Heather is an award-winning citizen designer who has dedicated herself to empowering voices through her community design and personal projects. She has a strong passion in life to uplift others, whether its through her work or in her personal life.

At The Centre for Civic Innovation, Heather worked on the ‘Including Young People’s Voices’ project, part of the Citizen Power work-stream, aimed at gathering input from young people (ages 12-16) on how they feel about their communities. Her success led to the co-creation of an engagement model that ensured as many young people as possible could share their experiences. She worked with young people to design how they are engaged, contributing to The Play Sufficiency Assessment, providing them with a platform to influence decisions affecting their wellbeing. Her approach, inclusive and tailored to young people’s preferences, ensured they could share their voices openly.

Building on these insights, Heather co-designed a larger engagement process, amplifying the voices of over 5,100 young people across Glasgow’s secondary schools. The findings from this work informed City Plans and were integral to decision-making. The project was awarded the 2024 RTPI Award for Planning Excellence, Overall Scottish Winner.

Additionally, Heather volunteers with MCR Pathways, mentoring young people. She offers weekly one-on-one support, fostering trust, resilience, and confidence to help them reach their full potential. Empowering young people is central to her personal and professional life.

She is also the founder of a small and inclusive business. What started as a personal passion project, flourished into a successful, sustainable and recognised natural skincare company. Doing every detail and aspect from scratch herself – Heather ensures the brand is inclusive, zero-waste, gender-neutral, sustainable and empowering. She has created a safe space and community on the HD Produs socials, having a reach of over 20,000+ people.