D&I Annual Conference: Engineering intersecting with life - inperson

Roni Savage

Roni Savage is CEO and Founder of Jomas Associates, an Engineering Company serving the Construction Industry since 2009. Named Most Influential Woman in Construction 2022, Roni is a Honorary Fellow of Royal Institute of British Architects, a Chartered Engineer, Fellow of Institution of Civil Engineers, Chartered Geologist and SiLC (Specialist in Land Condition). A graduate of University of Portsmouth with a BEng(hons) in Engineering Geology and Geotechnics, she also holds a Masters’ (with distinction) in Environmental Management from University of Exeter, she has worked on many major construction schemes, including the widening of the A406 and M25, as well as various buildings and structures across the UK. She has been involved in designing sustainable remediation solutions to enable the reclamation of several brownfield sites, which would have laid derelict otherwise. Multi-award winner, and mum of three boys, Roni is a passionate diversity champion, speaking internationally on matters relating to diversity in business, engineering and construction. Roni is policy chair for construction for the federation of small businesses, with an advisory role to the UK government, and vice chair of YMCA SPG, a charity committed to empowering young people.

Jeshika Moonsamy

Jeshika Moonsamy is a civil engineer, registered with the Engineering Council of South Africa, with 17 years of engineering consultancy experience in the planning, design and delivery of large water sector projects in South Africa and the United Kingdom. Jeshika is currently a Senior Associate Civil Engineer and Resource Lead for the Water Engineering Team in the Water Consultancy Division and serves as the Chair of the Advance EDI Committee within the Water and Environment business unit at Mott MacDonald. Jeshika recently became a graduate of the Royal Academy of Engineering's’ Inclusive Leadership Programme 2025, having served as the Project Lead for the Mott MacDonald team. She is passionate about sustainability in the built environment, mentorship and capacity building, and works as a trainer for the Federation of International Consulting Engineers' (FIDIC) Future Leaders Management Certificate Programme and Discipline Head for Sustainability Management at the FIDIC Academy. Jeshika has served several local and international engineering and business organisations, chairing and supporting Board Committees in promoting sustainable engineering, diversity and inclusion. Examples include the South African Institution of Civil Engineering, Consulting Engineers South Africa, Infrastructure South Africa’s Technical Advisory Panel, FIDIC, FIDIC Africa, the University of Kwazulu-Natal’s Industry Advisory Board for the School of Civil Engineering and as an Executive Director at Bosch Projects in South Africa.

Patrick (Poggy) Murray Whitham

Patrick (Poggy) Murray Whitham is a professionally accredited engineer, Chartered manager, and accomplished diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) specialist with significant experience in consultative solutions, project and programme management, and business leadership. After over a decade in automation engineering, Poggy has recently refocussed their career on advancing DEI in engineering. Poggy is accredited by the IET, CMI, and IMechE, holds a BEng in Aerospace Engineering, an MSc in Engineering Management, and is pursuing a doctorate at Heriot-Watt, specialising in DEI in Engineering. As Programme Manager for EqualEngineers, Poggy is part of the senior leadership team and leads on DEI initiatives and programmes, including the Skills Bootcamps in Engineering, research such as the Masculinity in Engineering study, and business development. Poggy also manages EqualEngineers’ seven Diversity Networks: InterEngineering (the LGBTQ+ Network), REACH (Race, Ethnicity and Cultural Heritage), Disability, Neurodiversity, Men's, Women's, and Menopause Networks. As a black, queer, disabled, and neurodivergent engineer from a low socio-economic background, Poggy has significant lived experience of intersecting identities and the challenges that these present working at various levels within engineering organisations. Through their work and research at EqualEngineers, InterEngineering, and beyond, Poggy is committed to driving impactful, systematic change in the industry.

Julian Perkins

Julian Perkins isa mechanical design engineer. He has spent most of his engineering career in the USA working in subsea oil and gas, designing subsea emergency equipment, flight aviation, and flight simulators. Moving to the UK in 2021 allowed him to experience new cultures, new perspectives, and the new possibility of working in the rail industry. He may be an engineer by day, but by night, he is an international volleyball player and a co-creator of an American zine, Enjambment, a project using poetry, creative writing, and photography to highlight social injustice. As he continues his career in engineering as a queer person of colour he hopes to expand the perception of who is an engineer and what an engineer looks like to reflect the diverse, intersectional society we live in today and to remove barriers and preconceptions for future engineers.

Greg Turner-Smart

Following a career in engineering, Greg discovered his passion for equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) when launching Prism, the Rolls-Royce plc LGBTQ+ employee network, which he led from 2015 to 2021. Stepping down after leading Rolls-Royce into the Stonewall Top 100 Employers Index, Greg accepted the role of Group Inclusion and Diversity Lead in 2020, leading on their global EDI strategy. Moving to Rolls-Royce SMR in 2022, Greg is now EDI Manager with full accountability for all things inclusion. He was named the winner of the Diversity and Inclusion Award at the 2023 Nuclear Skills Awards and has been shortlisted for recognition at events including the British LGBT Awards and the European Diversity Awards. He is a member of the Royal Academy of Engineering Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Board.