RPS women leading the way in Australia Asia Pacific
05 March 2020 | 6 min read
This Sunday 8 March is International Women’s Day (IWD)–a yearly celebration of women’s achievements and a global call to action for gender equality. With one of the key missions of the day to ‘champion women of all backgrounds who dare to innovate, lead and uplift others towards a more equal and inclusive workplace’ we’re taking a moment to celebrate the work of a few of our female leaders across RPS, and the women who inspire them.
Mandi Davidson
“Mandi is our national lead for communications and engagement, and has been an exemplar national lead in actively raising the importance of this discipline and the social benefits that come from good engagement both within RPS, our clients and also within the international professional community.”
Meegan Sullivan, RPS Executive Director - Advisory
Tell us about your career path and role as National Lead for Communications and Engagement
“I wanted to be a journalist from the time I was in my early teens and spent the first decade of my working life at a local newspaper and then the Herald Sun.
“It was during my time as a business reporter, covering mining, oil and gas, that I discovered a real passion for infrastructure. I then spent the next decade supporting the Victorian state government to communicate with stakeholders on some of the state's biggest infrastructure projects, including the Victorian Desalination Project, Regional Rail Link and Docklands.
“I joined RPS in early 2018 and it's now my role to ensure our talented Communications and Engagement team continue to be forward-thinking in the way they support clients to engage with stakeholders and the community.”
Who is a female leader who inspires you?
“Meegan Sullivan, who leads our Advisory Division at RPS here in Australia Asia Pacific. She has spent her career breaking down barriers both for women in infrastructure and for communications and engagement professionals.”
Natalie Green
“Natalie is much admired by her clients and her environment team in Sydney. She always starts with the big picture and has a can-do attitude, she’s always thinking about how she can improve both the process and the outcome. She is nurturing a team of young environmental scientists who are picking up her good habits.”
Susan Farr, Executive Director – Place and Environment
Tell us about your career path and role as a Senior Environmental Consultant
“I’ve been an environmental consultant for over 12 years, and with RPS since 2010! My focus for the last few years has been working in the business case and Environmental Impact Assessment phases for a range of transport projects. I enjoy working with our clients to understand and develop strategies around planning approval pathways and consider environmental constraints early in design.”
Who is a female leader who inspires you?
“RPS Strategic Development Manager for Insights, Communications and Creative - Romina Cavallo. I admire the passion she brings to work, and the support she provides to staff around her - and in particular other females. Not to mention she is intelligent, a lot of fun and a working mum!"
Katherine English
“Katherine is a senior leader and role model in the Landscape Architecture team in Brisbane and an excellent project manager. Her clients consistently provide great feedback about the quality of our product and the service she provides.”
Susan Farr, Executive Director – Place and Environment
Tell us about your journey as a landscape architect
“I recently hit my 16 year anniversary (Monday actually!) of life in the land of landscape architecture. During that time I have contributed to a range of public realm, tourism, education and residential development projects throughout South-East Queensland, Northern New South Wales and North Queensland.
"At RPS I am fortunate enough to work with a team of extremely talented landscape architects who have a dynamic set of talents and backgrounds.”
Who is a female leader who inspires you?
“Christina Na-Heon Cho, Director at Cox Architecture was awarded the Australian Institute of Architects National Emerging Architect Award and the Australian Financial Review BOSS Young Executive Award in 2018.
"She is a huge inspiration for me in terms of well and truly owning your talent and striving for positive contributions to the built environment of Brisbane.”
Georgina Pye
“Georgina is a project manager and team leader with significant Defence project delivery experience. After starting with RPS as a graduate, she has developed into a future leader of our business. Georgina is now a mentor to the current graduates and assistant project managers.”
Michael Owens, Executive Director – Project Management
Tell us about your career as a project manager and role at RPS
“I started at RPS around nine years ago while I was still at university and spent my time going between class and the office in Varsity Lakes on the Gold Coast.
“A very ‘green’ project administrator at the time, I was trained under the watchful eye of Ben Rayward and learnt the true meaning of attention to detail! I was encouraged to take on a much PM work as I could handle, knowing that I was well supported by Ben and the other senior staff in the office. I later moved to the Brisbane office and started working in the Defence sector, an industry I have worked in ever since.
“Almost half my working career has been spent on the Growler Facilities Project where I worked in both the planning and delivery project phases. This project took me out to RAAF Amberley where I was based on site for two years during the construction phase. This was a fantastic experience and I will always be thankful for how much I was able to learn about the ins and outs of construction by working day-to-day with the Managing Contractor, Lendlease.
“Currently, I’m working on the Navy Capability Infrastructure Sub-Program and am the lead for the package of works at HMAS Cairns. We have a fantastic culture in RPS’ Queensland offices and I’m proud to be a part of the team!”
Who is a female leader who inspires you?
"Elicia Wallace was our first female General Manager in the project management business unit, the initial indication that greater female representation in the project management senior leadership structure could and would occur. While I didn’t have much exposure to Elicia day-to-day I was lucky to get to know her at a Women in Leadership Summit in 2017. Professionally astute, confident and passionate about gender equality in the workplace, she has left a lasting impression on me.”
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About RPS
Founded in 1970, RPS, A Tetra Tech Company (RPS) is a leading global professional services firm of 5,000 consultants and service providers. Operating in 125 countries, working across six continents we define, design and manage projects that create shared value to a complex, urbanising and resource-scarce world.
RPS delivers a broad range of services in six sectors: property, energy, transport, water, defence and government services and resources. Services provided across RPS' six sectors cover twelve service clusters: project and program management, design and development, water services, environment, advisory and management consulting, exploration and development, planning and approvals, health, safety and risk, oceans and coastal, laboratories, training and communications, creative and digital services.
RPS stands out for its clients by using its deep expertise to solve problems that matter, making them easy to understand. Making complex easy.
For further information, please visit www.rpsgroup.com.