After completing the IWRM program at McGill University, I moved to Australia to pursue a career in the field of water management. I am currently working with an engineering consulting firm, Aurecon, in the area of flood reconstruction. Recently, through Aurecon, I was seconded to the Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA), a state government agency charged with the efficient and effective management of federal funding for Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA). The Authority’s mission is to reconnect, rebuild and improve Queensland communities and its economy. Working with the QRA has allowed me to work closely with local government councils to rebuild stronger, more resilient communities. I spend most of my time onsite visiting flood stricken communities, gaining local knowledge and prescribing value for money engineering treatments to restore essential public assets lost or damaged to flooding.
For the past two years, I have also been involved with Friends of the Earth Australia. I was involved in the review and assessment of studies and methodologies used by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority for the determination of appropriate Sustainable Diversion Limits (SDLs). This led to research in the area of virtual water and agricultural exports, namely cotton, in the Murray-Darling Basin. My research paper Cotton and Virtual Water in the Murray-Darling Basin can be found on the Friends of the Earth Australia’s website.