Diversity & Inclusion Committee 2022

Linda Walsh, AVID Property Group
As the General Manager Marketing and Customer, I drive the strategic marketing and customer direction for AVID Property Group nationally.

 

What’s Your One Thing?
I am passionate about advocating for women in the workplace – no matter their age or specialisation. By providing opportunities and freedom of expression in every day work practices and special projects, we are able to showcase their skills and create a positive change to the business by acknowledging these valuable contributions.

Stan Fitzroy-Mendis, City of Sydney

As the Area Planning Manager, Development Assessments, last year my team determined a quarter of a billion dollars of development supporting the sustainable growth of Sydney.

 

What’s Your One Thing?

The City of Sydney reports a positive 6.8% pay gap in favour of women compared to the national gender pay gap of 13.9% favouring  men. The City supports the Diversity Council Australia’s Counting Culture project. This guides organisations in measuring and improving workforce cultural diversity.

Belinda Bentley, 9Springs

Founding Director of an independent group specialising in Australian real estate investment, property development and strategic advisory.

 

What’s Your One Thing?

To change the misconception that diversity only relates to gender and promote and respect all forms of diversity (e.g. sexual orientation, culture, disability, mental health, age). To lead by example and call out disrespectful unconscious/conscious behaviour and eliminate the ‘clique’.

Darren Gorrel, Gough Recruitment

As the Principal Consultant, I am responsible for the management of our developer client base with the main goal being to identify and deliver the best talent available within the residential, commercial, industrial, retail and retirement sectors.

 

What’s Your One Thing?

My one thing is to promote diversity & inclusion in the recruitment space with the aim to provide EQUAL opportunities for everyone.

Holly Brennan, AVID Property Group

As the National Sales Manager, my role is to spearhead the direction of the sales function, and to develop a cohesive and market-leading sales force capable of driving revenue outcomes from AVID’s state-based development projects.

 

What’s Your One Thing?

My “One Thing” is bringing the awareness of Unconscious Bias to the forefront of discussions around Diversity and Inclusion. Unconscious Bias spans all aspects of diversity, including gender, age, race, and sexual orientation, and by putting this on the radar we can increase a sense of inclusiveness within property industry.

Steven Chong, City of Parramatta Council

As the Team Leader Development Assessment I am responsible for the supervision of Council Planning Officers in the assessment and determination of Development Applications throughout the Parramatta LGA.

 

What’s Your One Thing?

As a development professional in the industry, recognising the changing face of our population in tune with our workforce is important in maintaining trust with our stakeholders and the wider community as well as ensuring the development industry is modernised and adaptive to change.

Holly Reynolds, Left Field Communications

As the Founder and Managing Director of Left Field Communications, I lead an energised team to support changemakers for good in our industry by helping to create relevant and impactful communications and engagement opportunities at every stage of the planning and development lifecycle.

 

What’s Your One Thing?

I believe it takes a village to create a village, and I’m passionate about learning from and helping to lead our next generation of changemakers. My #onething is to continue to challenge myself and my team to keep learning and keep disrupting the notion of ‘the norm’. For me, diversity is the richness of life, and we can’t achieve inclusion without understanding and valuing our differences in all their forms.

Mal Brown, Northrop Consulting Engineers
As the Senior Environmental Engineer, responsible for building relationships with clients and forming teams to deliver city-building projects.

 

What’s Your One Thing?
My One Thing around Diversity and Inclusion is that I am on a journey of discovering my potential to model inclusive behaviour and leadership.

Lesley Bull, Ethos Urban

As the Group Director People Support, Culture & Change, I am responsible for company strategy execution, delivering operational excellence and overseeing people support, culture and change initiatives.

 

What’s Your One Thing?

Nobody should fail to reach their potential due to interference based on their gender, sexuality or mental health.  Diversity brings challenge and challenge creates greatness.  My One Thing is to actively seek out and help celebrate the nugget of gold each person holds within themselves.

Doris Li, BHL Group

As the head of HR, I am responsible for developing and implementing the most effective HR delivery model to support the achievement of the company’s strategic and operational objectives.

 

What’s Your One Thing?

Together with my team, we have committed to create an environment to support people from different experiences and backgrounds in order to attract and retain talent and leverage the effects of diversity to achieve a competitive business advantage.

Soane Puliuvea, APP Corporation

As the Project Manager, I am responsible for the delivery of various medium to large projects within Residential Subdivisions, Open spaces/ Parklands, Health and Education sectors.

 

What’s Your One Thing?

Diversity and Inclusiveness both in the workplace and the industry more broadly, is an area I take notice of daily and it’s an area I’d like to promote and contribute to its growth. Me personally, I represent a small number of Pacific Islanders in this industry and I’d love to see this number grow for all diverse backgrounds.

Ros Reidy, Sydney Water

As the Head of Diversity and Inclusion I support the delivery of Sydney Water’s diversity and inclusion plan and develop programs and initiatives that supports a high performance culture where diverse perspectives and views are valued.

 

What’s Your One Thing?

My one thing is to see how we can integrate diversity and inclusion into the way we do things at Sydney Water –  from our behaviours, structures and systems, to supporting high-performing and diverse thinking teams.

Sarah Langbridge, Brickworks Building Products

As the Business Development Consultant, I am responsible for influencing the long-term sustainable growth of the Brickworks Building Products group, by gaining specifications for products on high-volume and iconic projects. A passion for building, nurturing and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships within the industry.

 

What’s Your One Thing?

Brickworks culture values are our essence and what we stand for, remaining a constant in everything we say and do. We have recently added, “Inclusive” as a core culture value.  Brickworks is committed to fostering our company culture by embracing our  uniqueness, and  creating an environment where everyone feels welcomed,  heard and respected. In turn, our globally inclusive culture inspires  and empowers all of us to unite, belong and grow.

Matt McMullen, APP Corporation

As the Assistant Project Manager I assist APPs project team in the delivery of land development projects, creating great places to live, work and visit.

 

What’s Your One Thing?

I am working to promote diversity and inclusion at APP. I aim to ensure LGBTIQA+ team members feel safe and included at work, and do not have to feel concerned about sharing their sexuality or gender identity with their colleagues.

Angela Wang, Frasers Property Australia

As the Assistant Development Manager I am currently working on Eastern Creek retail development, responsible for coordinating planning approvals, monitoring design and construction progress, and financial reporting.

 

What’s Your One Thing?

I am passionate in promoting diversity in both skillset and mindset. The property development and construction industry is strengthened by people with diverse cultural backgrounds, experiences and perspectives, which enable us to build successful developments that are loved by diverse communities and customers.

Susan Hancock, Strata Republic

As the Business Development Manager, I am responsible for the growth of our company portfolio and maintaining the strong reputation of Strata Republic.  A big part of my role is working with Developers and their teams to oversee all strata requirements in the setup of their projects and ensure a smooth transition at completion.

 

What’s Your One Thing?

When considering diversity and inclusion, it is important to recognise that the respect of others regardless of any differences has a huge part to play in ensuring equality for all.  The use of respectful and inclusive language is the first step to encouraging others to contribute and feel valued, and it is the simplest way to reinforce the practice of inclusion across all areas of life.

Marcus Skeggs, DisplaySweet
As the Account Director ANZ, I am responsible for new and existing business in the NSW and ACT markets. Working across residential and commercial off the plan projects.

 

What’s Your One Thing?
I’m a board member of Queers In Property. We are an independent network, connecting LGBTIQ+ people in the property and construction industry or visibility, empowerment and professional support.

Lorena Gaxiola, Lorena Gaxiola Pty Ltd

As the Director and Founder of Gallies, I am take a holistic approach, combining conceptual architecture, interior design, product development, and branding to deliver a client-centric service. We deliver a full suite of interior design services, including visual assets and marketing material for projects of all sizes.

 

What’s Your One Thing?

The property industry is a great place for creativity and want to inspire creative people to enter our workforce, envision themselves forming part of the property sector, mentor them and help pass on the torch to next generation.

Heloise Hurst, Stockland

As the Development Professional, I am responsible for the NSW Communities Development team at Stockland, delivering housing and amenity at masterplanned community, Elara, in Marsden Park.

 

What’s Your One Thing?

I’m passionate about learning what best practice inclusivity in the workplace and the world should look like to ensure that all have the same positive experience, and sharing my learnings with others.

Carson Gao, Chinese Building Association of NSW

As the CEO, I am responsible for the day-to-day operations of CBANSW and implements the strategy approved by our board.

 

What’s Your One Thing?

At CBANSW, our vision is to empower our members to succeed through professional development and industry connections. I would like to connect industry leading organizations and experts with developers and builders from Chinese Community.

Vidia Henshaw, Landcom

As the Director of People & Culture, I am accountable for the P&C function, driving strategy and programs of work. This includes capability, talent management, D&I and organisational development.

 

What’s Your One Thing?

My one thing is to find innovative ways to reduce bias in the workplace. I love helping people recognise their unconscious biases and learn new skills to build inclusiveness. This means considering intersectionality, having vulnerable conversations and understanding social structures. This is so personally affirming!

Carolyn Hill, NBN Co Limited

As the Manager, Business Enablement Sales & Marketing, I am responsible for sponsorship & events management as well as internal communications for the nbn New Developments team.

 

What’s Your One Thing?

nbn is committed to promoting a truly inclusive workplace in which everyone can feel encouraged to contribute and reach their full potential.