Team work makes the dream work.

Jessica Kahl is a Strategy Manager at Thames Water. She is an award-winning engineer, entrepreneur, diversity advocate, and 2021 Young Australian of the Year Shortlisted Nominee. Since entering the industry, Jessica has combined her creative leadership and engineering capabilities to make a difference to society through her work in master planning, resources, and infrastructure.

Outside of her day job, she is also passionate about increasing engagement and growth in STEAM to empower education, industry, and innovation. Jessica works closely with investment and collaborative partners, educational institutions, and students to guide positive outcomes which integrate STEAM learning and storytelling from industry leaders into engaging Dream Big Events. Jessica's impact in the diversity space has lead her to be recognised in the QBM’s Top 20 entrepreneurs under 40, in Engineers Australia's ‘100 engineers making a difference’ profile, and listing in “Engineers at the Pinnacle of the Profession”.

Anita Singh Madan is Chief Operating Officer at Dream Big Australia and Head Global Planning and Strategy - IT Infra at Giesecke+Devrient. She has over 23 years of experience in a variety of roles, including senior leadership. Before joining Giesecke+Devrient, Anita worked with other large and diverse organisations including American Express and Agilent Technologies. During her time in senior leadership roles, Anita has consistently delivered exceptional results and driven organisational growth through implementing strategic initiatives, optimising operations, and creating and implementing global strategies for expansion. Known for her strong leadership, she has successfully led global, diverse, and cross-functional teams. As a visionary leader, Anita is committed to driving business success, fostering positive work culture, and delivering exceptional organisational results.

With a passion for women's empowerment, Anita has dedicated her career to championing diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. Anita is committed to supporting women to progress their careers and succeed in leadership positions.

Sharyn Scriven is the General Manager Grid Investment at Energy Queensland, managing the optimisation of investments on Queensland’s electricity distribution network assets. For the past 25 years Sharyn has worked in large engineering-based utility businesses that have undergone significant evolutionary change. With extensive experience in developing strategy, delivering operational results, and managing risk, she has led transformational change across large teams to build capability and drive efficiency.

Sharyn is passionate about diversity and an advocate for the ongoing improvement in workplace environments and opportunities for women. In leading and embedding transformational change across large teams to build capability and drive efficiency, Sharyn has delivered exceptional business outcomes. Sharyn is MBA qualified, MCIPs accredited, and was awarded Asia Pacific Chief Procurement Officer of the Year 2012.

John Searls is the lead of Aurecon’s Asset Management & Performance Advisory business. With more than 25 years of experience leading transformational change at both the strategic and operations levels, he challenges the status quo, specialising in initiatives that design and drive fundamental change across asset intensive industries. He is passionate about supporting business to achieve financially, socially, and environmentally sustainable investment outcomes, not only during the formation stages, but right through an assets lifecycle and eventual transformation or closure.

He is also an active leader of inclusion and diversity. “Gender diversity is only one form of diversity, but a very important one for me. I have two daughters who deserve the opportunity to pursue any vocation that matches their strengths, without discrimination. And I have a son who deserves to benefit from a world rich in diversity”.

Darren Stanley is an experienced C-level executive and company director. He has led a number of Australia’s preeminent technology and service companies and he continues to invest his time helping with the growth of smaller companies and Not-For-Profit organisations. After a successful career as an officer in the military, Darren transitioned to business, where he continued to develop and refine the arts of building teams and 'leading with purpose'. Darren has built long-term, sustainable capability into the companies which he has led, helping them to achieve profitable growth, increased profiles, and legacies. An expert at merger and acquisition activities, Darren has a track record of creating positive cultural change and bringing divided stakeholders together with an inspiring vision for change.

As a business leader, Darren has led a number of highly successful graduate programs and fostered the development of programs which supported the development of our youth and diversity in the workplace. He is passionate about the development of Australian talent and intellectual property.

Pete Noblet is the Founder of Kizoku Consulting. Pete has worked in the Technology space for over 25 years in Australia, NZ, and the APAC region, primarily in the world of recruitment. He has held senior leadership roles across both corporate and mid-sized entities, and has worked first hand in the areas of talent and talent acquisition. As such Pete has managed and led multi-disciplined teams that work closely with clients to ensure they get access to the most suitable and relevant technology talent. And on the talent side – to provide them with the best opportunities to advance their skills and capabilities.

He works to identify and engage with corporate entities who have a real desire to be part of addressing the gender balance issues with Technology, Engineering, and associated businesses, divisions, and teams. Further, he will ensure that Dream Big’s partners gain full advantage from their involvement.

Marion Lawie is The Director of Vocatif. She's from FNQ, a country girl who’s been around the world and learned enough to realise how little she knows. Counterintuitively, this makes her a great teacher! She’s a facilitator, an educator, and an engager. Her work combines professional expertise, empathy, and a sense of humour to create learning and engagement experiences tailored to participants’ needs, enabling them to connect with each other and with their own potential. Marion is an experienced engagement practitioner, strategist, and communicator. She is a leading expert in stakeholder engagement, community development, education programs, and facilitation.

She is highly innovative, politically savvy, and is widely regarded for her ability to create positive project outcomes and strong stakeholder relationships. Marion brings this expertise to her Head of Learning and Development role at Dream Big. She has worked in diverse communities in Australia and internationally, in both public and private sector roles. Her varied experiences include community engagement, education programs, community development programs, biosecurity, and disaster management communication. A former primary school teacher, Marion now runs her own small consultancy, Vocatif, and is a sessional academic at the Queensland University of Technology, and a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts.

Bonnie Scott is Dream Big's Program & Communications Manager. She's a passionate writer and communicator, with a strong focus on both creativity and analytical thinking. Having excelled in a variety of roles centred on communication, education, and problem-solving, she is an all-rounder with experience in teaching, learning, & development, administration, marketing, copy writing & editing, and software support. Bonnie has worked in a number of industries since completing a Bachelor of Arts with majors in Writing and German. She has successfully led a team of content writers, drawing on the leadership insights she gained through her five year involvement with our partner, Gravitas Leadership Group.

In her role at Dream Big, Bonnie supports relationships between the Dream Big leadership team, partners, volunteers, and program participants, as well as delivering our initiatives. Bonnie is passionate about connecting with and learning from people from diverse backgrounds to achieve better outcomes for business and society.