Meet the judges

Ellie is a fifth-year Engineering Design student, who currently represents the student voice within the Engineers Without Borders UK movement as a Student Champion. Passionate about the transformation needed in engineering education, she recently delivered a keynote at the Royal Academy of Engineering and Engineers Without Borders UK’s joint Systems Change Lab.

Jo is the Founder and CEO of AzuKo, an architecture charity working to empower communities through design, who have partnered with us to deliver Reshaping Engineering. She is passionate about humanitarian architecture and the ethics of design and development. Jo is an Engineers Without Borders UK Change Maker, having been inspired by the work she was involved with on her international placement with us.

Mathew is a recognised industry leader and turnaround specialist who has worked in property and infrastructure for over 35 years with the unusual combination of having worked for client, contractor and consulting organisations. More recently, Mathew’s focus has turned to creating value through a company that will be devoted to mitigating the impact of climate change and creating positive biodiversity in the built and natural environment. He has been active in a number of pro-bono industry roles outside of his executive positions, and has recently been appointed Chair of the Board of Trustees at Engineers Without Borders UK.

Dr Bassetti has over 18 years in management and technical studies for regional and international projects, related to port and coastal engineering. Many projects she has undertaken have integrated hybrid solutions to enhance the resilience of coastal communities and facilities, build ecosystem resilience, mitigate impacts, and advance sustainable climate-ready infrastructures. Luce is a strong advocate for breaking down silos to promote cross-functional working environments that help adaptation to global challenges. She believes this is essential to integrate the economic, environmental, social equity and access aspects of projects, to achieve successful and resilient outcomes that are tailored to each community.

Professor Grattan, a distinguished physicist, graduated from Queen’s University Belfast with a BSc (First Class Honours) in 1974 and earned a PhD in Laser Physics. His extensive career includes roles at Imperial College, City University London, and leadership positions in engineering and mathematical sciences. Renowned for his research in optical sensing, he holds patents and received numerous awards, including the Callendar Medal and the Sir Harold Hartley Medal. Elected to the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2008, he served as President of IMEKO from 2015 to 2018. With over 700 publications, he’s a respected figure in the scientific community, contributing significantly to measurement science and technology.

Zoe is the Head of Sustainability for Infrastructure at EQT, a global investment organisation. Responsible for setting the strategy and integration of sustainability across infrastructure investments. With 20 years’ international experience as a sustainability executive, working across multiple sectors and industries, she creates and leads sustainability transformation for organisations. Prior to joining EQT, Zoe was the Global Head of Sustainability for Jacobs, a Fortune 200 professional services company.

Paul is a Chartered Engineer with 30 years industry experience in construction. He held a variety of operational roles before moving to specialise in training and development over ten years ago. As a Technical Leader, Paul focuses on recruitment and resourcing, training and development and future skills in Laing O’Rourke’s European business.

Paul is a Trustee Board member for Engineers Without Borders and has held a number of other non-executive roles associated with technical skills development. He sees digital transformation of construction as being at the heart of economic recovery in the UK post-pandemic, with young people playing a key role in this, and supports the implementation of modern methods of construction to drive productivity and carbon reduction.

Milan is a social innovator, alchemist and architect catalysing and enabling an Ecological Civilisation flourishing within Planetary Boundaries to unfold. Believing in the transformative potential Higher Education Institutions have on the Global Scene, currently co-leading a transformational movement integrating the Sustainable Development Goals and the Inner Development Goals into HEI to reinvent them around Teal developmental principles. Loves to be challenged on his blindspots, wander at the edges of systems, and leverage emerging new opportunities.

Claire Orton has over 25 years of experience working in the UK and Australia in engineering and finance. She holds a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from the University of Southampton and a Master of Science (Environmental Engineering) from Imperial College, London. Claire currently works for Standard Chartered Bank in the UK, as Global Head of Environment and Social risk. Her role involves integrating environmental and social considerations into the banks decision making and supporting the delivery of the organisation’s commitment to net zero. Prior to her career in finance, Claire worked for various engineering and infrastructure consultancies. She is passionate about global responsibility across industries.

Youssef, a passionate project and contracts manager, started his career as a field engineer on construction sites, moving towards construction and project management for multi-million dollar projects in various types, from oil & gas, buildings, airports, power generation, and infrastructure, in many countries around the world and for both contractors and consultants. Member of Project Management Institute PMI since 2008 and a member of World Commerce and Contracting (formerly known as IACCM), Youssef had his PMP (Project Management Professional) designation in 2014, he is a Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) in the Province of Manitoba (Canada), LEED Green Associate, and certified contract management professional (CCMP) since 2019.

As CEO of Engineers Without Borders South Africa, Chikondi is a seasoned organisational leader with a track record of success in managing national and Africa-wide voluntary engineering societies. She combines her nonprofit and consulting engineering business management knowledge to improve financial sustainability, operational effectiveness and project management at EWB-SA. As an agricultural engineer she has led teams and designed agro-processing, animal housing and rural water infrastructure projects in South Africa, in collaboration with government departments, parastatals, private sector entities, and nonprofit organizations. She firmly believes in the importance of engineering expertise in tackling Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) challenges.

Tracey is a third-year Engineering Science student at the University of Oxford, specialising in energy systems. Her enduring fascination with sustainability and climate change has led her to get involved as Co-President of the Engineers Without Borders Oxford chapter (EWBOx) for the 2023-2024 academic year and her current position as a Student Champion at Engineers Without Borders UK. Tracey has acquired practical insights through her various experiences, such as volunteering at the Lebanese Ministry of Environment, interning at Introba as an Environmental Design Building Services Intern, and Sustainable Akkar, a company building the first wind farm in Lebanon.

Lloyd is a Chartered Civil Engineer with over 10 years experience in highway design. During that time Lloyd has worked on several large-scale infrastructure projects specialising in surface water drainage design, active travel, and inclusive mobility concerning scheme assessment and design. Lloyd has also spent significant time on site looking at design and construction monitoring at various stages of a project life cycle including the operations and maintenance (O&M). Lloyd has also been an active STEM Ambassador since 2009, engaging with children and young adults helping to develop the young workforce through presentations and work placements with local schools.

Pete Wood joined RS in July 2011 to manage and develop the DesignSpark online global engineering community and its social media channels. Today, Pete heads up the DesignSpark Experience Team who deliver technical content, software tools and design resources to 1.3 Million registered DesignSpark members, via a network of partners, technical influencers and in-house engineers. Prior to joining RS, Pete spent 13 years working in technical sales and marketing, product management and application support for various electronics distributors and semiconductor manufacturers. Pete is a self-confessed geek who is active in the maker community and local hack spaces. He has a BA Honours in Business Administration with Marketing from Brunel University, UK.

Helen is a final-year student, studying for an MEng in Mechanical Engineering with Year in Industry, and currently represents the student voice within Engineers Without Borders UK as a Student Champion.