The Victorian Region's 2011 Team

The Vic Region team is made up of hundreds of engineers (all from varying backgrounds, experience and disciplines), and just like any good organisation, we also have a number of  'non-gineers' in finance, media, education, environmental, and the arts.


The 2011 Leadership Team consists of:

James Fitzgerald - President

James is currently working as a Civil Engineer at WorleyParsons in the Transport Team.  He has completed a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) and Bachelor of Arts (Political Science) from the University of Melbourne.  In his free time (what is left of it), he spends time with his girlfriend, friends and family, enjoys playing tennis, riding his bike, going for the odd jog and swim, getting dirty in the vegie patch and studying Spanish.

As President, James will provide oversight to the Victoria Region Team and support the development of the Victoria Region Chapter into the new Region Model.  James will work very closely with the EWB National Office and EWB's corporate and community partners to maximise the opportunities during Engineers Australia's Year of Humanitarian Engineering.

Daniel A'Vard - Vice President

Daniel returned in 2010 from 3 years living abroad, in the Middle East and Kenya as an Engineer and then a Humanitarian Logistician with MSF. During that time he learnt a lot about some of the less desirable parts of human nature as well as the limitless potential that many marginalised communities have.

More recently, he has worked in the water sector back in Melbourne as a project manager and consultant for various rural water projects including a community hydro-electric project in Melbourne's east.

After his time overseas, Daniel re-engaged with EWB, particularly with the Victorian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) Focus Group and the ATSI Program Knowledge Hub.  Like most at EWB he sees his role snowballing a little but is enthusiastic and always ready to lend an ear..  

Simon Matthee - Treasurer

Simon is currently the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for Small Giants, a social entrepreneurial company in Melbourne.

As Treasurer, Simon supports the four university chapters and the range of groups in Victoria make the transition to the new Region Model.  This will involves regualr Friday lunches with the EWB National Office in order to make the transition as smooth as possible and keep the communication channels fluid.

Honor Clark - Secretary

Honor is a Kiribati Kiwi and moved over to Melbourne from Christchurch last year. In her free time she enjoys watching rugby, catching up with friends and wandering through Melbourne's many laneways and markets.

Honor currently works for Aurecon as a Bridge Engineer. With EWB, Honor's main task as Secretary is to manage internal communications between the Victoria Region Team, EWB National Office, Victorian university chapters and Knowledge Hub representatives.

Alesha Printz - Year of Humanitarian Engineering Coordinator

Alesha is the Immediate Past President of the Victoria Chapter and currently working at Comdain Infrastructure as Project Manager in the Water sector.  Alesha has significant amounts of experience with EWB and in the engineering industry and this is proving very useful during the Team's transition to the new Region Model - particularly during Engineers Australia's Year of Humanitarian Engineering.  In addition, Alesha was awarded Engineers Australia's Young Engineer of the Year Award in 2010.

As Year of Humanitarian Engineering (YoHE) Coordinator, Alesha represents the EWB Victoria Region Team on Engineers Australia's Board of Engineering. Alesha is also the main facilitator of communication between our various industry and community partners, including Young Engineers Australia - Victoria Division, Centre for Engineering Leadership and Management (CELM) and some of our Community Partners.

Ciara Noone - Local Projects Champion

Before Ciara joined the Victoria Region Team of EWB, she was finishing her final year of an Engineering / Arts double degree at the University of Melbourne and recovering from her year away on exchange in Mexico and Dublin.  Since Ciara joined the team in her new role, it has been a steep learning curve amid all the changes around the organisation.  At the same time, Ciara has just commenced a position in the graduate program with Alluvium Consulting as an Environmental Engineer.

As Local Projects Champion, Ciara manages the range of Local Projects and Community Partners that our Victoria Region Chapter is engaged with.  Her role is very rewarding as it engages directly with the initiatives of our various Local Project Teams.  In this role, Amanda is able to work with both our university chapters and corporate partners to garner resources and support for these initiatives.  

In the coming months, Ciara - in coordination with the Victorian Local Projects Focus Group and the newly appointed Member Engagement Officer at the EWB National Office - will launch the Local Projects Handbook.  This will be the benchmark for establishing and running Local Projects for EWB across the country.

Lesley Smith - Knowledge and Education Champion

Lesley arrived in Australia at the start of 2011 from lovely New Zealand, and she has hit the ground running with City West Water and EWB.  If Lesley is not busy working at City West Water as a Resource Management Consultant, in the Business Resource Efficiency Team, she is probably riding around Melbourne on her bike, attending inspiring public lectures or eating some amazing food in Kensington or Footscray.

Lesley leads the Knowledge and Educations events and initiatives of the Region Team.  Throughout the year, this will include facilitating the Pathways to Development initiative, managing the School Outreach Program or collaborating with EWB's range of Knowledge Hubs.

Perry Jackson - Fundraising and Events Champion

The EWB Victoria Region is fortunate enough to have a second New Zealander on the Team (Lesley Smith being the other).  Perry is currently working in the Geotechnical team at Arup and spends most of his time on site.  If he is not busy playing with dirt and telling contractors what to do, you will most likely find him at the Queen Victoria Market or dining in Flinders Lane somewhere.

As Fundraising and Events Champion, Perry will be the primary organiser of our Member Forums, fundraising initiatives and scheduling of our events.  We are fortunate that Perry has had some in depth experience with non-government organisations in New Zealand and he is keen to share that with EWB in Victoria.

Penny Rogers - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islands (ATSI) Engagement Champion
Penny works as Environmental Engineer at GHD in the Melbourne Natural Resources Team.  If Penny is not travelling around the state taking samples of our rivers, then she is probably working hard on implementing new initiatives for EWB in Victoria.

As Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Engagement Champion of the Victoria Region Team, Penny will facilitate a range of events, awareness campaigns and initiatives throughout the year in collaboration with EWB's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Program and Focus Group.  All of these initiatives will be in line with EWB's 2010 - 2012 Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).  Penny is supported by the experience of the EWB National Office and the knowledge of EWB's Community Partners.

Luan Pham - University Galvaniser

Luan has joined the team with so much energy and enthusiasm and this is reflective of most of our university members at EWB.  In addition to his role on the Victoria Region Team, Luan is the Local Projects Coordinator on the University of Melbourne EWB Chapter.   Luan is currently studying Civil Engineering and is in his final year.

In this role, as University Galvaniser, Luan will facilitate greater collaboration and communication between the four university chapters in Victoria that the Team is assisting: RMIT University; Swinburne University; Monash University; and the University of Melbourne.  With the Region Model, there is plenty of opportunities for EWB's university members to collaborate more with our Corporate Partners.  Luan will be working closely with the Corporate Partner Liaison to achieve this synergy.

Lexi Randall L'Estrange - Corporate Partner Liasion
Lexi is an EWB stalwart and has recently returned from Vietnam on assignment with Habitat For Humanity, as part of the EWB-RMIT Development Scholarship.  Her research project in Vietnam was titled Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Mitigation in Long An Vietnam.  Lexi is working at PSI Delta, a specialist consultancy in the commercial aspects of water, environment and regional development, as a Project Officer.

Since Lexi has joined the Victoria Region Team, Lexi has collaborated with Sunny Oliver-Bennetts at EWB National Office to assist our Corporate Partners implement sustainable and realistic programs within their organisations.  Under the Region Model, there is a great opportunity for the universities and corporate partners to work together on a range of initiatives, including local projects, School Outreach Programs, and Knowledge Hub events.

Felicity Ryan - Media and Communications Coordinator
Felicity is currently studying a Master of Communications at RMIT University, having previously graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from The University of Melbourne, with majors in Politics and History. She is a welcome addition as a non-gineer on our team.

Felicity has an interest in NGOs and developing communities, and is looking forward to her new role as the Media and Communications Coordinator with EWB Victoria Region Team.

To contact anyone of these people, send us an email at: vic.chapter@ewb.org.au