Engineers Australia has welcomed Bill Marmion and Lewis Macdonald to the WA Committee for 2023. At the planning session hosted on 12 December by WA President Shalini Saldanha, the WA Committee developed their plan for 2023. The plan enables each member to volunteer their expertise and time to priority areas aligned with the overall governance and strategic direction of Engineers Australia.
This year, the Engineers Australia board asked all groups to assist with embedding new ways of working as part of the Future Now Program. This includes taking meaningful action on recommendations contained in Engineers Australia’s position on climate change, support of a ‘One EA’ culture and promotion diversity and inclusion. Based on above the WA Committee’s focus will be to develop and maintain professional relationships and programs in the following areas:
- Plastic pollution and waste reduction and the circular economy
- Support of migrant engineers
- Energy transition
President Shalini Saldanha says it was really refreshing to see the energy and passion of all committee members at the planning meeting.
“We actively worked to understand the Engineers Australia strategy and priorities and then discussed the many areas the committee can focus on in 2023. I am looking forward to working with the committee, our partners and the broader membership to progress our focus areas,” she says.
Each new member will serve for two years. You can find out more about the new committee members below.
Bill is a past President of the Engineers Australia WA and Chairman of WA Engineering Excellence Awards. After a career as a civil engineer with Main Roads and as a partner in a consulting firm, he served as a Minister in the Barnett government for six years. Bill has also been appointed to the National Honours and Awards Committee for Engineers Australia.
Bill hopes to promote the engineering profession more widely in the community and seeks to have more engineers providing advice in the development of State and Federal government policies.
Lewis is the Leader of Arup’s business in Western Australia and is passionate about incorporating critical thinking and innovation into the business and culture to improve ways of working and outcomes of project delivery. Lewis has more than 16 years’ experience with Arup and has led multidisciplinary teams for infrastructure projects, maritime and energy sectors across all stages of the project lifecycle.
Lewis wanted to join the committee to give back to an industry that has given him so much. Through collaboration with peers across industry, Lewis hopes to further Engineers Australia's purpose, to make a positive impact to the members and community and ultimately to help shape a sustainable future.
We would like to thank our two outgoing WA Committee members. Amanda Pearce, a past WA Young Professional Engineer of the Year, led the Diversity and Inclusion Committee for some of her tenure and was a member of the Cyclone Safety Taskforce. Douglas Bruce took over as lead of the Student Practicum Working Group and arranged a site visit and tour of the East Metropolitan Regional Council facilities at Red Hill and Hazelmere.
The 2023 WA Committee President Shalini Saldanha welcomes members’ ideas on how Engineers Australia can best serve the profession. Please contact Shalini at [email protected] with suggestions or discussion points.