Rachel Skinner

Skinner was born in December 1976. She lived in the US for two years and returned for her GCSE years to attend Downe House School{{cite journal |title=Alumnae success stories |journal=Downe House Cloisters |date=Summer 2017 |issue=19 |page=16 |url=https://issuu.com/downehouseschool/docs/downe_house_cloisters_summer_2017_i |access-date=17 January 2022}} and then Wellington School for sixth form. She earned a bachelor's degree with first-class honours in geography at Durham University.{{cite web|title=WICE Awards|url=https://issuu.com/zarsmedia/docs/wice_awards_magazine_may_2017_|publisher=European Women in Construction and Engineering Awards|accessdate=1 November 2017}} She said that she "fell into engineering completely by chance" when she took a job as a transport planner in 1998.{{cite web|title=New opportunities that add up for women in engineering - Rachel Skinner, Executive Director & Head of Development at WSP / Parsons Brinckerhoff|url=http://www.womanthology.co.uk/new-opportunities-add-women-engineering-rachel-skinner-executive-director-head-development-wsp-parsons-brinckerhoff/|publisher=Womanthology|accessdate=1 November 2017|date=22 March 2017}}{{cite web |title=Congratulations Rachel Skinner |url=https://www.wtsinternational.org/rachel-skinner-the-past-president-of-wts-london-has-been-named-as-one-of-the-top-50-women-in-engineering-in-a-list-published-by-the-daily-telegraph-on-national-women-in-engineering-day/ |publisher=WTS International |language=en |access-date=1 November 2017 |archive-date=9 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181109153124/https://www.wtsinternational.org/rachel-skinner-the-past-president-of-wts-london-has-been-named-as-one-of-the-top-50-women-in-engineering-in-a-list-published-by-the-daily-telegraph-on-national-women-in-engineering-day/ |url-status=dead }} In 2001, she was awarded a Master of Science degree in transportation planning and engineering with a distinction by the University of Leeds. In 2019 she returned to Durham to deliver the "Hatfield College Lecture."{{cite web |title=The Hatfield College Lecture 2019 |url=https://www.dur.ac.uk/conference.booking/details/?id=1140 |website=Durham University |accessdate=13 February 2019}}

Skinner has been involved with the Institution of Civil Engineers since 2003, when she became a chartered engineer (CEng). She is also now a fellow of the institution (FICE), and sits on its Trustee Board,{{cite web|url=https://transport.newcivilengineer.com/speakers/rachel-skinner|title=Rachel Skinner|publisher=Institution of Civil Engineers|language=en}}{{Dead link|date=April 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} and has chaired the ICE's London region in 2010, stood for Council in 2015 and was confirmed by the ICE council as succeeding vice president in April 2017. Skinner became president in November 2020.{{cite web|title=Two new Vice Presidents chosen for 2017/18|date=25 April 2017|url=https://www.ice.org.uk/news-and-insight/latest-ice-news/two-new-vice-presidents-chosen-for-17-18|publisher=Institution of Civil Engineers|accessdate=1 November 2017}}{{Cite web |title=Rachel Skinner |url=https://worldgbc.org/profile/rachel-skinner/ |access-date=2022-12-26 |website=World Green Building Council |language=en-US}} She was the youngest person ever to hold the post of president of the ICE, and the second female president. Skinner chaired the advisory board of the New Civil Engineer magazine between 2017 and November 2019.{{cite magazine|magazine=New Civil Engineer|date=April 2017|page=67|title= New Civil Engineer April 2017|url=https://www.newcivilengineer.com/Uploads/p/v/i/april2017.pdf}} Skinner is a qualified transport planning professional and also a Fellow of the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (FCIHT),{{cite web|url=http://www.wes.org.uk/we50|title=Top 50 Influential Women in Engineering List 2016 {{!}} Women's Engineering Society|publisher=Women's Engineering Society|language=en}} as well as an honorary fellow of the Society for the Environment.

Skinner has held several senior positions at WSP Global, the consultancy and design firm, including as UK director of transportation planning and European director of marketing and communications for Parsons Brinckerhoff, and since 2022, she has been UK Executive Director of Government Relations & ESG.[https://www.wsp.com/en-gb/who-we-are/uk-leadership WSP website, UK Leadership, retrieved 2024-05-08]

Skinner helped to set up the [http://www.womenintransport.com Women in Transport] (formerly Women's Transportation Seminar) network in London in June 2005 and is now one of its patrons, having been a founding member of its board and president from 2009 to 2013.[https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/I6gxVejydGsKiV0-8kPYWn9OP3A/appointments UK Government website, Companies House section, Rachel Susan Skinner, retrieved 2024-05-08]

Skinner also works to encourage female students into taking up STEM subjects. She is a regular industry speaker, the lead author of papers on the implementation of driverless vehicles including "Making Better Places" (2016),{{Cite web|url=http://www.wsp-pb.com/Globaln/UK/WSPPB-Farrells-AV-whitepaper.pdf|title=Making Better Places: driverless vehicles and opportunities|website=www.wsp-pb.com|access-date=2019-01-11}} "New Mobility Now" (2017){{Cite web|url=https://www.wsp.com/en-GL/news/2017/new-mobility-now-is-the-time-to-take-action|title=New Mobility Now - a practical guide {{!}} WSP|website=www.wsp.com|access-date=2019-01-11}} and various prior publications on the application of digital technology to the construction industry, collaboration and innovation.

Between 2018 and 2020, Skinner was one of ten Commissioners for the newly formed Infrastructure Commission for Scotland.{{Cite web|url=https://infrastructurecommission.scot/page/commissioners|title = Infrastructure Commission for Scotland}}

Skinner was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to infrastructure.{{London Gazette|issue=63571|supp=y|page=N10|date=1 January 2022}} In the same year she was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Leeds{{cite web |title=Past President Rachel Skinner Recognised With Honorary Degree From University Of Leeds |url=https://www.ice.org.uk/news-insight/news-and-blogs/latest-news/news/rachel-skinner-awarded-honorary-degree-from-university-of-leeds/ |website=Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) |access-date=26 July 2022 |date=7 July 2022}} followed by a second from the University of Exeter.

In November 2024, Skinner was appointed to Chair the Department for Transport's Capital Review Panel, an advisory panel which provides independent advice to the Secretary of State for Transport on strategic considerations for the department’s capital portfolio.{{Cite web |title=Department for Transport Capital Review Panel |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/department-for-transport-capital-review-panel |access-date=2025-01-02 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}

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Category:British civil engineers

Category:Living people

Category:British women engineers

Category:1976 births

Category:People educated at Downe House School

Category:Alumni of the University of Leeds

Category:Alumni of Hatfield College, Durham

Category:Fellows of the Institution of Civil Engineers

Category:Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering

Category:Female fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering

Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire