CIHT West Midlands are excited to offer this webinar with CIHT President, Karen McShane, in celebration of Transgender Day of Visibility.
The speakers will share their experience as trans professionals and trans allies in the industry and will discuss living their true lives and how this positively impacts their workplace and the firms they work for. Discussion followed by Q&A session. Find out more about Transgender Day of Visibility here.
Everyone working in the built environment and highways and transport industries.
Karen McShane - CIHT President
Karen is a Chartered Civil Engineer and is the current CIHT President.
Karen is into her fourth decade of work in the Highways and Transportation sector and her technical expertise has contributed to a variety of challenging high-profile infrastructure and commercial projects in the UK and Ireland. She was previously the transport director in a multi-disciplinary practice before setting up her own consultancy some 10 years ago. Much of her work over recent years has involved expert witness roles and participation in Planning Appeals, Public Enquiries and the delivery of the highways ad transportation aspects of new developments.
Karen has been a member of CIHT since 1987 and over the last decade has held positions on Regional Committees and Council. She is a former regional chair at ICE and a member of the Construction Employment Federation Annual Judging Panel for their Awards. Karen is also a trustee of the LGBT Charity the Rainbow project and has a keen interest in EDI issues having been part of the panel delivering CIHT’s “Shifting the Dial” the five year EDI Strategy.
Lucy Gardner - Associate Director, Arup
Lucy is an Associate Director in Arup and a Fellow of the ICE. She has been working in the rail industry for 17 years on projects at all stages of design and construction. She has an exceptional understanding of the requirements of a rail project from producing tender bids through to feasibility studies, detailed design and construction, enabling her to deliver solutions that meet the client’s objectives. She has experience leading large multidisciplinary teams and is able to communicate effectively with stakeholders and team members at all levels.
Her recent design leadership roles include East West Rail Engineering Partner, Thailand High Speed Rail and Crossrail 2. Lucy has a strong profile in the rail industry, having been recognized in the early stages of her career as the RTSA (Railway Technical Society of Australia) Young Railway Engineer of the Year 2012, and later in 2016 she was named in the Women in Rail 20 Most Inspirational Women in Rail.
Lucy leads a team of multidisciplinary rail managers, systems engineers and CAD/BIM specialists in Arup’s Birmingham Office.
Paul Gillen - Partner & Employment Lawyer, Lewis Silkin
Paul is a Partner and Employment Lawyer in Lewis Silkin’s Employment, Immigration and Reward division. He is qualified in England & Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, providing cross jurisdiction and comparative law advice to clients throughout the UK and Ireland. He advises clients on contentious and non-contentious matters, including HR support, mergers & acquisitions, restructuring, executive management, performance management, TUPE, outsourcing, discrimination law, and a full range of employment litigation across a range of sectors including infrastructure and construction.
Prior to training as a lawyer Paul had more than a decade of experience working in in-house HR roles, including being Group Head of HR in a global infrastructure and civil engineering company, which is where he developed a passion for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion including developing gender and LGBT+ inclusion strategies.
He is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, a Fellow of the Institute of Directors and is an IoD Ambassador for Diversity and Inclusion as well as a visiting Professor to the school of law at Ulster University.
Rowan Lennard - Apprentice, Arup
Rowan is currently an Apprentice at Arup, where they have been working for two years supporting both Transport Planning and Placemaking teams. As part of their apprenticeship, they are studying for a degree in Urban Planning at the University of the West of England (UWE). Rowan's work so far has involved providing landscape design support for large highway schemes and developing concept designs for active travel initiatives.
Their skill set includes a strong foundation in digital tools, particularly graphical software and CAD. Rowan's interests are focused on active travel, encouraging public participation in planning processes, and ensuring inclusive design and accessibility in urban spaces. They use they/them pronouns and are committed to applying practical and inclusive approaches in their work in urban planning.
Cass Potter - Director, BakerHestia
Cass has extensive experience of the Engineering community, having worked to support Exec leadership and SLT level individuals with some of the world’s leading Consulting Engineers. She has for ten years+ influenced more inclusive recruitment practices and behaviours and specialised in identifying opportunities to bring fresh skills and perspective into the sector from other industries, working with client partners to foster an open-minded approach to what ‘good’ conventionally looked like and recognise the benefits of transferable skills and different mindsets.
Cass is a longstanding champion of Gender Equity, and her general passion and drive for DEI became only more personal when she came out as Transgender in 2021. She is now a visible figure within the industry, at industry events, and on panels and steering committees, working to help clients understand an intersectional approach to DEI that enables everyone to bring their best selves to work in a climate of psychological safety and Inclusion.
CPD is defined as any activity that provides new knowledge or skills that help you to achieve your professional development goals or has otherwise helped you to develop as a highways and transportation professional
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For more information, please contact westmidlands@ciht.org.uk.
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