AECOM women honoured at Awards for Excellence

AECOM employees have won gold awards at The Consult Australia Awards for Excellence in Melbourne. Kerry van Donderen collected gold for Champion of Change - Female Leadership and Melanie Collett collected gold on behalf of the team which was recognised for Project Team Collaboration on the Adelaide Health and Medical Sciences Building project. Angie Hanson and Natalie Redmond were also acknowledged, receiving the President’s Award for chairing FutureNet in their respective regions, Townsville and Adelaide.

Consult Australia is the industry association for professional services firms within the built and natural environment including engineers, architects, project managers, planners, environmental scientists and quantity surveyors, among others. They exist to assist their member firms by offering a range of products and services to help them run their business, as well as acting as their collective advocate to government and other stakeholders in pursuit of a better operating environment and robust public policy for the built and natural environment.

The Consult Australia Awards is an annual event that provides a unique opportunity to profile and promote the outstanding achievements of Consult Australia’s member firms such as AECOM to the industry and community. Since their inception, the Awards have celebrated excellence in the delivery of individual projects.

Kerry, Civil Infrastructure Group Director at AECOM

Kerry leads a diverse and enthusiastic team of engineers, planners, designers, project managers and digital specialists who work in key sectors of Transport Planning and Advisory, Highways, Rail, Aviation, Ports, Defence, Urban Development, Water, Asset Management and Geotechnical Services.

She is a chartered civil engineer with over 20 years’ experience in the design and project management of major infrastructure projects, both in Australia and the UK. She has successfully managed integrated delivery project teams and is confident interacting with stakeholders and the broad community.

"I am an advocate for diversity in the workplace and flexible work practice," says Kerry. "I have been actively involved in promoting the participation of women into the consulting and engineering workforce, raising industry and community awareness of the role and contribution of women in the engineering profession, along with show casing achievements."

Melanie, Associate Director, Water Resource and Coastal Management at AECOM

Melanie has worked on a number of projects for AECOM. Her work covers all components of surface water investigations from undertaking specialist investigations for Environmental Effect Statements through to detailed design of drainage for construction. She has specialised in the areas of hydrologic and hydraulic modelling and the impacts of climate change. Melanie’s key skill is in the translation of complex technical problems and investigations into everyday language that can be understood and used by others. This is especially important when dealing with complicated issues such as flooding and coastal erosion and the impacts of climate change on these processes.

As the previous Team Leader of the Victorian Water Resources Team, Melanie grew the Water Resources team from one to more than ten people. She was responsible for the day to day management of the team including the recruitment and utilisation of staff. She developed and implemented a business strategy for the team, which included setting the direction for the team and undertaking business development. She was either the technical lead or technical reviewer for most work undertaken by the team.

Melanie’s project achievements are many and varied but three projects stand out as landmarks in her career; the Port Phillip Bay Climate Change Adaptation Project, the Portland to Narrawong Coastal Engineering Study and South Morang Rail Extension Alliance. These projects provided opportunities for Melanie to extend her current skills and understanding of surface water and the coastal impacts of climate change to create innovative solutions for projects with very different technical challenges.

Natalie, Acoustic Engineer at AECOM

Natalie works on large buildings projects and advises clients about the life of a project from an idea to a completed building. Natalie's experience and knowledge of building acoustics incorporates important considerations, such as whether children in a classroom will be able to hear their teachers or how to create noise barriers so nearby residents aren't disturbed by a mechanical plant. Natalie's projects are wide ranging, from road and rail to concerts and festivals.

"The tasks I enjoy the most are those related to projects with a clear social benefit," says Natalie. "I enjoy working on hospitals and schools because I feel like I am genuinely contributing to society in a positive way."