VIC/TAS Branch President Q&A

AITPM 2023/2024 Year in Focus

What do you do in your day job?

I started Amber with the intention of providing a company that allowed people to work the way they wanted to achieve work/life balance through flexible working arrangements. Over the past few years that has further developed to a goal of creating great careers. This means different things to different people.

I see my role as the company director as generating a creative environment to help my team achieve their goals and experience success and satisfaction.

We primarily work for the private sector with a focus on preparing Traffic Impact Assessments which brings together a range of traffic engineering skills, with a significant proportion of our work being associated with the renewable energy sector. We also have skilled people that work on public sector projects helping to create a safer and more efficient road network.

Why and how did you get into transport?

While at university, I received a scholarship from a traffic engineering company, which came with a summer internship. I had no plan to be a traffic engineer but over that summer I had a great time on a range of projects and enjoyed the level of collaboration and different skills that were required as part of the role.

I see traffic engineers and transport planners as a small part of a bigger team and enjoy working between the different disciplines. Unlike some engineering disciplines, there are often ‘grey’ issues and you need skill and experience to solve the problem.

After that summer I was offered a full-time job when I finished uni - which came with a financial benefit I couldn’t say no to - and from there I never looked back.

Why do you volunteer for AITPM and how did you first get involved?

I was working in Sydney and an older colleague was looking to step down from the AITPM Committee after being heavily involved in the organisation. He was keen for somebody to continue in his place. I had only been on the committee for a few months before I moved back to Melbourne but I had decided that I had unfinished business and wanted to give back to the industry so I nominated for the VIC/TAS Branch.

At the time it was a great way to interact with others in the industry as I had only just set up Amber, so I was working alone - and my partner and friends weren’t nearly as interested in my traffic engineering stories as my industry peers. Being involved with AITPM is extremely rewarding. I have met some great people, learnt a lot, and I get satisfaction from trying to help improve our industry through shared learning.

What advice would you have for others interested in volunteering with AITPM?

Just do it. Give it a try. If you don’t feel like it’s for you then that’s fine. It’s easy to get involved as you can assist in so many ways. While the best way is to nominate for the committee, we also have co-op members who aren’t formally appointed to the committee but still enjoy the same benefits and can contribute as much as they are willing to.