DRIVING DIVERSITY.

Jessica Kahl is the Managing Director at Dream Big Australia, and Client Development Leader (Water) at GHD. 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”.

Dhugal Ford is Chief Operating Officer at Dream Big Australia, and co-founder of The Authenticity Co.  Dhugal is a commercially astute executive leader and People advisor. He has a unique background, having spent more than 23 years working in corporate and advisory roles with global, regional, and local organisations, across private and public sector. He has a passion for helping people navigate complex change and transformation, and a fascination for human behaviour, which he explains as the recipe for successfully delivering business outcomes through people.

Dhugal is highly collaborative and skilled in influencing across complex organisations and industries, to achieve results with a genuine and authentic style, focussed on creating an inclusive environment that brings the best contribution from a diverse group.

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”.

Paul Begley is the Head of Technology & ERP at Aurizon, where he leads the strategic direction and delivery of enterprise technology solutions that enable business transformation and operational excellence.

With more than 25 years of experience in heavy asset industries, Paul brings deep expertise in technology leadership, digital strategy, and governance. His career spans senior roles across IT operations, enterprise systems, and large-scale outsourcing partnerships, where he has consistently driven efficiency and value creation.

A passionate advocate for inclusive leadership, Paul actively champions diversity and gender equity in the workplace. He has sponsored corporate Gender Inclusion Programs and served as a mentor in the Steam Ahead Program, supporting the development of future female leaders in technology and engineering.

Paul holds degrees in Human Movement Studies and Information Systems Management and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, equipping him with a unique blend of technical, commercial, and governance expertise.

Penny is an experienced senior leader and inclusion specialist. She has shaped diversity and belonging initiatives for leading professional firms across multiple regions and continues to invest her energy in developing cultures where people thrive and organisations prosper. After beginning her career in roles across consulting, government and corporate sectors, Penny refined her expertise in project leadership and stakeholder engagement, grounding her work in evidence, policy and purposeful communication. Penny has built authentic and sustainable inclusion capability in the organisations she has supported, enabling them to strengthen representation, widen participation and embed a meaningful sense of belonging. Skilled at navigating leadership expectations and organisational priorities, she creates alignment across varied perspectives and fosters practical cultural evolution with clarity of purpose.

As an inclusion leader, Penny has driven impactful programmes that nurtured inclusive language and behaviours, uplifted equity of experience and encouraged fresh thinking in traditional environments. She is passionate about building workforces that reflect diverse talent and lived experience, advancing social impact and strengthening the connection between organisational performance and human wellbeing.

For over 10 years, Adriana has built a distinguished career in executive assistance and HR management leadership. Her experience spans multinational companies in Brazil, with the last four years focused on the dynamic international technology market.

Adriana's impressive portfolio includes leading the Latin American operations of a tech recruitment startup for Microsoft partners, followed by launching a successful project dedicated to training professionals in Microsoft technologies across Latin America and Europe. Most recently, she established and led the Brazilian operations of a global technology company based in Ukraine.

A passionate advocate for women in the technology sector, Adriana has played a key role as the company's ambassador in Brazil, organising events, mentoring programmes and talks aimed at empowering women in the tech sector.

In addition to her professional achievements, Adriana is the mum of two beautiful children who inspire her daily motivation and determination.