Meet Katherine Holzner | Inspiring Women in Engineering

1. Tell us what you do at Transport

I am a Project Engineer focusing on the development of road (maintenance, safety, efficiency) projects for handover to construction. I work closely with and co-ordinate a multidisciplinary team to identify and work through project constraints, threats and opportunities with a focus on delivering a well-considered and value for money solution, optimised for the particular site.

Having worked in Engineering Services as a Road Designer and with the Environment Branch as an Environment Officer, I get to utilise my somewhat diverse skills. I also get to work closely with the community which is both challenging and rewarding.

2. What's your proudest moment?

A proud moment was returning to Southern Region from Hunter on secondment to manage the same team that I started my Road Designer in Training program so nine years earlier. I particularly enjoyed working with and supporting the trainees and the returned ‘retirees’.

I also find it incredibly rewarding when we can make seemingly minor, cost effective changes to projects which enhance community and road user experience immensely. I am continually humbled by how accommodating, generous and cooperative the community are.

3. What advice do you have for other women thinking about a career in Engineering?

There will be challenges but don’t lose sight of what you want to achieve and the impact this career can have. Be yourself and find your way, it could set the way for others.

4. How can we transform the future of women in engineering?

This is quite a complicated and multifaceted matter. As such and unfortunately, I don’t believe there is any simple fix which could be encapsulated into a few motivational sentences. I do believe however, that forging change, like with any ‘problem solving’ (whether an engineering or societal problem etc.) initially requires an in depth understanding of the past and present condition (problem identification) from a wide variety of voices - and all genders. In short, we need to have a hard look to understand the nature of the problem before we focus on transforming.

5. Tell us something that people may not know about you?

During my 12 year full time employment with RTA/RMS/TfNSW, I’ve studied part-time via correspondence for 10 years, completing a Bachelor of Engineering, a Master of Environmental Management and Sustainability, and dabbling with some German language studies for fun! Given that at high school I didn’t ever consider going to uni until the final stages of the HSC (no one in my family had been to uni), I am still surprised that I persevered with the work/study combo and the associated pain that went with it. Shout out to all that know this pain! Double shout out to those that had kids on top of it – I don’t know how you managed it, truly inspiring!!

I am also eager to understand what drives women to STEM and the challenges they face across TfNSW. I would love to investigate this further. If there is an opportunity for me to do this, let me know and I might just start studying a sociology / psychology degree 😉👎. But seriously, give me a call!