Kickstart your Career Bootcamp - Speakers Bio

Kate Nelson
Head of Sustainability Transformation
LendLease

Kate has 20 years' experience in leading the development of strategically aligned business solutions and core business capabilities, innovation and improvement programs, implementation of global business-critical management systems, and construction and infrastructure programs and project management; both locally and abroad.
Recent roles included Head of Innovation and prior to that Head of Business Technology for Lendlease’s Australian construction business, where she has focussed on driving change to enable Lendlease to repeatedly deliver the best, most innovative solutions for their customer's evolving needs.
In her current role as Group Head of Sustainability Transformation – Advocacy, Kate is focused on driving the execution of Lendlease’s sustainability strategies and targets, particularly focused on the business and sector transformation required, and targeted industry advocacy and collaboration. 
She holds a Masters of Bioresource Engineering, Paper Science and Engineering from Monash University, and a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering (Hons) from University of Queensland.

Simon Gibson
Graduate Programme Manager
Advanced Personnel Management (APM)

Simon Gibson is the Graduate Program Manager for the APM Group, a multinational Allied Health organisation. With over ten years experience within Graduate Recruitment across Professional Services, Mining and Allied Health, Simon has led multifaceted teams to deliver some of the countries largest graduate intakes.
A specialist within the industry, Simon sat on the Board of Directors of the Australian Association of Graduate Employers (AAGE) from 2019 – 2021 and was an active Committee member for 5 years prior. Simon is passionate about early careers and ensuring candidates receive genuine advice, get clarity and are empowered to pursue their ambitions.

Brianna Tyler 
Senior Talent Acquisition and Business Partner
Bechtel

Brianna is an experienced Recruitment Lead / Senior Talent Acquisition Business Partner at engineering, construction and project management firm Bechtel. She has a strong demonstrated history of working in Internal Talent Acquisition teams in a collaborative partnership within wider People & Culture teams including:
Infrastructure, Energy, Mining & Metals GBU’s (APAC) – Bechtel  Corporation(Current)
Civil (Rail) Infrastructure - Cross River Rail
Financial Services - Bank of QLD & Great Southern Bank (previously CUA)
Mining & Metals GBU - Bechtel Corporation
Brianna has strategically sourced talent across APAC working in both centralised and matrix structured organisations. She has also gained Talent Acquisition experience working in RPO and recruitment agency environments where in these roles she specialised in Business Support - Temporary (recruitment agency), Technology (recruitment agency). Brianna also has extensive experience working within Financial Services, Insurance, Health & Pharmaceutical, Heavy Industry, Agriculture, Freight & Logistics and State Government industries.

Michelle Alves 
Talent and Leadership Development Specialist
Hastings Deering

Michelle is a Talent and Leadership Development Specialist with 16 years of experience across Human Resources with a breadth of experience across Talent Attraction, Engagement and Development. With studies in both Human Resources and Organisational Psychology, she is also a qualified organisational coach and believes that you can do anything with a growth mindset.  Responsible for Talent Strategy at Hastings Deering, Michelle manages the ‘Talent of the Future’ portfolio which includes the graduate program and internships. Her passion and experience in talent places her well as the graduate program manager. She loves growing and supporting the graduates to further their learning and development at Hastings Deering.
Michelle is looking forward to sharing her insights and experience on how you can develop a Growth Mindset to support your personal and professional aspirations and achieve your goals.

Kelly Pfeffer 
Graduate Talent Lead
Suncorp

Kelly is the Graduate Program Lead at Suncorp and has specialised in early careers talent programs for 15+ years in both private and public sector organisations.  This includes working in industries such as Finance, Insurance, Technology, Engineering and Consulting with programs operating across Australia, New Zealand, USA and Canada.  Kelly is a past Chair and Director of the Australian Association of Graduate Employers and remains passionate about working with students and graduates to support them through the early stages of their career.ateadvocate for emerging talent and is always happy to discuss opportunities at RDA.

Kerrie Bishop 
Early Careers Talent Partner
Rheinmetall

Karrie is an organisational psychologist with over a decade’s experience in the graduate recruitment and development industry. She is currently designing the early talent strategy for Rheinmetall Defence Australia and previously designed, delivered and managed highly technical rotation-based graduate programs in the oil and gas and energy industries with Santos and Origin Energy. Karrie is a passionate advocate for emerging talent and is always happy to discuss opportunities at RDA.

Lewis Crosbie 
Recruitment and Talent Specialist  
Northrop Consulting Engineers Pty Ltd

Lewis is an experienced recruitment and talent specialist working for Australian owned engineering consultancy firm, Northrop Consulting Engineers. Northrop Consulting Engineers are highly experienced in Civil, Structural, Building Services and Sustainability. Lewis’ role involves having a thorough understanding of Northrop’s business model/structure and future skill requirements, to knowing how to assess the strengths and capabilities of candidates.
Lewis is responsible for attracting, and recruiting the required talent to meet Northrop’s current needs and strategic growth targets, as well as providing retention support and advice to managers to help retain existing talent. Lewis manages graduate and undergraduate recruitment for Northrop’s VIC and QLD regions.

Kate Le Pontois 
Lead Engagement Manager
APAC, Wiley Edge

Kate is an early careers HR professional, with five years’ experience recruiting and supporting graduates and early careers talent across the Banking, Legal, Accounting and IT industries.  Kate is passionate about supporting graduates, helping them secure their dream jobs and have successful careers!

Joshua Hwang 
Software Developer 
Atlassian 

Joshua studied a Bachlor Mathematics and Computer Science at The University of Queensland before entering the Atlassian graduate program. He has since been promoted to Software Developer where his team provides a platform for external developers to build add-ons for our products. His time is spent providing secure, GDPR compliant hosted storage for these add-ons and improving reliability across the board. The culture is one of the biggest reasons I like working at Atlassian. 
 

Pauline Fetaui 
General Manager
River City Labs

Pauline Fetaui, General Manager of River City Labs (RCL) joined the ACS Group to continue to pursue her two passions; People creating and living dreams and progressing innovative technologies for the advancement of our society. Pauline leads her own start up CheeHoo an integrated Assistant, Organiser app, designed to help people juggle smarter whilst helping to stay connected to the most important tribes in our lives.
Pauline also co-founded a Splash of Colour, a Podcast and passion project hosting authentic conversations about navigating the reality of being a Human as we all try to do our best. Prior to Joining River City Labs, Pauline brings 19 years as leading and delivering Digital, Tech Transformation and Regulatory Change across Banking, Superannuation, Insurance and Government.

Dan Zheng 
Dynamics Systems Engineer
Airbus

Dan is a recent graduate of The University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) / Bachelor of Economics. Currently working as a Dynamic Systems Engineer at Airbus Australia Pacific, Dan is supporting the Australian Army Aviation’s rotary wing platforms; the ARH Tiger and MRH90 Taipan. 
As Dynamic Systems Engineers, Airbus specialise in delivering Engineering Design and Continuing Airworthiness Management  services for all Dynamic Components (Gear Boxes, Main Rotors, Engines etc) on the ARH Tiger the MRH90. 
Prior to graduating in 2021, Dan completed internships at Airbus Australia, Wood  and Whitehaven Coal whilst also being an executive in the Mechanical Engineering Student Society in 2018 (Media Officer) and 2019 (Vice President).

Sharna Armstrong 
Specialist Capability 
BHP

Sharna started her Engineering journey just like you in the corridors of the Hawken Engineering Building back in 2011. She had no idea back then that a degree in Chemical and Environmental Engineering would lead her to a career in the resources sector. 
Since starting with BHP in 2015, Sharna has worked as a Process Engineer, Project Manager and Supervisor in their Central Queensland operations where she was based both residentially and fly-in-fly-out from Brisbane. Sharna has also worked as a Process Engineer in BHP’s Remote Integrated Operations Centre (IROC) and is currently working with their Talent and Capability team to execute the Minerals Australia First Year Intern Program. Thanks to her flexible and diverse teams, Sharna gets to do all of the fun stuff that comes along with being an Engineer whilst also raising two daughters, her dog and, at times, her fiancé.   

Ryan Novak 
Senior Customer Success Manager
Learning Solutions
LinkedIn

Ryan is a Senior Customer Success Manager who partners with higher education institutions to promote a continuous culture of learning utilising LinkedIn Learning.  The mission of LinkedIn is simple: To connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful. In 2022, online communication has never been more important, from nailing your LinkedIn profile, understanding the skills in demand and reviewing your online social media presence. This session will highlight the vast range of in-demand learning courses and pathways available to support student employability and to make you stand out online. 

Ellie Hubbard 
Associate Director
Engineering, Assets and Project Delivery
KPMG

Ellie is passionate about helping people better understand risk and resilience considerations associated with owning and managing Infrastructure. She has held varied roles across the asset value chain and brings a breadth of experience which allows her to bring a diverse lens to complex challenges.
Ellie thrives in environments where she can help bring order to chaos, and loves delivering sustainable outcomes that balance economic, social and environmental considerations. She believes that understanding the context is key to making effective decisions, and is a strong advocate for leveraging the shared knowledge of groups to help solve complex problems.
Ellie is a Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng) and a committee member of the QLD Chapter of Engineers Australia’s Risk Engineering Society (RES). She holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical) and Bachelor of Mathematics from Queensland University of Technology (QUT).

Dana Stephens
Graduate of Architecture
McLellan Bush Architects

Dana is a Graduate of Architecture and has worked at McLellan Bush Architects since 2017. Her aspiration for a career in architecture stemmed from a childhood spent drawing and building spaces out of available timber and foliage. Dana is passionate about making learning and play inviting, accessible and inclusive to all through design and problem solving. Graduating with her Master of Architecture from UQ in 2021, Dana was the recipient of the Peter Hale Cox Architecture Prize, Board of Architects of Queensland Student Prize, Australian Institute of Architects QIA Medallion and a UQ University Medal. Dana’s experience in practice is focused on educational projects, understanding the value of engagement through all phases of a project - from briefing to post construction - in providing genuine outcomes and in giving students agency and ownership of their learning spaces. 

Frank Barbaro
Head of PMO
Corporate Technology

Frank is a Program Manager working for Flight Centre with over 19 years experience delivering solutions that improve customer experience. Frank has a reputation for being highly motivated and results oriented with an ability to manage complex business problems into the delivery of exceptional results in the face of time, resource and financial constraints.
He is passionate about making a difference for those he works with and for customers. While managing programs and teams, Frank has provided strategic direction and the vision to achieve the desired business outcomes.

Frank’s proudest achievement was leading a year long program that resulted in a better experience for over 720,000 customers per year. 
 

Anh Ho
Associate
Conrad Gargett

Anh is an Associate at Conrad Gargett with strong background in Architectural Study and Research. He accomplished his Bachelor’s Degree in Vietnam as a Valedictorian and recently obtained his Master’s degree from the University of Queensland with his second Valedictory honour. During his studies, Anh was well awarded with prizes and scholarships for his design and research excellence. He is also a seasonal tutor in design subjects at The University of Queensland School of Architecture. Joining Conrad Gargett in 2015, Anh has demonstrated his commitment and enthusiasm across a broad range of projects with various scales and typologies, focusing on Education, Health and Mix-Use sectors.

Shuwei Zhang
Senior Digital Designer - Computational
Mott Mac

Shuwei has a background in the built environment, digital design and digital delivery accumulated over 6 years of local and international experience. He has provided digital services, and managed and delivered outcomes to a number of high-budget projects across the Asia Pacific region.

Nick Lindsay
Chief of Staff
Gilmour Space Technologies

Nick is a former Lieutenant Commander in the US Navy with experience in Naval Aviation, UAV design and operations, and the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Program Executive Office (PEO). His civilian experience includes 10 years at SpaceX, the world’s leading rocket company, where he was last the Director of Spacecraft Manufacturing for both the Cargo and Crew Dragon spacecraft. 
Nick joined Gilmour Space Technologies in 2019, where he has served as Head of Manufacturing, Program Manager for Launch Vehicles, and currently serves as Chief of Staff. In that period, he has seen the Queensland-based SME grow from 35 to over 160 employees, and plans to double their high-skilled workforce within the next few years. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the United States Naval Academy and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Texas at Austin. 

Scott Norrish
Regional Director - Cyber Security
CyberCX

Scott is an organisational leader who takes a human-centred approach to client service. He leads his team by encouraging a culture of creativity, exploration and experimentation to draw out innovative products, solutions, services and experiences. Scott has over 25 years of technology industry experience, working through a landscape of emerging technologies and markets, and creating and presenting future visions and narratives for both CyberCX and his customers. He is focused on how customer experience (CX) directly impacts every element of business growth.

Isabelle Wainwright 
Business Analyst

Isabelle Wainwright is a Business Analyst and Product Manager with a background in Process Engineering. She has a broad range in experience developing digital solutions and implementing digital business transformation projects for major mining companies. This includes initial studies and strategy development through to design and implementation works.

Rachel Walsh 
Vice President - People Operations
Tritium

Rachel joined in April 2020 and has been part of Tritium’s high growth phase and successful listing on the Nasdaq. Rachel has previously held roles in mining, banking and finance, property and casino industries and has worked for companies including London Stock Exchange,  Bank of Queensland, Glencore (formerly Xstrata Coal) and Treasury Casino. Rachel has lived and worked in Brisbane, London, Central Qld, Sydney, Wollongong, Colorado and West Virginia. She now lives in Brisbane with her husband and two young boys. 

Sarah Clark
Recruitment Consultant
Titan Recruitment

Sarah is an experienced recruitment consultant with over 5 years’ experience with a focus in Infrastructure and Civil Engineering. Previously she recruited skilled tradespeople for mining maintenance contractors on large mines throughout QLD, NT & WA.
Sarah has a holistic approach and believes putting in the effort to truly understand her clients and candidates on both a personal and professional level allows her to effectively deliver the best outcome for all parties involved. She aims to expand her knowledge, experience, and understanding in the water engineering sector to become a recruiter of choice. She is particularly passionate about working with young engineers and helping them establish their career path. In her spare time, Sarah enjoys reading, cooking, arts and socialising. 



 

Dirk Hodgson
Director - Cyber Security
NTT Ltd

Dirk has over two decades of experience in the technology, cybersecurity and intelligence industries. He has deep expertise in large program delivery in a wide variety of regulatory/compliance/best practice environments. Dirk backs this with the requisite technical depth to be able to cut through the noise and recommend the right cyber-solution to the C-Suite when it matters. Dirk’s passion is working with people to solve wicked problems. He’s has led high-growth business units in several of the most successful global systems-integrators such as Accenture and NTT, and is also an active mentor in the local university and cyber startup scene. 

Ravin De S Wijeyeratne
Graduate Structural Engineer
AECOM

Ravin is currently working as a graduate structural engineer at AECOM in the Resources and Industrial team. Raven initially started as an undergraduate in 2018 and transitioned into the graduate program in July 2021 when after graduating. He completed a Bachelor of Civil Engineering (Honours)/Bachelor Mathematics here at UQ.

Afsaneh Narimani Zamanabadi 
Senior Manager 
Ernst & Young

Afsaneh is a Senior Manager in EY’s Valuations & Business Modelling practice in Australia, and has a particular specialisation in network modelling, long term planning and operation. With over 10 years of experience in the electricity sector and her electrical engineering background she has a deep knowledge of power system operation, planning and system reliability and security. She has Bachelor, master, and PhD in Electrical Engineering.

Matthew Walton
Architect
Rothelowman Architects

Matthew Walton is passionate about architecture that is ethical from the human to the urban scale. Matthew has been working with Rothelowman Architects since 2017 and has been involved in a variety of architectural typologies, including: urban design, residential, commercial, and master planning projects. Upon completion of his bachelor, Matthew was awarded the Conrad Gargett Architectural Design Prize. After completing his masters, Matthew was awarded the Peter Hale Cox Architecture Prize, the QIA Memorial Medallion, and the BOAQ Prize. He was also a runner up for the DWP Design Prize and a finalist for the INDE Awards. Matthew enjoys cultivating a positive studio culture through regularly hosting guest speakers and organising out of office sports recreation.