Grand Finals Judges

Jon joined IChemE as Chief Executive in early 2017. Prior to this, after 20 years in the British Army, Jon joined the staff of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 2001. He served initially as Membership Director and then as Technical Director. In 2007, he joined the construction consultancy High-Point Rendel as Resources Director and then in August 2010 took over as CEO of the Engineering Council. Whilst at the Engineering Council, Jon was also a Director of FEANI (Federation of European National Engineering Associations) and a Non-Executive Director of the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education.Jon is a Chartered Engineer, a Chartered Environmentalist and a Fellow of both the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Institution of Royal Engineers.

He is an Honorary Fellow of the Society for the Environment and a Fellow Chartered Engineer with the Royal Netherlands Society of Engineers. In August 2018, Jon was also nominated by IChemE to join the Board of the European Federation of Chemical Engineers.

Dawn Bonfield MBE is a materials engineer by background and specialises in inclusion in engineering through her role as Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor of Inclusive Engineering at Aston University.

She is currently the Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence at King’s College London specifically looking at embedding entrepreneurial skills in the training of engineering students, in order to empower students to address the Sustainable Development Goals.

She is Past President and former Chief Executive of the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) and Deputy Chair of the Women in Engineering Committee of the World Federation of Engineering Organisations.

Akaraseth is a Researcher in Climate Risk & Sustainable Finance at the University of Cambridge and a Research Affiliate in Energy Access at University College London. He is also a Member-elected Trustee at Engineers Without Borders UK.

Previously, Akaraseth worked as a Research Assistant at the University of Oxford, focusing on sustainable energy transitions in sub-Saharan Africa. He also worked as a Climate Change Consultant at United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in supporting sustainable energy and climate change mitigation strategies across the Asia-Pacific region.

Regional Manager, Queensland, Centre for Appropriate Technology (CfAT)

Andre’s role is ever changing to ensure that CfATs work is empowering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities at every step of the way. His role and projects that he runs in Queensland have evolved significantly over recent times in response to the Cape York Tenure Resolution program in particular and the emergence of the conservation economy.

Jenny Kroker is an Eastern Arrernte woman who was born in Alice Springs Central Australia. Jenny has worked with the Centre for Appropriate Design (CfAT) and has served as a Director on the Board for 20+ years. From 1996 to 2010 Jenny played a critical role in the development of CfAT Ltd as Executive Officer.

Jenny has a practical background in cross-cultural education and uses this to nurture the organisational culture at The Centre for Appropriate Technology (CfAT). 

She has undertaken ground-breaking work in indigenous youth science engagement and integrating Indigenous knowledge into science curriculum in schools. She remains a strong advocate for women in technology.

Sam is a former president of EWB Manchester and a Systems Engineer based at Energy Systems Catapult. Her primary role is leading and providing technical expertise in the area of Transport Decarbonisation for Net Zero.

She is currently responsible for developing her team’s emerging capabilities in maritime and fleet decarbonisation as well as supporting core capabilities in electric and fuel cell vehicles.

Sam has previous experience working in Renewables, Sustainable Development, Oil and Gas and Rail industries and has worked internationally across Europe, Asia and the Middle East and Africa. She is an Associate Systems Engineering Professional at INCOSE UK.

Raguram is a registered architect and a certified Bentley Professional. Over the past 20 years, he has been working with international teams and organizations in delivering architectural and infrastructure projects that spans single family residential units to large airports.

He and his team of experts develop best practices for information management, sustainable design delivery and collaboration workflows during project and asset lifecycle.

Toni McLaughlin is an Aeronautical Engineering student at the University of Glasgow. She has been the Chapter President of EWB Glasgow for the past two years and is currently the EWB UK Strategy Champion in Scotland. 

Toni is passionate about ethical and environmentally conscious engineering methods and hopes to go into the field of aviation engine design – taking a sustainable approach to ensure a better planet for all.

Director and Staff Member, Bromley and Wuthathi Aboriginal Corporation. Traditional Owner: Wuthathi.

Chrissy is part of the Stolen Generation and one of the Traditional Owners of Wuthathi Country. Chrissy, alongside her Elders and other Traditional Owners, finalised negotiations to return Wuthathi land back to the Traditional Owners.

Project Officer and Ranger Coordinator, Wuthathi Aboriginal Corporation. Traditional Owner: Quandamooka, Kaanju/ Nunukul-Nughi and Wuthathi.

Clayton is an Indigenous Land and Sea Management expert and has worked extensively with Queensland parks and wildlife services for nearly 20 years, in joint management services, marine conservation in the Great Barrier Reef and crocodile management across Queensland and the Torres Straits.

As a Wuthathi person and Ranger Coordinator, Clayton works with Traditional Owners to look after their Country.

Chris Hughes studied at the University of Birmingham where he was driven by an interest in renewable energy. Seeking a wider, holistic perspective of engineering, he joined an Engineers Without Borders UK university Chapter where he took up the post of Social Secretary and then President.

Since graduating, he has worked directly with the UK Heritage sector to tackle energy efficiency challenges in National Trust properties.

John joined Engineers Without Borders UK as CEO in March 2022. Prior to this, he was Executive Director of the International Geosynthetics Society, promoting innovative approaches for sustainable outcomes in engineering.

John was also Head of Sustainable Urbanisation and Director of External Affairs at RICS, where he led international research and sustainability programmes and established the award-winning World Built Environment Forum.

John has extensive experience in international relations, with a focus on multilateral issues including human rights and climate change.

Claire is passionate about driving systemic change and embedding sustainable practices within high profile organisations.

She is Acting Head of Environmental and Social Risk at Macquarie Group where she is responsible for supporting investment teams to assess and manage environmental and social risks across a range of industries and geographies.

Claire has a BEng in Civil Engineering and an MSc in Environmental Engineering.

Jonathan is a structural engineer and the founder of DASH – an integrated architecture and engineering studio in London that focuses on sustainable design and responsible construction.

He works with homeowners and developers to deliver sustainable residential developments. He has almost a decade of experience in construction and has worked internationally on projects in Singapore, Germany, Nigeria and the United Kingdom.

Jessica supports Ramboll’s Building Structures Sustainability strategy with a particular focus on understanding the wider implications of design decisions (beyond simply carbon).

She has a keen interest in regenerative design and how these principles can help re-align the industry with purpose and ensure that we stay within planetary boundaries.

She also leads Ramboll’s ‘Making a Difference’ Network, which funds employees’ time spent on charitable projects with positive social and environmental impacts. She is currently working with Knepp Estate to restore connectivity for wildlife.

Nick is the CEO of Publitek, a B2B tech marketing agency.

He has spent his whole career advising global technology companies and challenger brands on comms and marketing strategies, with experience spanning many sectors including fixed and wireless networking technologies, AI, robotics, cloud computing and software.

John Paul  joined Expo Technologies in 2005 as R&D Engineer, moving through various positions in the engineering function before becoming the Technical Director in 2009, after completing an MBA in technology management.

In 2015 he was appointed to the role of Managing Director where he oversaw the opening of our factory in Qingdao China and supported the start of the Pharma Engineering business in Cork, Ireland. Involved in high compliance engineering businesses he takes a keen interest in the ability of engineers to simplify complex issues into simple elegant solutions. Engineers design our built world and will be at the heart of humanities transition to a more sustainable economic model.

Dr. Sade Mokuolu is the Strategy Implementation Lead for Watson Marlow Fluid Technology Solutions (WMFTS), a Spirax Sacro engineering company. 

Prior to this, she had been employed in a series of senior technical roles, the last one being Global regulatory and validation services manager. She has presented as a subject matter expert in the validation of biopharmaceutical equipment at a number of international conferences as well as delivered training to Australian and European medicines regulators.

She has also published a collection of articles in peer reviewed journals. Additionally, she has extensive pharmaceutical manufacturing and chemical engineering experience gained whilst employed as a Senior Process, Research and Development chemist. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from University of Sussex and a doctorate in Organomentallic Chemistry from University of Nottingham. Her first ever post was a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Leeds.

In her spare time, she is a trustee of a local charity and volunteers for a national charity focused on increasing gender diversity in STEM subjects. Her interests include travel, dancing, science, art, engineering, photography, cricket, football and blockchain technology.

Anna Choi is the Director of Digital Co-Ventures at Bentley Systems.

Having driven successful digital transformation for multinationals in the infrastructure sector, she is experienced in setting digital strategy, realising the potential of digital twin, and harnessing the power of IoT and AI to define the future of business throughout the infrastructure lifecycle. She has been serving as a mentor for startups and university communities on digitalization, and has been recognised with digital leadership awards and featured in TED talk and various global tech conferences.

Ariane Brotto is a Principal Consultant with the Carbon & Energy Consulting team at Jacobs in London. She has more than 10 years of global academic, governmental and consulting experience in environmental services and engineering.

Her areas of expertise ranges from quantification and mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to delivery of energy management programmes and innovation. Ariane enjoys her work, where she has the chance to engage with a diverse set of clients on net zero commitments, decarbonisation, smart energy systems, climate finance and circular economy to support the achievement of sustainability and climate goals.

Ariane previously practised as Adjunct Professor of Environmental Engineering at Columbia University, New York City (USA) in addition to advising and mentoring graduate students. She is also actively volunteering with industry-wide organisations, such as co-leading an International Water Association subgroup on Climate Smart Utilities and is author and peer-reviewer of scientific journals.

Ariane obtained a PhD in Environmental Engineering at Columbia University, New York City (USA), and MSc in Geochemistry from the University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), where she’s originally from. Ariane is passionate about making a difference and seeking to transform new challenges into opportunities.

Debbie Lentz is President, Global Supply Chain for RS Group Plc, a global distributor of electronic and industrial products. She is a member of the Executive Leadership Team and is based in London. 

Debbie is responsible for developing and executing all aspects of supply chain strategy as well as building capability of her organisation. The mission is to create a best in class, flexible and efficient supply chain, providing an innovative and sustainable market-leading service for customers and suppliers.

Performing successfully in diverse business situations and applying the full spectrum of supply chain skills, she has earned recognition throughout the industry as a visionary leader, strategic thinker, team builder and strong proponent of women’s leadership.

Milly is passionate about the capacity of engineers to drive change and work for and with communities to enable them to thrive.

Milly is a chartered civil engineer working at Arup working on flood defence schemes, sustainable drainage and master planning projects to better serve communities. Milly has volunteered with Engineers Without Borders UK for a number of years and is currently a Member Elected Trustee for Engineers Without Borders UK.

Nick Tyler is the Director of the UCL Centre for Transport Studies and Chadwick Professor of Civil Engineering, and investigates the ways in which people interact with their immediate environments. He set up the Accessibility Research Group within the Centre for Transport Studies, with a team of researchers investigating many aspects of accessibility and public transport, and is also a co-founder of the UCL Universal Composition Laboratory (UCL2), which undertakes multi-sensorial spatiotemporal design.

He is currently part of the UK involvement in the Chinese Low Carbon Cities Development project. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Highways and Transportation and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He was appointed a CBE in the New Year’s Honours 2011 for services to technology and elected Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2014.