Speakers

Gillian Geraghty

Gillian is the Director-General and ACT Chief Engineer of Infrastructure Canberra. The position leads the procurement and delivery of the Territory’s infrastructure program. Gillian has dedicated almost 30 years to the building and infrastructure industry and has a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil), First Class Honours from the University of Sydney. She has a strong track record of leadership on major and complex infrastructure projects across multiple sectors and geographies and is passionate about enabling people to be their best as a solid foundation for high performing teams. Prior to her current role Gillian held senior executive roles in the NSW Public Service where she led planning, development and delivery teams for a number of NSW landmark projects for both NSW Health and Transport for NSW.

Craig Gillman

A proven and distinguished leader, Craig Gillman leads the City Renewal Authority as Chief Executive Officer, driving the future of Canberra's City Centre. Mr Gillman has been an integral part of the City Renewal Authority since 2019, serving as its Deputy Chief Executive before his appointment to Chief Executive in 2024. Prior to the Authority, Mr. Gillman honed his expertise in strategic leadership and project delivery as acting CEO at the Suburban Land Agency and Executive Director at Transport for NSW and EY Canberra. Possessing a deep understanding of central Canberra's development needs, Mr Gillman has been instrumental in shaping the Authority's operating model. He has a proven track record of success, spearheading transformative projects such as the City Walk revitalisation and the Acton Waterfront expansion.

Fiona Brockenshire

Fiona's career in the department spans 24 years. Her role is to build and maintain effective industry-government partnerships, with a particular focus on engaging with small and medium business. Fiona supports the implementation of the 2023–2030 Australian Cyber Security Strategy by raising awareness of cyber security initiatives.

Lok Potticary

Lok Potticary is the Assistant Secretary of the NSW and ACT Infrastructure Investment Branch in the Australian Government Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communication and the Arts. Lok is responsible for over $20 billion worth of investments in land transport infrastructure in NSW and the ACT under the Australian Government's Infrastructure Investment Program. With over 20 years of experience in the Australian Public and Parliamentary Services, including in the Parliamentary Budget Office and The Treasury, Lok has experience in policy development, delivering significant programs, Commonwealth-State relations and budget analysis

Sam Tindal

Sam is dedicated Charted Professional Construction Engineer with extensive experience working across large infrastructure projects and for major clients including Transport for NSW, Australian Rail Track Corporation and the ACT Government. He is highly adept working across multidisciplinary teams and complex projects. Sam’s expertise encompasses overseeing all aspects of project construction, delivered under various Contract models. Sam has demonstrated experience in multi construction disciplines including complex bridge structures, retainment structures, bulk earthworks, pavements, drainage and road infrastructure.

Dario Spralja

Dario is a Canberra born and educated principal and national design leader of architecture at Architectus.  He has 30 years of experience on international and national award-winning urban design and architectural projects across various sectors, with a focusing on city-shaping urban, commercial, residential and rail projects.

Dario collaborated with Foster + Partners on the design excellence competition win, detail design and delivery of the award-winning Sydney Salesforce Tower and precinct. The tower at 263-metres is Sydney’s tallest commercial building.  He also collaborated with Foster + Partners on the Sydney Metro City and Southwest USDTS project, which culminated in the detail design and delivery of Barangaroo Metro Station.

Dario’s other notable projects at Architectus include: leading architectural concept, definition and scoping design of Sydney Metro’s Western Sydney Airport Metro and delivery design for its heavy rail interchange at St Marys Station; design of rail integration at Western Sydney International Airport for the Federal Government; design advice for the solar façade clad 600 Collins Street office tower in Melbourne; concept design for Melbourne Suburban (underground Metro) Rail Loop’s OSD/ASD commercial and residential precincts; design leadership for the poetic Kangan Institute Health and Community Centre of Excellence in Broadmeadows; and design advice for ACT Light Rail Stage 1.

Before joining Architectus, Dario worked on award-winning national and international projects such as: the conversion of Canberra’s Bruce Stadium into a dedicated football stadium for the Sydney 2000 Olympics; Epping Interchange Station; Epping to Chatswood (underground) Rail Link; ANZ Headquarter Building; Barangaroo Masterplan; Mirvac’s “Vance” apartment building in Harold Park; London Marriot Hotel Tower Canary Wharf; and London Heathrow Terminal 5.

On graduation in 1996 he received the prestigious MGT Traveling Scholarship for Design, enabling him to work in London with HOK and Richard Rogers Partnership on significant aviation, commercial, hotel and residential projects – of which design work on the façade and roof for Heathrow Terminal 5 is an exemplar of innovation and high-tech design.  In London he also won the UK Peter Rice Arup Travelling Scholarship, this enabled travel to Paris to study Peter’s engineering designs for the Louvre Museum’s entry pyramid and sculpture courtyard roofs.

Amanda Fyfe

Adam Davey

Adam joined SLA with a wealth of experience in executive positions both in the Commonwealth government and private sector since 2011. Adam has come from the ACT Government’s Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate as the Chief Operating Officer and Executive General Manager for Corporate Services & Operations. Adam’s experience spans from executive leadership roles to operational and governance positions. His previous employment was the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust (Australia) CEO for a period of seven years.

Catherine Carter

Catherine Carter is a leader in the built environment, with a distinguished career spanning advocacy, urban policy and industry engagement. She is the CEO of national design practice DJAS Architecture, Founder and Managing Director of think-tank Salon Canberra and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Canberra. Catherine has made a significant contribution to shaping conversations about cities, design and Canberra’s future, bringing together leaders from government, business, academia and the arts along with the broader community. A regular media commentator, she has been recognised through a range of industry and community awards and continues to influence discussions about place, design, innovation and community, shaping the way we think about cities.

Mel Jones

Mel is an Associate Director with 15+ years experience and qualifications in both Urban Design and Regional Planning. Her experience includes award-winning work across a broad range of scales including master planning, greenfield development, strategic planning, project positioning, urban analysis and urban renewal. Over her career Mel has emerged as a leader in the areas of city centre urban renewal, education and health campus master planning. Balancing strategic thinking with practical human centric design, Mel has worked on a range of public and private sector projects that involve extensive collaboration across disciplines. Over the past few years, she has been delivering several significant projects for the ACT, including the Canberra City Centre Urban Design Framework (2021), the City Centre Design Guide (2023), and the ACT Urban Design and Housing Design Guides in (2023) and is currently preparing the ACT Missing Middle Design Guide

Muir Livingstone

Muir is a Sydney based partner at international architecture studio, Foster + Partners.
He has 30 years of experience and has delivered projects in Australia, Europe, the Middle East and North America.
In recent years Muir has specialised in Integrated Station Developments – complex projects that fuse together Metro Stations with over station developments.
In March 2025, the latest of these, Gadigal Integrated Station Development opened as part of Sydney Metro’s expansion.
Prior to this Muir worked with Dario Spralja and the Architectus team on Salesforce Tower at Circular Quay, currently Sydney’s tallest commercial tower and the subject of their joint presentation at the 5th ACT Major Projects Conference 2025.

Ashlee Berry

Ashlee commenced as the Executive Director of the ACT & Capital Region Division of the Property Council in September 2024, after spending several years in senior roles in a local industry association and in private legal practice. Ashlee is an experienced and pragmatic advocate for the property sector, with a strong pro-housing choice and affordability agenda.

Anna Neelagama

Anna Neelagama was appointed the new CEO at Master Builders ACT in September 2025. Anna is an experienced industry leader with over nine years as a CEO, specialising in real estate and the built environment, and spent her formative career in state and federal agribusiness advocacy roles. Anna holds a Bachelor of International Relations from Griffith University and a Graduate Certificate in Property Development from the University of Technology Sydney. She lives in Canberra with her husband and two children.

Belinda Kendall

Belinda is an Aboriginal woman who identifies with the Barkindji, Wailan, Worimi and Wiradjuri peoples. She has extensive management and therapeutic care experience and is well known for her leadership and executive experience with a depth of understanding of strategic planning, management of multi-disciplinary teams and supplier diversity through relationship-based and trauma-informed approaches. Belinda has worked in state government legislative guidelines and has a comprehensive understanding of government operations, policies, and practices, along with genuine diversity and social inclusion requirements at both state and Commonwealth levels. She has grass roots through to senior executive levels and worked nationally with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, families, and communities as a lead Aboriginal Consultant on projects and she provides leadership, mentoring and support to others in relation to Cultural responsiveness and safety, protocols, therapeutic care, and leadership. Belinda is well known and regarded for her project management, community consultation, Aboriginal Cultural training, leadership and supplier diversity expertise within community, Government and corporate sectors.

Dr Nicholas Fearnley

Dr Nicholas Fearnley is Head of Global Construction Forecasting at Oxford Economics. Nicholas oversees the teams that produce the various global construction services, and also the Australian mining and maintenance outlooks. He works over the full construction spectrum, and has experience forecasting cost escalation and material demand. Nicholas has a PhD in economics from the University of Sydney, and regularly presents and provides commentary for the construction industry.

Jessica Stewart

Jessica Stewart is the Head of Sustainability and Community Development at Ginninderry – a 30 year project which will ultimately be home for 30,000 residents in the Capital Region. Ginninderry is Australia’s only cross-border master-planned community – extending across the ACT border into NSW.

Jessica holds tertiary qualifications in Engineering and Science from the Australian National University, majoring in Materials and Mechanics, Renewable Energy Systems, Sustainability Science and Science Communication.

Prior to commencing with Riverview Projects to deliver Ginninderry in late 2016, Jessica worked for five years with the ACT Government’s Land Development Agency in their Sustainability and Innovation section and as an Energy Auditor throughout the ACT and regional New South Wales.

Jessica has a passion for building strong, resilient communities and exploring the reasons why people love (and hate) the places that they live, work and play. Through education and energy efficiency, Jess aims to raise the bar for new developments and Ginninderry in particular, by ensuring that residents maximise their assets, reduce their running costs and design smarter homes.

Jessica has been awarded the National Association of Women in Construction ACT Emerging Leader Award and was named the Property Council of Australia’s ACT Future Leader of the Year in 2017. Jessica was also acknowledged as a Green Star Champion by the Green Building Council of Australia in 2020.

Rebecca Townsend

Rebecca is the founding Director of Creative Road. She has more than two decades of creative industry experience across cultural strategy, public art, placemaking and cultural tourism. She has led public art programs and provided advice to major Australian projects including Central Station Metro Sydney, 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, Brisbane Airport, Vivid Sydney and the Canberra Hospital Expansion Project. Rebecca works with clients to conceptualise art projects which creatively express their unique character and values. Working in partnership with artists to realise their vision, she has delivered hundreds of public artworks of diverse mediums, scale, and purpose. Rebecca is passionate about enabling high quality public spaces; democratic and inclusive. Places that encourage gathering, connection and exchange, promoting health and well-being.

Anthony Haraldson

Anthony Haraldson joined Transport Canberra in 2022 as the Territory’s representation on the Public Private Partnership for Canberra’s light rail network. He has held various roles in both the private and public sector in commercial and contract management, operations and strategic planning. Prior to his current appointment, Anthony worked in the ACT Governments waste management section, ACT No Waste, for 10 years leading a number of outsourced waste management services and transformative resource recovery projects. Anthony has a passion for inclusivity and sustainability and promotes this within the ACT Government and light rail service.

Morgan Ferrier

Ric Butt

Ric Butt is an architect, builder and environmental designer and principal of Strine Environments. He has been designing and building in Canberra for the past 40 years using environmental design principles and pioneering high mass construction using insulated precast concrete panels. Ric's buildings need almost no artificial heating or cooling to achieve a pleasant and comfortable internal environment.

Dr Tim Williams

Dr Tim Williams is the Practice Leader, Cities for Grimshaw. Tim leads Grimshaw's Cities initiative which carries out research, thought leadership, industry engagement, advocacy, institutional partnering, project orientation and internal learning through a civic lens. His role is grounded in nearly 25 years international experience in city strategy and policy, urban regeneration and governance, and in advising governments and leaders in the public and private sector. Before joining Grimshaw in 2020, Tim previously held positions as Arup's Head of Cities in Australasia, where he played a key role in transformative projects including the Canberra Light Rail. His work contributed to the project's urban renewal impact and led to further advisory roles with the ACT Government on strategic urban and economic policy. He also served as CEO of the Committee for Sydney and as an advisor to the Greater Sydney Commission, contributing to the city's evolving transport and infrastructure landscape. Prior to moving to Australia in 2001, Tim worked in London as a specialist advisor to five consecutive UK Ministers for Cities, Planning and Urban Regeneration, through which he played a key role in the emergence of Homes England; and as the CEO of the Thames Gateway London Partnership through which he played a key role in securing Crossrail and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link through Stratford which helped lay the foundations for the urban regeneration of the area and its eventual selection as the site of the 2012 Olympic Games. In addition to his role at Grimshaw, Tim is currently a member of the NSW Government's Smart Places Initiative, the Architect's Registration Board and is a founding member of NSW Circular (economy initiative). He also has a PhD in History from Cambridge University, is a qualified barrister and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Western Sydney University in 2018 for his contribution to the region.

Nicholas Proud

Nicholas Proud is the CEO of Civil Contractors Federation the national Peak Industry Body and Registered Organisation for the Civil Construction Industry in Australia.

With Branches in every State and Territory, the Civil Contractors Federation and its 1,800 Contractor and Associate Members play a critical role in delivering the nation’s infrastructure in every community, town and city in Australia.

After twenty years in residential/community built form working in State and National Offices of Housing Industry Association, Property Council of Australia, CPSISC (Build Skills Australia) and CEO of PowerHousing Australia, national advocacy and bring industry, government and key stakeholders is his focus. In PowerHousing Australia his Members secured the support from the Federal Government to deliver the 40,000 home Housing Australia Future Fund and Housing Accord and a move to Civil Contractors Federation supports a wider opportunity to create widescale investment into community enabling infrastructure which includes, roads, bridges, rail, water, sewerage utilities.

Since commencing with CCF National Nicholas has been appoint to the National Construction Forum and now chairs BuildSkills Australia Civil Construction Advisory Body and secured wins in industrial skills and procurement for industry.

Dr. Darius Danesh

Dr. Darius Danesh is the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Institute of Project Management and an experienced leader in the project management
profession. Dr. Danesh is a Fellow Certified Practicing Portfolio Executive (FAIPM CPPE), a Fellow Chartered Professional Engineering Executive (FIEAust CPEng EngExec NER APEC Engineer IntPE), and a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD). He holds a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in Engineering Science, as well as a PhD in Strategic Project Portfolio Managementfrom the UNSW. With over 30 years of industry experience, he has worked across infrastructure, construction, and strategic project delivery, driving innovation and best practices in the field. Passionate about the role of project management in the national development, Dr. Danesh actively engages with industry and government to shape policies that support successful project outcomes.

Elvis Gleeson

Elvis Gleeson is a forward-thinking figure in creative and community development. With a career spanning cultural entrepreneurship, academic philosophy, and social innovation, he now leads Creative Guild and its flagship Civic arts hub, Blank – transforming underutilised urban spaces into vibrant ecosystems. He graduated with a First Class Honours degree in Philosophy from the Australian National University (ANU) and received the university’s most prestigious undergraduate award, the Tillyard Prize.

In addition to his work at Creative Guild, Elvis has maintained a lifelong passion as a writer, where he became a published author in a peer-reviewed journal at 17-years-old. He has since authored three textbooks on writing adopted by more than 100 Australian high schools.

As a speaker, Elvis has given talks at The London School of Economics, appeared on SBS Insight, joined the Australian Curriculum Panel alongside the Vice-Chancellor of UNSW and the CEO of ACARA, and holds awards at both national and international research conferences.

Through ongoing dialogue with government, business, academia, and the arts, Elvis continues to guide thoughtful conversations on creativity, innovation, and civic participation—shaping not only Canberra’s evolving cultural landscape, but the broader national discourse on community life.