’t miss it: https://pod.link/1812292057

You can now watch full Season 2 episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PlacessheShapes

✨ Stay connected - follow us on TikTok and Instagram: @PlacesSheShapes

📖 Faye’s book: fayeallen.co.uk - published by Rethink Press. It’s a must-read for anyone in the construction industry.

Real voices. Big ideas. Unfiltered conversations.

The new season, once again hosted by Zoe Smeeth, brings together some of the most fascinating and fearless people shaping the built environment today - from Comedians to Fighter Pilots, CEOs to Engineers.

Listen to the Season 2 trailer:

Each conversation peels back the layers on work, identity, ambition, and creativity… with a healthy dose of honesty, humour, and a few unexpected moments.

“It happened, very recently… I was the only woman in a whole series of meetings. There were nine people, all of them men, none of them racially diverse. And then, suddenly looking at myself, going, oh, how has this happened?”
— Anisa Subedar, Senior News Editor, BBC News Investigations

“It was in the day when Page Three calendars were everywhere on the walls in the site offices. And… the women that were generally around were people that worked in the canteen, (or) people that cleaned…”
— Faye Allen, Regional Director, Rimkus

“It doesn’t matter… that I’m a woman, I’m just a person on the squadron, I just wanted to be treated the same. I just wanted to be that perfect person that… perfect officer and the perfect woman, that was a role model.”
— Michelle “Mitch” Lloyd Jones, Flight Instructor/Fighter Pilot

“They didn’t even have female toilets when I arrived, and as an 18-year-old in that environment, it was quite daunting.”
— Claire Gott, Head of Structures, WSP UK

“When a man walks onto a stage, people are like, this man is going to make us laugh, this is a funny comedian. But when a woman stands on the stage, their first thought is, ah, it’s a woman.”
— Rosie Holt, Comedian/Author

“I don’t fly the feminist banner… I use it to kick the door open.”
— Zoe Moss, Group Managing Director, Cast

“In the building industry, you do get a lot of men. So, I guess… those friendships were formed at the beginning of the career, and they’re still very much there. They’re strong.”
— Una Barac, Executive Director, Atellior

“They didn’t want to report to me because I was a woman. I mean, this is only 20 years ago. And you know, the senior person in that company thought that was acceptable. And at the time, I didn’t think it was acceptable. So, I moved on”
— Trish Watson, Managing Director, Thirdway

Season 2 is bigger, bolder, and recorded in one of the most iconic studios in the world. Whether you’re in construction, design, media, or just love hearing brilliant people talk about what drives them, you won’t want to miss it.

Missed Season 1? Listen to the trailer:

Amplifying the voices of inspiring women and exploring the moments that have shaped their journeys

🎧 Subscribe now so you don’t miss the first drop:

Subscribe now

When Amanda Salt was four years old, she made headlines for protesting the fact that girls weren’t allowed in the Scouts. That same determined energy has powered her through a winding, unpredictable, and inspiring career—one that’s been shaped as much by risk as by restraint.

In this episode of Places She Shapes, Amanda joins me at Abbey Road Studios for an incredibly candid conversation about life, leadership, and learning to stop chasing dopamine… sometimes. From launching her own business (twice), to burning out, to selling up and swearing she’d never work for anyone else again—only to be pulled back in by one surprisingly good cup of coffee—Amanda has never followed a conventional path.

She talks openly about the financial instability of her childhood, the impact of her father’s bankruptcy, and the weight of the inner voice that still tells her to play it safe. We also dive into the late-in-life ADHD diagnosis that finally helped explain decades of career choices, emotional patterns, and a need for constant challenge that wasn’t just ambition—it was biology.

Amanda shares how a random conversation led to a pivotal opportunity, why “let them” is the best advice she’s ever received, and how she’s finally found peace in a leadership role by reimagining it not as “being in charge” but as “helping others go further.”

This episode is a reminder that we don’t always shape our careers with master plans. Sometimes we just follow the pull of what feels right, trust our instincts, and course-correct as we go.

🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts, or by clicking here
✌️ Hosted by Zoe Smeeth from Abbey Road Studios

What happens when a poetry-reading farm girl from rural Wales accidentally overhears a classmate say “chartered surveyor”—and decides, on the spot, that’s what she’ll become?

For Julie Rees, that offhand comment launched a 40-year journey through one of the UK’s most competitive, male-dominated industries. In this episode of Places She Shapes, Zoe Smeeth sits down with Julie to trace the surprising, sometimes brutal, often brilliant path she’s walked—from the fields of Carmarthenshire to the boardrooms of London, with a few transatlantic detours along the way.

They talk about the challenges of breaking into commercial property in the 1980s as one of the only women in the room (or on the team, or on the floor), what it felt like to be called “the first member of the fairer sex” in a company memo, and how Julie weathered career curveballs, from sudden redundancies to motherhood, without ever losing her footing… or her sense of humour.

This is an episode about shaping your own path when none exists. About embracing failure as a plot twist, not an ending. About the value of mentorship, old-school phone calls, and marble-floored lobbies that look like they were designed by Bond villains.

Julie’s story is full of wisdom, wit, and the kind of practical, no-nonsense perspective that only comes from having actually done the thing—led the team, closed the deal, got back up after the fall, and built something better from the rubble.

Whether you're at the start of your career or facing your own “what now?” moment, this one’s for you.

🎧 Listen now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

https://pod.link/1812292057

Interior architect Gurvinder Khurana joins Zoe Smeeth at Abbey Road Studios to reflect on a life shaped by grit, grace, and gorgeous design. From smuggling friends out of arranged marriages as a teen to launching a boutique design firm with zero clients (and two bottles of wine), Gurvinder’s journey defies convention. They discuss integrating heritage, parenting feminist sons, redefining workplaces, and why emotional intelligence might just be the most radical tool in the construction industry.

Click here to listen!

Diana Pego shares her bold journey from a music-loving teen in Brazil to becoming a project director in the UK’s male-dominated design and build industry. In this inspiring and candid conversation with host Zoe Smeeth, Diana opens up about resilience, career pivots, and redefining success—on her own terms. A must-listen for anyone navigating ambition, identity, and imposter syndrome in the workplace.

Click here to listen on your favourite podcast platform

Sarah Atherton has been many things—soldier, nurse, social worker, single mother, and MP. In this candid conversation, she opens up about growing up surrounded by boys, fighting to be heard, entering politics by accident, and sticking to her principles even when it cost her everything. From Berlin bars to the House of Commons, this is a story of resilience, rebellion, and quiet revolution.

Click here to listen on your favourite podcast platform

From dreaming of dance floors to dominating boardrooms, Marian Ferguson’s path to becoming a powerhouse in building services engineering is anything but conventional. In this episode, Marian shares how she went from being told "no" at the door of the R&A Golf Club to opening doors for others through her own engineering design business. We talk early rejections, mid-career reinvention, and what it's like to start your own company in your late 40s—while tackling gender bias with grit and grace. Marian's journey is a blueprint for resilience, and a rallying cry for anyone who's ever been underestimated.

Click here to listen to the podcast on your favourite platform

In this opening episode, host Zoe shares her own path into the construction and property industry—a journey that has been anything but linear. From early entrepreneurial ventures to leaving university and transitioning from hospitality into construction, Zoe reflects on the decisions and sliding door moments that shaped her career.

She also sets the stage for the series: a collection of conversations with women working across the sector, from engineering to law, who have built successful careers in roles not traditionally held by women.

This episode introduces the core idea behind Places She Shapes: that careers don’t have to follow a set blueprint to be successful—and that independence, adaptability, and resilience are often just as valuable as a plan.

Click here to listen to the podcast on your favourite platform

Places She Shapes, hosted by Zoe Smeeth and recorded at the iconic Abbey Road Studios, is a show that puts the spotlight on those driving and thriving in the property, construction, real estate, fit-out industries, and more. It’s a chance to hear the sliding door moments, the good, the bad, and the unapologetically ambitious, that have shaped each guest's journey.

Enter your email address and we’ll notify you as soon as each episode is available:

Subscribe now