Former President of SLL, Liz Peck, dies aged 46
It is with great sadness that the Society of Light and Lighting (SLL) has confirmed the death of Liz Peck, Past President, former Secretary and a Fellow of the Society.
A popular and highly regarded figure in the lighting industry, Peck was President of the SLL between 2015 and 2016, and was one of the key figures behind the internationally renowned Night of Heritage Light.
After encouragement from industry peers, Peck joined the lighting industry in 1999 in a customer service role at Concord Lighting. Working alongside Mike Simpson, she moved from Concord to Philips, becoming a senior lighting designer and with Simpson’s encouragement, joined the SLL in 2003. During this time, she was undertaking the Bartlett MSc in Light and Lighting; she was awarded the Worshipful Company of Lightmongers Student of the Year in 2003, and graduated the following year.
In 2007, Peck established her own independent lighting consultancy, LPA Lighting, and worked on a number of high-profile, award-winning projects, such as Dover Castle, and more recently the Iron Bridge in Telford – a project that she worked on with current SLL President, Bob Bohannon.
In 2008, Peck was awarded the SLL Lighting Diploma, and prior to being elected to the SLL Executive Committee, was the Society’s Secretary. Peck became SLL President in 2015, coinciding with the UNESCO International Year of Light – the third woman to take on the role and to represent the Society, its members and the lighting industry.
In her time as President, Peck was one of the instigators and project leads of the first SLL Night of Heritage Light. Embracing and celebrating the UNESCO International Year of Light, SLL members lit nine UNESCO World Heritage sites across the UK on 1 October 2015. Alongside Simon Fisher, Dan Lister and Rhiannon West, Peck led this national event, which gained international acclaim, going on to win the Event award at the 2016 [d]arc awards.
Rounding off the UNESCO International Year of Light, Peck travelled with SLL Coordinator Juliet Rennie to Mexico for the closing ceremony, where she spoke about the Night of Heritage Light as part of an international panel of lighting designers and advocates.
Following a move from Brighton to Leeds, Peck started the Northern Lights initiative, which gave an opportunity for “Light Minded” people in the north of England to socialise and discuss the topics of the day – part of Peck’s ongoing passion, support and commitment to the lighting community and those working within it.
On hearing the news of her passing, SLL President Bob Bohannon said: “I will not be alone in hearing the news of Liz’s passing with shock and immense sadness, she was a dear friend and invaluable colleague. She will be widely missed, I was constantly amazed by just how many people knew her and her ability to make friends of the teams around us.
“But while mourning I want to celebrate the life lived for that is the Liz we all knew. Her humanity shone through, for example in the last few months she was volunteering as a deliverer for a Leeds food bank; it was hard work but she made people’s lives better. She was immensely proud to have beaten all the longevity odds after major heart surgery as a teenager.
“Her passion for the work of the Society of Light and Lighting was a driving force in her life and her work on projects such as Dover Castle and the Iron Bridge at Telford were widely recognised as being at the leading edge of our profession.
“We’ll miss you Liz.”
Liz Peck 1974 – 2021
