Past Events

Sabina obtained a Mining Engineering degree from WASM in 1993 and completed a MBA from UWA in 2008. Sabina started her mining career with PosGold at Jubilee Mine outside Kalgoorlie in 1987 where she worked in various roles before commencing studies at WASM firstly part time, and then full time. Sabina worked in a variety of operational and managerial roles around Australia. She began her move into consulting with Snowden in Perth and now works with Momentum Partners who specialise in business improvement, strategy, organisational development and corporate advisory. Sabina founded and runs the very active WIMWA Network which has 1000 members across WA.

Erica has over 30 years experience in the mineral and petroleum industries initially as a geologist, then as a project manager for BHP and finally as General manager Corporate Affairs for Woodside. Erica is currently the Chair of Toro Energy Ltd, Scitech, ScreenWest, and the Diabetes Research Foundation of WA. She is also a director of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) and the Co-operative research Centre for Sustainable Resource Processing. She is the co-manager of the very successful book “Red Dust in Her Veins – Women of the Pilbara” (a fund raiser for the Royal Flying Doctor Service). Erica Smyth has a BSc from UWA and a MSc from McGill University, Canada. In 2008 she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters by UWA. She is a Fellow of the AICD.

Neveen is a principal at the leading global consulting firm Sinclair Knight Merz. She is currently a Director of Studies in charge for a 20+ Billion dollar programme of projects at the pre-feasibility and feasibility studies stages with the FAST JV for BHP Billiton. Prior to joining SKM, she worked in Europe and the Middle East in various Project Management and consulting roles in the aviation, building, and infrastructure industries in both the public and private sectors. Neveen is also an adjunct professor of Project Management at RMIT and QUT, and a past National President of the Aust Inst of Project management. She currently chairs the Australian mirror committee providing input into the new ISO: 21500 and is the head of the Australian delegation to ISO. Neveen is a civil/structural engineer and obtained her PhD in Project Management from the University of Leeds, England in 1999. She is a Certified Practicing Program Director and a fellow of the Australian Institute of Project Management.

Rebecca graduated from the University of Otago in 1989 with a BSc in Geology and emigrated to Australia immediately to begin her 20 year career, primarily in the West Australian mining industry. She has worked as a geologist in various mines in the region, beginning with a two year stint at Wiluna and culminating with a period at KCGM’s Super Pit. Rebecca subsequently joined Surpac Software in 1995 and has held various roles in the business, including client support, training and sales, both in Australia and Canada. Surpac Software merged with Gemcom Software in 2006 to create the largest global supplier of specialised mining productivity solutions. Rebecca currently holds the role of Account Director for Australia and is responsible for sales of all General Mine Planning software in the Australian region and customer support agreements across Australasia.

Catherine has been working in the community development and social impact field for over
20 years, more than half of that spent in the mining sector. Catherine has provided social impact/community development advice to extractive industries projects in Australia, China, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Mali, Mongolia, the Philippines, PNG, Senegal and Tanzania. She specialises in encouraging community participation in development planning. She speaks French, Swahili, Malay (Indonesian), Dutch and Sinhala. Catherine also led the team preparing the World Bank/ICMM Community Development Toolkit, published in 2005.
She has managed her own consultancy since 2005.

Nicole was appointed Director in 2007 and has responsibility for the portfolios covering OSH, HR, Education and Training, Immigration, Skill shortage initiatives and Finance. Prior to this Nicole was employed at the CMEWA as the Executive Officer, Safety and Health at CME where she was responsible for coordinating industry input and facilitating communication on a variety of government regulatory and policy issues. Prior to joining CME, Nicole was employed in a policy position at the CCI of WA. Nicole is a registered psychologist and has completed an MSc in Industrial and Organisational Psychology from UWA. She is currently completing a Masters in Risk Management from UNSW.

Susan was born in New York and migrated to Australia in 1985. She holds a PhD in Communication Arts and Science from New York University.Her impressive and varied experience includes a directorship with the Moore River Project in Western Australia, which resulted in the publication of Sort of a Place Like Home which won a Festival Award for Literature at the Adelaide Festival in 1994. Both Maushart’s second and third books, The Mask of Motherhood and Wifework: What Marriage Really Means for Women, were published internationally and to widespread acclaim. Susan’s most recent book is What Women Want Next. Susan writes a weekly column for the Weekend Australian magazine.

Julia’s background is as a nurse and educator. Julia spent twenty two years in Armidale NSW, coordinating and facilitating many programs for Non Indigenous and Indigenous women and families. During this time she undertook studies in Aboriginal Community Development and Peace Studies. In 2003, Julia headed to Kabul, Afghanistan to work with a NGO and an Afghan Women’s Resource Centre. Julia moved back to Australia to Tennant Creek to coordinate Indigenous Health Care. She moved to Darwin to join AMRRIC as the Executive Officer two years ago as she is passionate about improving the health and welfare of dogs in remote communities and seeing the immediate and lasting impact on the health and wellbeing of their owners and their communities.

Erit is a lifestyle and confidence coach specialising in personal and professional development programs aimed at bringing our external and internal environments into harmony and balance. Erit facilitates insightful and natural processes through programs that develop and reinforce positive habits and integrated solutions so we are able to achieve realistic and measurable results. Erit’s approach helps develop natural instincts that trigger ‘aha’ or light bulb moments so challenges can be solved with insight.

Shirley Anne Fortina is a facilitator, trainer, business development coach, speaker and author of a report entitled “Women in Business” published by The ARK Group Australia. She is skilled in negotiation, preparation, presenting and closing of new business proposals; risk management and compliance; strategic business development planning and implementation; client management and relationship building; facilitation, leadership, coaching and formal training.

As a Psychotherapist/Counsellor Jan Campbell-Thompson provides individuals, businesses and organisations with a unique perspective on Relating and Relationships. In addition to traditional psychotherapeutic methods, Jan uses a variety of techniques including visualisation, breath work and analytic therapy to assist individuals uncover, work through and understand their own personal myths and stories.

Susan has been supporting a diverse range of clients from the Top 50 businesses for over
5 years at AIMWA. With significant experience in the Film and Television industry and post-graduate qualifications in business and education, Susan draws from her experience in Risk Management, Film and Television and IT to develop strategic training and consulting interventions with her clients. (www.aimwa.com)