Jeremy Bishop is the Communications and Engagement Manager for the Board of Professional Engineers of Queensland, Australia’s oldest engineering regulator. Jeremy oversees the Board’s strategic engagement and communication functions, including assisting RPEQs and engineers to comply with the Professional Engineers Act. Previously, Jeremy worked in a number of stakeholder engagement and communication roles at Seqwater, South East Queensland’s bulk water supplier. A native of the United States, before arriving in Australia, Jeremy worked in the administration of President Barack Obama as the Principal Advisor for Tribal Affairs at the U.S. Department of Labor.

Topic: Engineering the Queensland Way, Understanding the RPEQ System

Mandy Haldane is an accomplished executive leader in the field of civil engineering, and Director of the Structures and Network Access Program within Transport and Main Roads (TMR). Currently Mandy is also Program Director for the Revised Class 1 Heavy Vehicle Access Program. In this capacity she spearheads the development of the new access regime for oversize overmass heavy vehicles in Queensland. 

With more than 27 years of dedicated service to TMR, Mandy’s extensive experience spans various pivotal roles in infrastructure delivery, structural asset management, road geometric design and heavy vehicle management. 

Mandy is a Chartered Professional Engineer and a Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland (RPEQ). She also holds a Master of Engineering Research with first class honours focusing on the impacts of heavy vehicles on traffic operations and a Graduate Certificate in Business.

Doug Wheeler commenced his career as a Cadet Engineer with Brisbane City Council 50 years ago. Most of his career has been in the Consulting industry working across many sectors, progressively spending more time in the project management and educational sectors. He spent five years as a Chartered Assessor for EA; retired as Academic Director for the project management program after 25 years of involvement with UNE Partnerships; he has been an Assessor for the Australian Institute of Project Management for nearly 20 years; and has been a Sessional Academic with QUT in its Master of Project Management program since 2014. Doug is a Fellow of Engineers Australia and the Australian Institute of Project Management; an RPEQ since 1983, completed post graduate qualifications in engineering and project management, and is close to completing a PhD addressing the relationship between capability, and the governance mechanisms of control and trust.

Michael Whereat has worked in local government on the Sunshine Coast for 24 years and as Smart Cities Lead for 10 years.  

Michael led the development of the first Smart City Framework for the region in 2014 and now manages the implementation of the third multi-year plan. 

Under Michael’s leadership Council uses an innovation pipeline to process problems into solutions.  We have 95 operational solutions, 147 non-viable and 20 in development. Michael has developed a Smart Infrastructure Manual to consolidate operational solutions into standard operational procedures and technical specifications.

Michael has contributed to hundreds of Council projects and delivered Smart City outcomes for many region-defining smart city projects: Maroochydore City Centre

Sunshine Coast International Broadband Network (Submarine cable), Council Telecommunications carrier License; regional LoRaWAN network; deployment of hundreds of IoT sensors, actuators and devices and supports the Testing Tech in Paradise partnership with external companies seeking to use the Sunshine Coast as a testing laboratory for their pre commercialisation technologies.  

Michael was the founding President of the Australian Smart Communities Assn.

David has over 12 years’ experience delivering temporary works solutions for construction projects and leads Coates Engineering Solutions’ team of temporary works engineers & designers, with a focus on structural engineering and water treatment & management. He operates a team of over 15 engineers (structural, geotechnical, water treatment, site engineering) and has a proven track record of delivering successful engineering solutions for complex and challenging projects. He provides services across the nation, working on various projects including bridge construction, high-rise buildings, and large-scale infrastructure projects.

For more than 10 years at Sunshine Coast Council, Wendy has held various industry development and investment attraction roles, assisting new and existing business; by providing a pathway of support to help companies get established and then expand their operations nationally and internationally.

Wendy currently leads the “Testing Tech in Paradise”  Program which includes; marketing, new investment services, investment incentives, events and “test and trial “ opportunities, and which is a collaboration with Council’s Smart Cities team.  The Program offers businesses the unique opportunity to come to the Sunshine Coast to “test and trial” new technology prior to commercialisation utilising the advanced digital infrastructure in the new Maroochydore City Centre.

Wendy and the Sunshine Coast Investment Team aim to provide the “most outstanding investment support from any council in Australia”.

Fernanda Carrea is the VP Technology at GroundProbe, the leader in slope stability monitoring solutions, enabling safer and more sustainable operations in mining and civil. Fernanda oversees all aspects of research, engineering, product management, product development and technical support. 

Fernanda is an Industrial Engineer from Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina, and holds a master’s in Marketing and Supply Chain Management from Griffith University in Australia. She is a Fellow member of Engineers Australia, a Chartered Engineer, and a Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland.

Fernanda is a firm advocate for DEI and wants to inspire young females to follow a career in STEM, empower women to take on leadership opportunities and promote the work of other outstanding women in STEM.

Justin Mendelow is a spatial analyst with a Bachelor of Science and Graduate Diploma in Spatial Science Technology from the University of Southern Queensland.  He has been involved in the spatial industry since 2009 with roles in Australia and New Zealand, most recently working at Urban Utilities in the Asset Management Department.

Deeksha Kumar is a Data Scientist at Urban Utilities in asset management team. She has four years of experience in applying data science in asset management team. She did a Master of Business Analytics from La Trobe University, where she majored in Data Science and graduated with a BA (Hons) in Economics from Amity University in India. She is a creative thinker, a collaborative team player, and a continuous learner, with a strong work ethic and a passion for data science

Timea commenced as Registrar at the Board of Professional Engineers of Queensland in July 2022. Timea has over 20 years’ experience in a variety of Queensland Government roles with a background in the development and implementation of policy, operational management and organisational change management. With degrees in commerce and international business, Timea is a highly experienced professional with a strong focus on governance and effective stakeholder engagement at all levels.

Dr Amanda Binks is the Strategic Infrastructure Manager at Unitywater, and has been a passionate water industry professional for over 15 years. Her role at Unitywater focuses on innovation for sustainability in infrastructure planning, and on partnerships and collaborations with community, industry and academia to accelerate sustainable outcomes in service delivery.

Annaleaze Flynn is a graduate mechanical and environmental engineer, working with Unitywater for the last 2 years, since completing her studies at the University of the Sunshine Coast. Her experience includes project management, analysis and reporting for net zero carbon and net zero nutrients focused infrastructure projects. Annaleaze has a strong passion for using innovation and technology to create a more sustainable place to live.