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The London District Surveyors' Association's first female President
In the 180-year history of the office of the President of the London District Surveyors’ Association (LDSA), and the 350-year history of the office itself, only one woman has held the office of President.
That woman is Mariza Graham, who will serve as President from March 2025 to March 2026.
Mariza was kind enough to put some time aside and speak to LABC Warranty about her career and what she hopes to achieve with her time as President.
About the LDSA
The London District Surveyors’ Association provides the Local Authority Building Control service for the Greater London region.
Covering all 32 local authorities and the City of London, the LDSA is available to developers, contractors, architects, designers and more to offer building control expertise to any building scheme in London.
As the only public sector building control provider in the capital, it’s the LDSA’s pride to be involved in some of the largest and most prestigious developments in the country.
About Mariza and her career in building control
Alongside her duties as the President of the LDSA, Mariza is the head of Hackney Building Control.
Her journey to the position involved a start with the Housing Department before pursuing a degree with the University of Westminster and moving to join Waltham Forest’s building control team as a surveyor.
After six years at Waltham Forest Building Control Mariza moved to Newham in pursuit of more complex projects, working first as a surveyor, then a principal, and eventually a building control manager.
It was here that Mariza enjoyed the opportunity to work on the 2012 Olympics, something Mariza describes as a high point of her professional life.
“Working on the Olympics was a huge highlight of my career,” said Mariza. “I worked on the temporary Hockey Stadium, Media Press Centre, The Broadcast Centres, and some of the legacy work of the Olympics.
“The legacy work included the transformation of the international broadcast centre now known as HEREAST into studio facilities utilised by the University College London and other organisations.”
In November 2020, after twelve years with Newham, Mariza joined Hackney as their Head of Building control.
Mariza’s historic presidency
As we pointed out earlier, Mariza is the first woman to hold the office of the President of the LDSA in the position’s 180-year history.
“It’s always been quite male-dominated,” Mariza said. “When I started it was just the odd woman in the construction world, not many surveyors, and now 20-odd years later we see many more women in surveying roles, which is great.”
Mariza will serve as President for one year and hopes that her time in the role will inspire other women to seek roles in the world of surveying and building control.
“It’s definitely a personal achievement,” Mariza said. “But for me, as I’ll keep saying, it’s about inspiring women into the sector and encouraging them to take up leadership roles.
“I hope I’m leading the way a bit to say, I can do it, you can do it.”
About the changing world for women
The construction sector, and its associated service sectors (such as surveying) have traditionally been dominated by men.
But as Mariza says, there is a changing shift in the surveying industry, stating that more women are entering the field. She highlights a significant transformation over the past two decades, resulting in increased knowledge and interest in surveying among women.
“Before, many women weren’t aware of it unless you stumbled across it at university or college, learning about regs and guidance and so on. I had to apply to many places before I landed a position at Waltham Forest Building Control as a surveyor.”
While roles in building control are still challenging, regardless of whether a man or woman is taking on the duties, Mariza insists it’s a rewarding professional path.
“Of course building control is very rewarding,” Mariza said. “In building control, no day is the same, and every project has got its challenges.
“And that’s what makes it so exciting – it’s always interesting, there’s always changes to regulation and guidance, and it always keeps you on your toes – you can never get bored of building control.”
Mariza’s impact as President
Mariza hopes to use her time as President to create some positive changes in the surveying industry.
One of those changes is embracing the new world under the new Regulator and regulatory regime.
“I’d like to help our members make their staff and themselves more aware of their competencies,” Mariza said. “And help them with understanding the new legislation, interpreting it, and embracing accountability. This would involve a lot more training.
“Of course, we were accountable before, but now that being registered is required by the law, the code of conduct is changing, expectations have changed, and we have to adapt. I hope my time as President helps our members grow with that change.”
What to do if you want to work in building control
We asked Mariza what her advice is on what to do if you’re a woman (or man) looking to move from an adjacent role into building control.
“The first step is to approach your team leader,” Mariza said. “Then get yourself on a course that relates to the built environment and take the first steps down the path.
“Shadow surveyors and get a feel for the role, work with other surveyors as much as you can and reach out to anyone who you think is willing to assist you.
“If you like it, you can progress and earn your degree and move on to full-time surveying work.”
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