Access to affordable housing is a critical issue for women and their families. Many women rely on public housing to provide access to safe, appropriate and affordable accommodation.
Ontoit is proud to be playing a major role in some of the nation’s biggest public housing projects. To mark International Women’s Day 2021, we asked the women of Ontoit working on these projects to talk about their commitment to making a difference.
“It is truly rewarding to be part of these transformational projects for social housing and paving the way for new benchmarks in the way governments provide much needed social and affordable housing; both through bespoke delivery partnerships and design excellence. As part of the team, I have learnt that nothing is more inspirational than rallying together for a common goal. The team performs day-in-day-out to achieve our d project milestones, knowing that we are not just building ‘houses’ or ‘apartments’ but creating homes.” – Marissa Kretsch (Senior Associate)
“It’s been a great experience working in this vital area. My role has broadened my expertise beyond securing funding (via business cases) to the next phase in the project lifecycle – market engagement and securing value for money outcomes.” – Deandra Gomes (Associate)
“The social housing sector is surprisingly complex yet highly rewarding to know your work truly makes a foundational difference in people’s lives. The unique blend of property market and infrastructure market characteristics requires smart thinking to deliver effective projects. At Ontoit this challenge has been our driving force to leave a legacy on such an important sector.” – Lindel James (Partner Infrastructure Advisory)
“Working on affordable housing projects has provided a chance to show gratitude for being involved in an extremely critical infrastructure area, especially during a pandemic. I believe if you can bring the right attitude as well as skills to a project you can achieve great things.” – Hannah Eisen (Senior Consultant)
“Since joining Ontoit I have been mostly involved in the helping deliver public housing. My role has been to provide financial management support to the Project team and commercial and financial advisory services. While working to deliver public housing infrastructure has its challenges, it has been very rewarding to be part of the journey” – Adriana Stockton (Director)
“ I’m enjoying in my spare time researching the historical and social context of social and public housing in Australia and abroad. From this research, I hope to achieve a better understanding of the role of social housing and how impactful it can be to those in need” – Colette Raverty (Senior Consultant)
“I recently joined Ontoit after working for almost 9 years in social housing for governments. I really love that the work I did always felt like I was making an impact even though the housing shortage is immense and demand for affordable housing continues to grow. I’m now enjoying working outside the public service with the community housing sector and other partners to contribute to delivering public housing projects.” – Fiona Williams (Executive Director)
“Being part of projects that can change many people’s lives for the better is really rewarding. It’s great seeing the whole team come together to really try and make a difference. Before joining Ontoit, I worked in the educational and commercial sector, I look forward to building my experience in the government sector.” – Belinda Bogdanovic (Associate)
“Working in public housing has given me the satisfaction of helping to provide high-quality living conditions to the families who need it the most. I have learnt that through effective collaboration with multiple disciplines, and by tapping on previous experiences and wearing multiple hats, we can push the boundaries of what has been done before and achieve the best possible outcomes.” – Carolina Camacho (Senior Consultant)
