The Board
| Architecture and Design | Safety | Engineering | Walk to School |
| Community | Health | Social Planning |
During this exciting time of development for both the international walking community and Walk21 we are fortunate to be able to rely on a group of talented and experienced professionals with a broad range of expertise across the spectrum of issues connected to walking.
The Walk21 advisory board have been committed to and active in the evolution of the Walk21 conference series and have most recently played a crucial role in the development of the International Charter for Walking.
Walk21 intend to continue to build on this relationship and work closely with the board to support and protect the integrity of the Walk21 brand through the conference series, the development of the International Charter for Walking and the continued evolution of good practice.
Chair: Jim Walker
Jim is one of the founders of Walk21 and has been its Chair of the Board for 13 years. He has advised and supported many communities, governments and cities and over that time including 8 of the Most Liveable top 20 (according to The Mercer survey). Jim was the Active Travel Advisor to The Olympic Games for the last 6 years; he set up and ran the £9m Walk London project for The Mayor for 9 years; he has written best practice guidance on walking policy and practice for the UK central government and ran their Walk4Life online Health Campaign for 3 years; he set up Walk England and with Lottery funding attracted more than 1m people to walking; He is currently leading a new international charity, with Royal approval, to build a network of Walking Trails in communities around the world Jim has 4 not so little Walkers, who keep him outside doing it, not just talking about it, as often as possible!
Conference Director: Rodney Tolley
Rod has taught and researched in the sustainable transport field at Staffordshire University for over 30 years. He has authored and edited a number of books, most notably "The Greening of Urban Transport: Planning for Walking and Cycling in Western Cities" and has published many papers over the years. He is a Director of Walk21, a global partnership of walking experts, and was a founder member of the Steering Group for Walk21. He provides a consultancy service to many clients in the UK and overseas including Australia and New Zealand. Through these activities he has a unique oversight of best practice in planning for walking in the UK, Europe and across the world.
Development Director: Bronwen Thornton
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Bronwen is working with communities and professionals around the world to promote walking, develop and deliver innovative projects and provide resources, tools and services to support more walking. Her current projects include advising the UN and WHO, as well as cities in Canada, Asia and Europe. She worked on the European Active Access project and continues to deliver the Making Walking Count project and the International Charter for Walking. Past projects such as the Walkability Roadshow in Canada 2007 and the Canadian Walking Master Class 2009 proved a project model of policy analysis and community engagement that can genuinely support local governments to deliver real results for walking. She is a strategic thinker and writer, expert facilitator and trainer with on-street experience of walking audits, transport design and urban planning. Originally from Australia, Bronwen now lives in the United Kingdom and loves nothing better than a muddy walk in the rain!
