The judges for the Women in FCERM Awards 2024 have been picked to represent a variety of organisations and experience. Read more about them below.
Amy Bentley
Amy has over 20 years of experience in the Water and Environment sector, both in the UK and Australia. She has led and delivered projects with a primary focus on Flood Risk and Water Resources Management. She has been Project Director for Flood Risk Schemes on the EA Collaborative Delivery Framework in the North West and Eastern regions. She is Head of Sector for Water & Environment Europe at Jacobs and is passionate about attracting and retaining diverse talent within the sector.
Amy is passionate about I&D and has been an active mentor on the WiFCERM programme for the past 3 years. Amy was the recipient of the 2023 WiFCERM award for promoting inclusion and diversity in the FCERM sector. She has contributed to panel discussions within Jacobs and externally for British Water about the challenges women face in the industry and how to actively overcome these.
Based in Sheffield, Amy is married and has two children. With a love for the outdoors, she can often be found exploring the Peak District when time allows. Music is also a big part of her life, and she currently sings with The Sheffield Chorale chamber choir.
Deborah Nutt
Deborah is a Senior Director at Arcadis, with nearly 30 years working in the construction industry as a Chartered Civil Engineer and Chartered Project Professional. Some 18 years of her career has been in flood risk management helping to protect communities from flooding and improving the quality of life for all. In addition to this, Deborah the Arcadis Global Gender Affinity Group chair role. Prior to joining Arcadis, Deborah worked for a telecoms company designing and building radio base stations all around the UK and her first role was with Costain as a site engineer.
I’m absolutely delighted to be invited to return in 2024 as a judge following my 2023 win to learn more about what others are doing to drive towards equity in the industry and to recognise the huge importance this has on our future generations.
Amy Shaw
Amy is the current lead for Women in FCERM, having sat on the steering group for several years, and previously co-leading the WiFCERM group mentoring programme, which seeks to support women working across the sector with their personal and professional development. Amy is a flood risk manager at the Environment Agency.
Innes Thomson
As a civil engineer, Innes and has spent the majority of his career working with water. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers and is Chief Executive of ADA, the Association of Drainage Authorities. In the past, Innes was also an Area Flood & Coastal Risk Manager at the Environment Agency in both Nottingham and York. Innes has also worked outside the UK, notably in France, the Middle East, Far East and the Indian subcontinent during the 1990s. Innes actively supports WiFCERM and, more widely, the value of people for who they are and what they can offer in the water sector.
Richard Whelan
After transferring to FCERM from the financial sector, Richard has spent 14 years in local authorities working on flood risk, delivering projects in resilience, river restoration, SuDS and updating policies and strategies. During that time Richard has been involved in CaBA’s Urban Water Group, National FCERM research theme advisory group and more.
Recent years, helping out on the Midland and Anglian WiFCERM Committee on a regular basis. As a dad Richard is keen to see his daughter and son experience the same opportunities in life and also on opening our industry up to a wider audience to bring in new skills, ideas and challenge the way we deliver our work.
How to apply for the Women in FCERM Awards 2024
Find out more about how to apply here.
womeninfcerm.org 