Stream & Plenary
Speakers 



Plenary Speakers

Plenary Sessions

Renata Berglas, ARRB

Senior Executive, policy professional with extensive transport, freight, logistics, hydrogen, and beef industry development experience. Qualifications in economics, finance, and company director governance. Renata has extensive experience working with Boards both industry and government to achieve policy outcomes that improve the business environment, level the playing field and enable business to flourish. She is currently Chair of H2Q Queensland Hydrogen Industry Cluster, Independent Member of Minister De Brenni’s Hydrogen Taskforce, and Committee member Regional Development Australia, Brisbane.  Renata Berglas commenced employment with ARRB in 2021 as the Business Leader Mobility Future, working nationally to develop opportunities for ARRB.  Prior to commencing work at ARRB Renata was the CEO of Queensland Transport and Logistics Council where she worked with freight industry participant across all sectors road, rail, sea and air and government to develop projects that improved freight network utilisation and efficiency. Through this role Renata developed networks within Queensland government, the freight sector and industry associations. Renata also has experience in agricultural industry development, primarily beef industry development and land use planning, working both at AgForce Queensland and in the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.  

Suzy Cairney, BPEQ

Ms Cairney was appointed to the Board as legal representative in April 2018. She is a projects and commercial lawyer with particular experience in project development and operational contracts in the ports, civil construction and resources sectors. She has experience both in Australia and overseas, and has advised government clients, principals, developers, contractors and operators on a wide range of major infrastructure projects. Ms Cairney is a partner in the Brisbane office of Sparke Helmore Lawyers.

Kym Murphy, Department of Transport and Main Roads

Kym is a skilled and capable leader, who has a great deal of experience working in regional communities. Kym first joined TMR in 1993 as a graduate Civil Engineer in Roma where she enjoyed the experience of building roads and structures from the ground up. Continuing in Roma, Kym served as Senior Project Manager and Deputy Regional Director, with a particular focus on leading her people and strengthening strategic relationships with community, local government and industry. In 2014, after 21 years in Roma, Kym moved to Toowoomba to take up the role of District Director. 

Then in 2015 Kym started in the role of Regional Director, a role she has undertaken for over six years. As Regional Director, Kym was accountable for the strategic planning and forward program development for transport infrastructure in Southern Queensland. Kym also led and provided governance over the delivery of the transport infrastructure program, along with the management and operation of the state road network. Southern Queensland Region encompasses the Darling Downs, South West and Wide Bay Burnett Districts, with approximately 300 people spread across offices in Toowoomba, Warwick, Roma, Charleville, Bundaberg and Gympie.Recently, Kym has commenced in the role of General Manager (RoadTek) where she provides vision, leadership and strategic policy to the RoadTek Branch, and draws on her love for making a difference in everyday lives as she delivers on the responsibility to develop relationships in the community and with local governments, increase understanding of local and regional issues and respond quickly to emergencies and disruptive events. 

TMR's RoadTek Branch, with its team of nearly 1,300 people distributed across the state, facilitates the efficient and effective delivery of road infrastructure construction, maintenance, asset maintenance and technical assessments to deliver government priorities and community outcomes.Kym enjoys engaging with and leading people, and driving a strong performance and values-based culture in pursuit of results. Kym is a proud Mum of 3 independent and resilient young men. 2021 has had all 3 sons leave home and commence on their own adventures in life, so Kym is working on the challenge of parenting young adults and not providing too much unsolicited advice.In late 2019 Kym was IPWEAQ's Woman in Engineering Award winner.

Jimmy Scott, 

Jimmy oversees implementation of the Queensland Strategy for Disaster Resilience (2017) which is focused on empowering Queensland communities to build their disaster resilience. He leads a team working across all levels of government and numerous agencies to coordinate a collaborative approach to policy, information management, project delivery and stakeholder engagement.
Prior to this, Jimmy was QRA’s General Manager, Operations for three years, assisting state and local governments prepare for and respond to natural disasters. 
Holding a Bachelor of Business and Arts, Jimmy is experienced in state government grants administration, principally to local government, and has worked across both the Queensland and Northern Territory governments. He is dedicated to helping communities build their resilience, enabling quick recovery following natural disasters.

Fun facts:

  • The second language I speak is Japanese
  • The dorkiest thing about me is I’m a plane spotter
  • My least favourite meal is chicken sushi – need time to adjust to eating raw chicken



Stream Speakers

Stream 1: Asset Management

Gladstone Brohier, TechnologyOne

Gladstone has more than 25-years of experience working in complex asset and maintenance management environments. He has worked with organisations across multiple industries, including aviation, oil & gas, ports & airports, government, and local government sectors. Gladstone is a Certified Asset Management Assessor for ISO55000 compliance assessment and a Certified Practitioner in Asset Management. He is also a member of the Institute of Asset Management and the Asset Management Council.

Fun facts: 

  • When someone asks me what I am thinking about and I respond with "nothing", I really mean nothing
  • I love aircraft - I used to work on them, yet I am still fascinated and marvel at its capability to takeoff.  I once booked a flight from BNE to LA via SYD, just so I could fly on the brand new A380. My wife wasn't very impressed as there was a 6hr transit in Sydney. However, we did score an upgrade, which made her happy
  • When I was working in the RAAF, one night, I called my boss thinking that I was calling my wife and left a message on his answering machine and said, "I love you". The next morning I had an interesting conversation with him.

Owen Harvey, CT Management Group

Owen is a qualified Engineer supplemented with a Masters in Business and has worked in senior management positions in both the private and public sectors.  He worked in both the Commonwealth Government’s Australian Construction Services, the Queensland State Government and since 1997, he has worked in the consulting sector in project management, asset management across a wide range of infrastructure classes including roads, water and wastewater, buildings, airports and defence related infrastructure.Currently, Owen is a Co-Director within CT Management Group, a national consulting entity that provides Strategic Planning, Business/Asset Management consulting and Professional Placements across Australia.  He is a member of the Australian Institute of Project Management and IPWEA and maintains current QBCC (Builder - Project Management) registration.

Fun facts:

  • The instruments I have played are a bunch of brass instruments
  • The dorkiest thing about me is that I have played a bunch of brass instruments
  • I enjoy tinkering on an old 1984 BMW Alpina in my spare time

John Lockton, PelicanCorp

MSc and BSc qualified, with over 30 years’ experience in the Spatial/Asset Management/Damage Prevention industries - seven of those as PelicanCorp’s Manager for QLD/NT/WA/SA – John is a passionate advocate for the power of technology to make transformational change especially via innovation.  

Fun facts:

  • Has lived on four continents
  • Has travelled to over 80 countries.. but currently on hold!
  • Swim trains competitively twice a week and once swam 10km (400 lengths)… his Everest/Marathon equivalent

Stream 2: Road Projects

Tom Ryzak, E2G Joint Venture

Tom Ryzak Project Manager, Bruce Highway – Cairns Southern Access Corridor – Stage 3: Edmonton to Gordonvale (E2G) project, has more than 20 years’ experience constructing major infrastructure projects across Australia.  Tom’s strategic leadership and strong reputation for working collaboratively to deliver complex civil, transport and building projects made him the perfect choice to lead the team to work through the complex issues that have arisen on North Queensland’s largest infrastructure project.

Sumit Khadka, Department of Transport and Main Roads

Fun facts: 

  • Sumit loves mountain biking, Cairns is PERFECT for it!
  • Sumit loves traveling
  • Although he is from Brisbane he has lived in North QLD most of his life 

Scott Young, Stabilised Pavements of Australia

Scott is the National Technical Manager for Stabilised Pavements of Australia and manages their internal design consultancy, SP Design. He is also the Managing Director for Stabilised Pavements Malaysia.Scott is a Registered Professional Civil Engineer with RPEQ status and holds a Master of Pavement Technology. Scott has been in the stabilisation industry for 20 years and is a past President of Australia’s national association, AustStab. He is a current serving technical committee member of the REAAA Australian Chapter and chairman of AustStab's National Technical Working Group.

Zehra Kaya, Huesker Australia

Zehra holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering with a specialisation in materials/technical textiles, and has completed a Master’s degree in International Business, at Griffith University, Queensland. 

Over the past eight years, she has worked on numerous projects in Australia with local road authorities as well as major and regional airports, where she has specialised in the use of engineered geosynthetic solutions in roads and airfield pavements with a particular interest in the area of pavement reinforcement to tackle the effects of reflective cracking in pavement structures. 

In recent times, Zehra has also contributed to transformation of 100% recycled PET from post-consumer water bottles into an engineered PET asphalt reinforcement geogrid HaTelit C eco, and a PET spray seal reinforcement geogrid Chipseal Grid eco, to further enhance their far-reaching sustainability benefits combined with increased durability, based on extensive field verification. 

Zehra combines an in-depth understanding of materials and a strong drive for advanced design and construction practices, with practical experience in the field. She is currently focused on various road and airfield projects, helping deliver increased asset performance together with responsible sustainability.

Stream 3: Stormwater Management

Kyle Thomson, Water Modelling Solutions

Kyle Thomson is a Senior Water Resources Engineer, Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng) and Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland (RPEQ). He delivers projects at a range of design phases from pre-feasibility studies to temporary works and issue for construction.His experience has been in the water resources sector (local government, infrastructure and mining) with key projects involving flood engineering, impact assessments, mitigation and flood management strategies and water balance modelling. Kyle has been involved in a wide variety of projects and has technical and design knowledge particularly in flood and road hydrology, bridge and culvert hydraulics, mine hydrology/hydraulics, fish passage modelling, rare to extreme flood modelling, forecasting, SBMPs and SWMPs, FIAs, creek diversions, land rehabilitation, CFD and automation.

Leanne Salter, Moreton Bay Regional Council 

Leanne Salter is a Civil Engineer with over 20 years of experience in flooding and stormwater mainly in local government.  In her current role Leanne is a Principal Engineer in Stormwater Infrastructure at Moreton Bay Regional Council. 

Darren Carlson, Moreton Bay Regional Council 

Darren Carlson is the Coordinator - Stormwater Infrastructure Planning for Moreton Bay Regional Council (MBRC) where he works with a small team of dedicated stormwater and flood risk professionals who collectively manage one of Australia’s largest stormwater infrastructure inventories.

Jordan Maultby, AECOM

Jordan is the Water Resources Team Lead for Rockhampton at AECOM Australia Pty Ltd. An influential member of the Rockhampton team, Jordan’s core proficiency rests in hydrologic / hydraulic modelling, geospatial analysis and AI, floodplain management and geomorphology.

Fun facts:

  • Passionate about competitive Javelin
  • Severe anxiety over milk being off when I go to use it (I had a bad experience)
  • I have a (useless) talent for making memes

Dwayne Honor, Bundaberg Regional Council

Dwayne is the Branch Manager of Engineering Services at Bundaberg Regional Council representing the asset owner and operator for ~$1.6b of transport, drainage and pathway infrastructure. He has dual degrees in Engineering Technology (Civil) and Business Administration and has worked in local government for almost 20 years. Following devastating flooding in Bundaberg, most notably in 2013, he has worked in response and recovery along with leading numerous drainage and flood studies including the Burnett River Floodplain Action Plan and was recipient of the 2013 IPWEAQ Young Engineer. He has previously served on the Central Queensland Branch and State Board of IPWEAQ and on the national board of Floodplain Management Australia. In 2015 Dwayne was awarded a Churchill Fellowship from the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust of Australia to research community resilience from extreme storm surge in the United States and Philippines and was co-sponsored by the Queensland Department of the Premier and Cabinet.

Fun facts:

  • 2 children under 5
  • 1 dog with less than 5
  • Aspiring LegoMaster

Stream 4: Water Supply

Coralie Mannea, Burdekin Shire Council

Coralie is currently a Cadet Engineer at Burdekin Shire Council and is completing a Bachelor of Civil Engineering through the University of Southern Queensland. Coralie is completing her studies whilst working in the field completing designs and managing projects in different areas including water, sewerage, and roads. She has a year of experience working in the field and is involved in Projects such as a 5ML and 10ML reservoir for two of the towns in the area and numerous pipelines throughout the shire. 

Tayla Heuir, Burdekin Shire Council

Tayla is a Graduate Technical Officer at the Burdekin Shire Council. She is currently completing a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering (Honours) at the University of Southern Queensland.In working in the Technical Services department of the Council, she has developed experience in the planning, design and construction of roads and water management.  She has worked alongside professional engineers to help improve the water supply systems and assisted with various structural design projects. Tayla is currently the civil designer and one of the project managers of a new community precinct in the Burdekin, which includes the design of roads and civil networks and the management of design contracts for the proposed water park. 

Brian Jackson, Peak Services

Fun facts:

  • Sailed Mediterranean/Turkey 
  • Chased out of town by the coast guard many times (Wild Wild East)
  • Used to do Muay Thai competitively around Australia (I'm an old hack now)


Lew Rojahn, Bulloo Shire Council 

Lew has been part of the local Government scene for nearly 40 years working across all parts of Queensland as both a Chief Executive Officer and a Consultant with a short foray into the State Public Service as part of the Local Government Department at the time. 

His Career began with Laidley Shire as a Cadet Local Government Clerk and later achieved his qualification as a Shire CLerk under the 1936 Act. His first appointment as a CEO was with Mundubbera Shire. Both shires were later amalgamated and he wonders if he was to blame?

Later on, he was appointed to the role of Town Manager at the Comalco mining town of Weipa in Cape York. He believes this was a CEOs cherished role where you ran a council organisation that looked after the Town and all its infrastructure but you didn't have a Council to manage; Conversely, there was no one to blame either. 

Lew then went to work with various indigenous Councils across Cape York and Gulf areas before moving to the Department of Local Government for 5 years. Follwoing a Contract term with Etheridge Shire, he made a conscious move to join with the Mead Perry Group in 2015 in a consulting role which proved to be a very rewarding career choice. During this time, he took on a 3-month role with the Bulloo Shire OCuncil which became a 12-month experience. Three years later, Bulloo offered a contract as their CEO, which he accepted, and he will now finish his career having decided to retire at the end of the contract in February 2022.

Fun facts: 

  • In 1991, I purchased a Harley Davidson motorbike and picked it up at the factory in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in the US and rode it 8000 Klms down the east coast to Key West and back up through Tennessee along the Blue Ridge Mountains to Pennsylvania where it was shipped out to Australia.
  • I rode 180 000 Kilometres on that Harley after buying a Harley Tour Business.
  • I have travelled 3 times to Paris and not once have I been game enough to go up the Eiffel Tower – I love speed, but hate heights.

Dr Rob Fearon, QLD Water

Rob has been with the Queensland Water Directorate for 15 years, commencing as CEO in 2006. In 2011 he took on the role of Director, Innovation Partnerships to manage the Queensland Water Regional Alliances Program. His focus is on collaboration and strategic reform to improve safety, security and sustainability of urban water services for Queensland communities.

Fun facts:
  • The last country I travelled to was PALAU
  • The dorkiest thing about me is EVERYTHING (direct quote from teenage sons)
  • My favourite fish is THE MANDARIN FISH

Stream 5: Project Delivery 

Justin Fischer, Cassowary Coast Regional Council

Justin Fischer is the Manager Asset Engineering at Cassowary Coast Regional Council. Justin is a Civil Engineer with 14 years’ experience of professional engineering experience within Queensland and has worked for both working for Local Government and Consulting Sectors. Justin has experience in Asset Management, Project Management and Design and is motivated by the opportunity engineers have to drive value and fit for purpose outcomes for their communities through efficient risk management and design. 

Dan Allen, Wagners CFT

As a Project Manager at Wagners CFT, Dan Allen's goal is to to promote innovative and sustainable materials in construction. His greatest accomplishment so far in his role is supplying a full road bridge with Precast piles, abutments, and Deck units in Earth Friendly concrete. 

Fun Facts:

  • A life goal of mine is to climb or visit all the Seven summits
  • I’m overly competitive about American sport
  • My dog got kicked out of puppy school for being friendly but demanding

Michael Rochester, McCullough Robertson Lawyers

Michael practices in project delivery for government and in the resources and construction industries. With 30 years’ experience, he is known for his industry knowledge and pragmatic approach which he brings to major projects.  He has an intimate knowledge of all forms of project delivery methods and their risks and benefits.

Stream 6: Road Surfacing

Cameron Ives, GenEng Solutions

Cameron has been a Director at GenEng Solutions for over 9 years and is also a member of the IPWEA QLD SW Branch Committee. Cameron is currently contracted to the Department of Transport and Main Roads as Senior Engineer in the Reseal and Resurfacing area.

Fun facts:

  • My mantra is… every challenge is an opportunity
  • My favourite meal is… prawns and lobsters
  • A life goal of mine is… to live forever, so far, so good

Bernie-Anne Freeman, The Department of Transport & Main Roads

Bernie-Anne Freeman is a Principal Engineer and Program Manager, leading the TMR Darling Downs District’s Resurfacing and Pavement Rehabilitation Teams. She enjoys working on a range of road pavement and surfacing projects during design and construction phases and strives to deliver sustainable value-for-money solutions. Bernie-Anne has been selected for a global leadership program for women in STEM which will take her to Antarctica. 

Dr Kym Neaylon, Centre for Pavement Engineering Education

Kym is a Chartered Professional civil engineer and registered with EAs National Engineering Register. He has over 30 years specialist experience in bituminous pavement surfacings. He has enjoyed an enjoyable background transitioning through an Australian State Road Agency, the Australian Road Research Board, an International professional services consultancy, to a position that enabled him to give back to the industry at the Centre for Pavement Engineering Education. His PhD thesis was the first in Australia on the topic of sprayed sealing, researching the implications of road trains for sprayed seal design. He is the past Chairman of the Australian Standards committee for ‘bitumen and related materials for road making purposes’, a position he held for the last 11 years. His roles at the Centre for Pavement Engineering Education include training, where he manages and develops the short courses program, concurrent with being the Principal Engineering Advisor – Pavement Surfacings for CPEE. He also teaches students in the Masters of Pavement Technology on-line learning program.

Stream 7: Network Operations

Nick Cooney, Sunshine Coast Council

Nick was appointed Manager, Transport & Infrastructure Planning following amalgamation.  The Transport and Infrastructure Planning Branch is responsible for:
  • Planning for multi-modal transport outcomes, supporting the economy, mobility and access needs of the community.
  • Advocacy at State and Federal Government levels.
  • Effective flooding and stormwater management policy development and planning.
  • Managing all aspects of Infrastructure Charges.
  • Developing and reviewing Council’s Local Government Infrastructure Plan, (LGIP)
  • Contributing to the development of Council’s ten-year Capital Works programme
  • Establishing and maintaining partnerships with utility network providers
  • Contribute to the development of major Infrastructure  
Agreement's and provide technical advice to the Maroochydore Priority Development Area. (The flood data and modelling expertise is used extensively by various disaster emergency personnel for cyclones, storm tide events and floodwaters.)Nick joined the former Maroochy Shire Council from Main Roads in 1986 as Assistant Works Engineer.  Since that time Nick worked in Maroochy Water for five years, has been Manager of several branches including Construction and Maintenance, Infrastructure Services, Business Services, Infrastructure Planning and Design and Long Term Infrastructure Planning. 

Fun facts: 

  • After 35 years local government experience and 15 years prior with the Department of Main Roads, and with the magic number 50 looming this year, handover preparations take on significant importance
  • Enjoyed and played Rugby Union until hanging up the boots at age 48
  • 43 years happily married with three adult children and one grandson…….lucky bloke!

Don Pitt, Sunshine Coast Council

Don completed his Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) at James Cook University in 1986 and is a Registered Professional Engineer with almost 40 years’ experience in this field.  In 2018, Don was appointed as the Branch Manager, Transport Infrastructure Management with the Sunshine Coast Council.  (1986)The Transport Infrastructure Management Branch manages council’s transport, stormwater, electrical and lighting infrastructure. The Branch continually looks for new and innovative ways to improve the safety and lifestyle for residents and tourists of the Sunshine Coast. The team does this by managing the following activities: 

  • Transport 10 Year Capital Works Program
  • Speed management
  • Road safety
  • Parking management
  • Pedestrian safety
  • Stormwater management
  • Street lighting
  • Pedestrian pathway lighting
  • Public transport infrastructure
  • Pedestrian and cycling enabling facilities

Successful management of these activities contributes to the safety and wellbeing of all residents and visitors to the Sunshine Coast and has positive impacts on tourism and the economy. Prior to this position, Don was employed with the Department of Transport and Main Roads(North Coast Region) where he was responsible for the delivery of approximately $2.5 billion of project works, including Cooroy to Curra Sections B, C and D, Section C (Traveston to Woondum), Section B (Sankey’s Road to Traveston Road), Section D, Woondum to Curra), Tiaro Bypass and Saltwater Creek bridge replacement and pavement rehabilitation.   

Fun facts:

  • Passionate about fishing and always looking to improve his most memorable fish caught
  • Enjoys Rugby Union and played until nearly 40 years of age. The onset of injuries during his footy days are beginning to take their toll
  • Loves spending time with family and friends

Kylie Grimley, Sunshine Coast Council

Kylie has over thirty years’ experience with local government infrastructure planning and construction. Kylie works with many Council’s in Queensland to provide technical support in the development of Local Government Infrastructure Plans and IIP has been appointed to the State Government panel for the review of LGIP’s. In 2007, Kylie established Integrated Infrastructure Planning (IIP Pty Ltd) and has specialised in the development and administration of infrastructure charges regimes, LGIPs, adopted charges, technical workshop facilitation, infrastructure planning and population modelling. In recent years, Kylie has been involved in the infrastructure planning for master planned developments including the new CBD for Maroochydore, negotiation and implementation of the Palmview Infrastructure Agreement and Caloundra South. 

Fun facts: 

  • Kylie is mum to three boys – Josh (24), who’s an engineer, Caleb (22 and Queensland beach sprint champion), Isaac (19, runs a cookie business and lives with Down syndrome)
  • Kylie is a classically trained singer and is one of the world’s one percent who’s ginger
  • When Kylie started as the Maintenance Gang Supervisor in Brisbane City Council in 1990, she needed to have her steel capped boots custom made, since steel capped boots were only made for men at that time

Angela Fry, GHD

Angela is a civil engineer with more than 20 years of experience working on a diverse range of projects including high-profile road and bridge construction and flood mitigation works.  After beginning her career and a very successful decade at the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, she joined the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Southern Queensland where Angela lectured in the fields of civil construction and project management.  Angela then worked for 4 years with the Toowoomba Regional Council as a Principal Project Manager where she worked on a range of infrastructure projects.  In 2016, Angela joined GHD Pty Ltd as the Office Manager for Toowoomba and the South West Region.  After 5-years in the role, Angela has now taken on the role of Manager for the South Qld Roads and Highways Team.  Fun facts:I have white water rafted down the Kaituna River in NZ, including the 7-metre drop down the worlds highest commercially rafted waterfall.I adopted a puppy in Covid named Gracie. Gracie loves walking and meeting other doggos, but is scared of most things including bin-trucks and the sound of wind blowing in the trees – so not a fantastic guard dog.My dream job is to work in a second-hand bookshop, and so I’m hoping to retire from engineering while we still have paper-back books to buy, sell and swap. 

Nick Canto, icubed Consulting

Nick Canto is an executive, engineer and entrepreneur with over 26 years of experience in the infrastructure and energy sectors. He is currently a Principal Consultant at icubed consulting, a Brisbane based Development Consulting practice, specialising in Renewable Energy and Infrastructure projects. Founded by Nick in 2003, icubed today employs 50 staff and operates across the ANZ Region. Since inception, icubed has consulted on over 5GW of constructed Wind Energy Projects across Australia.

In late 2015, Nick founded Yarranlea Solar to develop a 134MWp PV Solar project 50km South West of Toowoomba. The main purpose of the Yarranlea Solar project was to demonstrate the broad capabilities of icubed consulting to the market. Its success has resulted in icubed being commissioned to manage the approval of approximately 1GW of PV Solar and Battery Storage projects across Queensland and NSW. Nicks’ depth of knowledge and expertise in energy project development is sought out by developers to provide expert strategic advice across a range of technologies.

Fun facts:

  • Nick grew up on a Tobacco Farm in Country Queensland and developed an interest in Engineering and construction during this time, building sheds, stock yards and fencing with his Dad
  • Nick is a dog person and lives in Brisbane with his wife, two teenage children and twin Dachshunds, Sizzles and Sesame
  • Nick enjoys the outdoors and is a keen cyclist.  His best Day of 2020 was a 16km Hike around Cradle Mountain having ditched work for the afternoon, given it was such a nice day

Stream 8: Managing Water and Sewerage Assets

Chris Shanks, Tonkin and Taylor Ltd

Chris Shanks is a senior environmental scientist for Tonkin + Taylor. Chris has over 10 years of experience as an environmental consultant across New Zealand and Australasia. He is T&T’s service lead for drinking water source-risk and holds key technical leadership roles on various public water supply projects for local government clients. Recently, he has led the development of a GIS based catchment risk tool, which allows for real-time screening assessments of catchment risk.

Fun facts:

  • A life goal of mine is to sail to the pacific islands (on my own boat), then spend some time exploring/fishing my way through the pacific with the family.
  • My favourite movie of all time is: The Guardian. Essentially the movie combines my three favourite things; Kevin Costner, helicopters and free diving (sort of).
  • My least favourite meal is Corned Beef – I know it’s controversial, but there’s nothing cool about salty boiled meat. We have freezers now..


Paul Drummond, North East Water

Paul is North East Water's Geographic Information Systems Coordinator. He has over 18 years' experience in geospatial and enterprise information systems across utilities and local government. Skilled in project management and strategic leadership, Paul holds a Bachelor of Information Technology from Charles Sturt University.

Fun facts: 

  • Paul started as North East Water’s GIS coordinator in April 2019 – that summer his team saw some of the biggest bushfires in the region, followed shortly thereafter by COVID-19

Doug Van Gelder, Esri Australia

Doug is Esri Australia's National Practice Lead for Utilities. With a wealth of experience in a number of roles across the ICT industry, he has honed his expertise in the application of GIS across large multinational organisations and utilities, with the ultimate aim of improving information management and collaboration while enabling better decision-making.

Fun facts:

  • Doug first used GIS as a navigator and warfare officer in the Royal Australian Navy

Steve Latimer, Interflow

Steven Latimer is a Civil Engineer with more than 27 years of industry experience, having acquired most of his expertise within the trenchless technology and in pipeline rehabilitation services within Australia and abroad. 

Having gained global experience in the industry, Steve has a clear understanding of the key drivers and needs of his clients including customer engagement and management, business transformation operational networks and decision-making drivers. 

As an experienced water professional with close to three decades of water sector, Steve brings valuable experience working across project, program, portfolio, delivery and specification development, ensuring that the client’s requirements and expectations are being delivered.

His vast engineering background and high-level strategic and analytical thinking skills paired with his global industry knowledge, contribute to his project approach and successful management throughout. 

Fun facts:

  • My favorite movie of all time is “The Internship”, you can watch it “on the line” 
  • A life goal of mine is to Sail Around the World
  • The one thing I will never do again is “Bungy Jump”

John Phillips, Interflow

John Phillips is a Chemical Engineer with a Master’s Degree in Marketing Management. He has more than 25 years of experience in the water infrastructure industry in Australia and overseas.

In his current role as Business Development Manager at Interflow, John’s expertise is in renewal of network infrastructure using trenchless technologies. He is passionate about working collaboratively and delivering quality outcomes for his clients.  He enjoys operating in a dynamic environment that requires innovative approaches and solutions to meet the needs of clients.  

His vast industry experience coupled with a collaborative approach to development of projects results in successful outcome for his clients.

Fun facts:

  • My mantra in life - ’It is not the end of the world, dust yourself up and get back on your horse..’
  • I broke my leg skiing in Japan on 1st Jan’2020 and thought I must have been the most unlucky person on earth until I went to the local hospital and found there were many like me!
  • My short term goal is to go back to Japan and ski and not break my leg

Stream 9: Road User Safety

Janet Smith, Department of Transport and Main Roads

Janet Smith is Registered Professional Engineer with more than 15 years of experience in the traffic and transport area. She has worked in consulting, as well as local and state government, and has built a solid understanding of both the practical and technical aspects of engineering. Currently she is the Senior Engineer in the Traffic Engineering Practice Team, where she manages projects,provides advice and works closely with both internal and external stakeholders. A fun fact about Janet is that she loves running and cycling, and will take any opportunity to explore the cycle paths around Brisbane with her friends. Tanya Pennell is a Registered Professional Engineer with more than 10 years of experience in the field of Systems Engineering. Her experience is predominantly in the delivery and operation of ITSand electrical transport infrastructure, including ITS systems and applications, road-side infrastructure, telecommunication and management strategies. Currently in her role as Principal ITSEngineer at Integrate, Tanya forms part of the project delivery team for the Department of Transport and Main Road for two major ITS technology roll-outs in Queensland – Smart LED Road Lighting and Smart Crossing projects. 

Fun facts:

  • Janet loves running and cycling, and will take any opportunity to explore the cycle paths around Brisbane with her friends
  • Janet also enjoys indoor rock climbing, and is looking forward to starting outdoor climbing at the Kangaroo Point Cliffs

Kim Thomas, Integrate

Kim Thomas has masters degrees in physics and engineering. She has over 25 years’ experience working diverse fields including transport economics, infrastructure planning, software and systems engineering and major transport infrastructure design.

Kim has held technical, management and business development executive roles in multinational engineering consultancies and has more recently formed her own business, Integrate, to deliver Intelligent Transport Systems and Smart Cities projects across the eastern states. Her team is now actively involved in delivering key Queensland technology projects including the Smart LED Road Lighting project; the Camera Detected Offence Program; the Bruce Highway Road Operations Improvement Project and the topic today, the Smart Crossings Project.

Fun facts: 

  • Kim’s first love was physics 
  • She is originally from South Africa 
  • Kim has a lovely 10y old boy 

Stephen Bolden, Cairns Regional Council

Stephen is a civil and structural engineer with more than 36 years’ experience in research, materials science, project management and consulting civil and structural engineering. Most of this has been in the private sector. He has been employed by Cairns Regional Council for the past 8 years in roles of project management and design of capital infrastructure projects.

Stephen is currently Coordinator Design and Survey Services of Capital Projects Delivery Branch at Cairns Regional Council managing and leading a team of 20 civil designers, engineers, landscape architects and surveyors. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in Queensland responsible for engineering certification of the teams’ design drawings.

Fun facts:

  • I was fortunate, or silly enough, to take a pre-COVID19 cruise on the inside passage to Alaska in 2019. The cruise ship was not the Ruby Princess and it was in the good old days when we were allowed to travel outside Queensland
  • In the 1990’s I managed the industry lead project in the development and implementation of MGP grades for structural pine timber product from the traditional F-grade system in Australia
  • I love camping and four-wheel driving in the great outdoors of North Queensland


Paul Gottke, Department of Transport and Main Roads

Paul Gottke is Principal Engineer in the Department of Transport and Main Roads' (TMR) Engineering and Technology branch and based within the Safer Roads team. In his role, Paul supports the implementation of TMR's Road Safety Policy and the Targeted Road Safety Program, as well as providing technical guidance and policy advice related to speed limits and speed management.

Paul has over 13 years' experience working for TMR across several business areas. From traffic signals to managed motorways and bus stops to park 'n' rides, Paul has firmly brought road safety forward in all areas of his work.

Paul is a Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland, a member of Engineers Australia and the Australian Institute of Traffic Planning and Management.

Paul is passionate about road safety and making a positive difference to crash outcomes for everyone travelling on Queensland roads. When Paul is not championing road safety, he is cheering on the North Queensland Cowboys.

Stream 10: Planning & Design

Adrian Vesnaver, Bellwether

Adrian is the Technical Lead at Bellwether, an emerging multi-disciplined professional services firm that provides construction planning, project management, support, independent review services and construction capability to the transport infrastructure, water, mining, oil and gas, and aviation sectors.He possesses 23 years of experience leading multi-disciplinary teams across a diverse range of major infrastructure projects in Australia and the Pacific under a variety of procurement and delivery models for both private and public clients. 

Commencing his career in project based construction roles, he later specialised in estimating, proposals and bid management. Since joining Bellwether Adrian has extended his diverse experience to include client side project support, workshop facilitation, and independent review across the entire project life cycle.Adrian also brings comprehensive technical expertise and engineering knowledge for both civil and structural works including major rail and road upgrades, intersections, bridge works, retaining walls and other structures, dams, concrete repair and remedial works, post tensioning, stay cables, pavement remediation, drainage works and utility services. This enables him to identify potential constructability, safety, quality and environmental risks, and develop effective mitigation strategies.

He is actively involved in promoting a sustainable infrastructure industry in his role as Bellwether's representative on the Sustainability, Innovation and Productivity Taskforce of the Infrastructure Association of Queensland, and as Chair of Engineers Australia College of Leadership and Management in Queensland.Adrian possesses an honours degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Adelaide, and a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Applied Finance from the Queensland University of Technology. He is also a Fellow, Chartered Professional Engineer and Engineering Executive of Engineers Australia, registered on the National Engineering Register, APEC Register, Register of International Professional Engineers Australia, and a Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland in the areas of Civil and Structural Engineering, and Leadership and Management.

Fun facts: 

  • I’m a certified divemaster and hope to take the opportunity to get out to the reef while I’m in Cairns
  • While living in Port Moresby I was a member of the local Hash House Harriers, a group described as a drinking club with a running problem, despite being both a non-drinker and someone who didn’t like running
  • I have a keen interest in technology, computers and consumer electronics, often leading to me making things overly complex around home, which drives my partner craz

Sarah Hausler, McCullough Robertson Lawyers

Sarah is a planning and environment lawyer with specialist experience in infrastructure planning and agreements. She acts for local government, state government agencies and government owned corporations, as well as large and small developers. Sarah acted for Unitywater and the Department of Transport and Main Roads in relation to the infrastructure agreements for the Caloundra South Priority Development Area, and acts for the State in relation to infrastructure planning and agreements for other greenfield development areas. Sarah also acts for private developers in relation to conversion applications. 

Jason Reepsdorff, Bundaberg Regional Council

Jason is a Civil Engineering Technologist with 25 years experience in the civil engineering field. He has spent that time in local government for 12 years and in the private sector for 13 years. He is currently a Design Team Leader in the Engineering Services Branch of Bundaberg Regional Council. Outside of work his time is spent being a dance dad to a dance loving daughter. He also enjoys playing indoor cricket where he represents North Queensland at a National level in the Masters division. He dreams of chasing an endless summer at the beach with his wife.

Stream 11: Asset Data

Dallas Lee, Brisbane City Council

Dallas holds a Bachelor of Technology (Civil) from Central Queensland University, a Vocational Graduate Certificate in Physical Asset Management and has been employed by Brisbane City Council for over 25 years.Originally working as a designer for local area traffic management schemes, he moved into asset management in the late 1990’s.  Dallas’ current role encompasses the strategic asset management of a diverse suite of assets including cycling facilities, road pavement marking, road signage, fences and traffic barriers.Dallas also co-ordinates the Brisbane City Council Standard Drawings and Engineering Specifications, as well interfaces relating to maintenance responsibilities with external parties across Brisbane City.

Fun facts:

  • Dallas was a Rotary International Youth Exchange Student to South Africa in 1989 (a total lifetime ago)
  • Dallas has a love of Rugby League being a lifelong St George (Illawarra) supporter and has two daughter who play for the Easts Tigers in Brisbane.  His eldest daughter is also a junior referee
  • In relation to the Fact #2 – Dallas is a true ‘one-eyed’ supporter, having lost an eye to infantile cancer.  Can you work out which one?

Stephen Hegedus, Shepherd

Stephen is a Partner and Director of Asset Services with SHEPHERD. Stephen has  had over 30 years' experience in the local government environment, and through his career has held the positions of Director of Engineering Services, Director Corporate Services and Chief Executive Officer which has enabled Stephen to obtain extensive experience in Asset Management from a number of different strategic levels within an organisation.

Aaron Meehan, South Burnett Regional Council


Sophie Geldenhuis, Proterra

Sophie started her technical career as a survey cadet at Main Roads where she completed an associate degree in spatial science. She quickly realised that civil surveying was not ideally suited to a five-foot-nothing lady and that her interests in geography and spatial science could be satisfied in fields other than surveying. 

As a TMR cadet Sophie was trained in road design principles and other civil aspects of road design and survey. Sophie spent the next several years working in the agricultural industry, trained by one of the best GIS minds in the industry. She progressed from the basics of GIS to understanding that the ever-evolving industry had many tools that were not being used or were underutilised. In 2019 Sophie returned to her Civil roots by joining Proterra Group. 

She quickly established herself as a problem solver, dealing with issues that stretched the traditional Engineering spreadsheet. Over the last year with Proterra Group, Sophie has worked on the development and implementation of a comprehensive data management system, while supporting engineering activities through GIS on a daily basis.

Fun facts: 

  • Sophie was gifted an instant family when she got married and now has a total of 5 children aged 12 down!
  • Sophie grew up in a regional Far North Queensland town with a total population of 855
  • In her spare time, Sophie enjoys gardening, in particular taking otherwise discarded seeds/greenery and trying to make them grow

Dan Whitehouse, Proterra

Dan started his engineering journey as an engineering assistant at the GHD Toowoomba office. He spent 2.5 very successful years learning the ropes on varying projects, mainly within the water services and environmental groups before succumbing to the lure of the west. He moved his working life to Roma where he worked for RoadTek on NDRRA projects from the devastating 2011/12 floods. His learnings in this role lead to his earliest thoughts on building and managing assets in a more effective way. Dan was summoned back to Toowoomba to welcome a new member to the family and started a new position at Toowoomba Regional Council in the Water Infrastructure Services team. This position further extended Dan’s knowledge of Asset Management, with emphasis in the water and wastewater industry. Dan’s role at TRC saw him getting involved in various stages of many different projects; from designing minor installations to supervising the construction of major trunk assets. Dan’s experience at TRC was rounded out with the development and implementation of proactive maintenance programs. Dan moved back to the private industry after five years at TRC, joining a small engineering consultancy called Proterra Group.  He worked on various projects for the Engineering team before Proterra offered him an opportunity to move into the Assets Manager role. Dan has only been in the position for a few months, but with a team and processes in transition, a lot has happened since he started.  Never resting on his laurels, Dan has set about finding ways to optimise the team’s processes focusing on improving the quality of deliverables to the client. Early days but onwards and upwards!

Fun facts:

  • Dan had the record of stripping Chickens at Red Rooster… 4 seconds
  • Dan is a gun handball player, continually beating his kids and their friends
  • Old age has caught up with Dan, where he loves spending time watering and working the garden


Stream 12: Effective Management of Structures

Carrie Lin, Department of Transport and Main Roads

Carrie Lin is a Chartered Professional Engineer with over 15 years of structural experience on large scale projects ranging from building to civil infrastructure. these include structural design, rate loading assessments, site inspections, project management, safety in design reviews, value management and design verification. Carrie is current working as an A/Principal Engineer at the Department of Transport and Main Road's E&T Structures - Structures Management Team.

Fun facts:

  • Engineering was not my 1st preference, Professional dancing was my passion
  • My mother tongue is Cantonese. English is my second language
  • I can read and write in Chinese

Kipp Richter, Danley

Kipp Richter, is the Technical Manager specialising in Flooring and Pavement at ramsetreid®, a division of ITW.  His current role sees him lead engineering engagement for the specification of the Danley and Miska brands.  Kipp has over 15 years’ experience in construction engineering, and currently supplying engineered solutions for load transfer systems into concrete. 

Fun facts:

  • Has two beautiful sons (3 and 5 years old) and a third boy on the way (due in March)
  • Enjoys riding his dirt bike around the Glass House Mountains when/if he has any free time
  • Competitively raced stand-up jet skis in the US before coming to Australia

John Gardner, Australian Steel Institute Structures

John Gardner is the National Education Manager – Technical and the Queensland & Northern Territory Manager for the Australian Steel Institute.John’s technical qualifications include a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from James Cook University.  His responsibilities include leading Queensland and national projects to assist the Institute’s members improve their expertise in the technical, educational and marketing areas.   This involves managing multi-disciplinary working groups and external consultants to assist the steel supply chain to become more competitive in a rapidly changing business environment.   His responsibilities include managing the production of technical seminars and webcasts for Engineers as well as other initiatives to improve design and construction.

Fun fact:

  • Townsville born and experienced Cyclone Althea which caused major destruction when it passed over Townsville
  • Experienced 2 more minor cyclones and an earth tremor whilst working in Darwin as the NT Building Branch Engineer
  • Learnt to scuba dive on the Great Barrier Reef and has dived on the World War 2 wrecks in Darwin Harbour

Futures Challenge Entrants

Clare Ferguson, USQ

Clare is a fourth (but really seventh) year Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) Major Civil student, studying externally at the University of Southern Queensland.  Her final research project investigates Queensland’s Natural Disaster Recovery process and, in particular, how QLD councils can better utilise Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA) funding to build a more resilient road network.  Current systems and processes result in repeat damage and repeated restoration to “pre-event condition”.  Clare works for Proterra Group as a technical officer and is heavily involved in the disaster recovery process with Goondiwindi Regional Council.  Prior to this, Clare worked in Gladstone on a tailings dam where she lived and breathed her real passion – big yellow machines moving dirt.  

Fun facts:

  • Clare held the title of St Ursula’s College Pi Reciting Champion for four years and can recite 180 decimals. 
  • She is an avid CrossFitter and is a part-time CrossFit Coach
  • She is passionate about travel and has visited 19 countries so far with an aim to reach 30 before she turns 30 – 5 years to go! 

Hadi Nourizadeh, USQ

Hadi Nourizadeh is a research student at the Centre for Future Materials (CFM), University of Southern Queensland. Hadi Is working on a cutting-edge project entitled “improvement of ground control materials”. This project aims to improve the capability of Australian manufactured rock bolts used for stabilising the surface and underground constructions such as slopes and tunnels. Hadi is a skilled geotechnical engineer in both experimental investigation and computer modelling of complex geotechnical conditions. Hadi’s research interest has focused on the analysis and investigation of the underground openings stability. 

Fun facts:

  • My favourite activity is cooking! 
  • One thing I cannot live without is banana!
  • I love and enjoy movies that I don’t understand even after multiple times of watching! 

Lucinda Sterling, USQ

Lucinda is in her fifth year of a Bachelor of Civil Engineering (Honours) and a Bachelor of Business & Commerce at the University of Southern Queensland. For the past three years, Lucinda has been working as an Intern at Toowoomba Regional Council, where she has discovered a passion for design. Lucinda is extremely motivated and eager to step into the industry as a soon to be graduate and maximise every learning opportunity possible to kickstart a successful career. 

Fun facts:

  • I have a lovely little cat named Honey
  • I would love to go to Dubai one day
  • I cannot live without coffee

Ryan Ball, USQ

Ryan Ball is a final year Civil Engineering student from the University of Southern Queensland, presenting his undergraduate thesis on the shear strength properties of sand with fines for various moisture contents. Ryan recently accepted a graduate role at a Brisbane-based geotechnical engineering company. He previously assisted the engineering site team on the Fairbairn Dam Spillway Improvement Project near Emerald as an undergraduate site engineer and has a keen interest in delivering future infrastructure projects. This project provided a key role in his learning and development as an undergraduate engineer as it allowed the application of theoretical principles to assist in problem-solving. 

Fun facts:

  • I have a hobby-level interest in geology which was inspired by an enthusiastic lecturer at USQ. This includes reading before I travel anywhere and hiding heavy rocks in the backpacks of my hiking buddies.
  • I once announced my first-place victory in an Ikea furniture assembling race, only to realize with horror that the seat was installed back-to-front.
  • To fund my university studies, I worked nightshift as a manager at a popular McDonald’s trapped between two nightclubs. This led to close relationships with the local police force and insights into team cohesion and safety in the workplace.