At Powerlink, we have a variety of community champions from across our business engaging with local communities each and every day.

Building relationships based on trust, and communicating in an active and clear way is an important part of providing our electricity transmission services safely, reliably and cost effectively. 

Being active in the communities where we operate our network and partnering with local communities from Cairns down to the New South Wales border is important for us.

Meet our community champions below.

Brody

Senior Primary Systems Support Engineer

“I’m driven by many factors however nothing is more motivating than solving challenges that have a direct benefit to the industry, community or the network.”

Brody
Senior Primary Systems Support Engineer

Brody is originally from Kingaroy and spent all of his schooling in Hervey Bay where a lot of his family still reside and makes for a great holiday location! 

If you ask him, he says ‘he’s firmly grounded in regional Queensland’ which is why he has such a great affiliation with the communities he works in. 

Brody’s role as a Senior Primary Systems Support Engineer encompasses technical support for operations and maintenance, process and work technique development, construction and commissioning support as well as research and development. 

The work he does is highly variable and he spends lots of time in regional Queensland. In his travels, Brody has gained valuable insights and knowledge from landholders, contractors, cultural heritage and universities.  

Brody has a strong passion with engaging the next generation of power engineers through the university community, encouraging up-and-coming graduates to explore and become passionate about providing communities with energy services. 

Brody continues to expand his skills and knowledge and provide technical support to our operations divisions to ensure we are connecting Queenslanders to a world-class energy future.

Kelli

Business Support Team Lead

My role is customer service so receiving feedback from the community gives me an opportunity to see how I can enhance our current processes. Also, hearing how a team member has helped a customer makes my day!

Kelli
Business Support Team Lead

Kelli brings dependability and a positive, engaging attitude to her role at Powerlink, giving confidence to her team and her community.

Kelli says being part of the community gives her friendship, security and a feeling of being welcome. Studying and working in Mackay gave her a grounding to be a good person and always be someone others could count on. She hopes to bring that to the Powerlink community. She draws on the time, space and a lot of quiet from the property she grew up on as it always settles her to regroup and engage with the busy rural and regional communities.

Kelli grew up on a cattle and sugar cane farm in Palmyra outside Mackay before moving to Brisbane. She continues to visit the area through work and leisure as her folks have joined the other retired cattle and cane cockies to fish and play lawn bowls in Seaforth.

A smile lands on Kelli’s face automatically when on a road trip home she’s asked at the servo “Where you headed darl?” and she responds with “Mackay”.

One of Kelli’s favourite moments on the road heading home is when she passes Clairview and sees more pivot irrigators in cane paddocks – always brings a smile of excitement because she knows she’s nearly there.

Eddie

Manager Projects

“My aim is to approach property owners with honesty, respect and integrity. It’s so important to take people on the journey and understand how they operate on their land.”

Eddie
Manager Projects

Eddie’s family history is out west in Longreach and Tambo so for him to get back out into rural and regional Queensland is a bonus of his work.

Eddie has been pivotal in building transmission lines in South West Queensland – from Halys to Western Downs to Columboola, and Kogan to Western Downs to Braemar – as well as the LNG connections near Yuleba and Wandoan.

He has worked with design, maintenance, construction, project management and now team leadership at Powerlink. When asked about his team, he talks of a dedicated and committed team of managers, environmental and safety colleagues that are focused on delivering Powerlink’s core values.

Eddie’s professionalism and positive attitude help him succeed in delivering transmission services to our communities.

Having worked as far north as Cairns, down south to Gold Coast and out west to Surat, Eddie has spent a lot of time in the community engaging with locals.

Eddie says he's learnt so many things working with property owners and is grateful to have gained a greater understanding of their life on the land. Eddie's greatest satisfaction is completing a project and shaking a property owner’s hand with them saying thank you.

Whilst working in Dalby, Chinchilla, Miles and Roma Eddie made some great friends but he tells us his heart belongs in Dalby where he has spent a lot of his working life. From time to time Eddie still gets the odd phone call from a property owner just to have a chat which really lifts his day.

Brett

Easement Maintenance Officer

"These communities are so important and part of my everyday life. Listening and supporting each other goes a long way to building trust in the community - I enjoy this aspect of my job."

Brett
Easement Maintenance Officer

Brett grew up on a winery in the Moreton Bay Region and is now raising his family on a beef cattle property. Brett brings his strong community involvement with enthusiasm to Powerlink. He believes living in the region for 40+ years and having this community involvement and his own cattle has given him a greater understanding of the needs of the property owners he interacts and meets with.

He is involved in the local Rural Fire Brigade and even dabbles in some Cattle Judging at the Woodford Show when time allows.

Leanne

Landholder Relations Support Officer

“I like to be able to support and assist people when life has really been unfair”

Leanne
Landholder Relations Support Officer 

Leanne joined the Powerlink crew in 2020 after 16 years with Queensland’s electricity distributor Ergon Energy. Her passion for assisting people and connecting teams for the best possible outcome for our landholders has been remarkable.

Getting out and about is beneficial for Leanne to be able to spot any challenges she needs to solve for our crews to continue their work in the field while still meeting community and landholder expectations.

Leanne will always be a proud Far North Queenslander at heart but is super keen to be part of giving communities 'down south' a strong voice too.

“In my previous role with Cairns Ergon Energy I was part of many emergency recovery works following Tropical Cyclones Larry, Yasi & Debbie and other weather events. The one thing that is consistent is the value the community spirit brings to those in their time of need. It was a very humbling experience when a member of the public (who has just lost the roof of their home) reached out and offered to do my washing during the recovery. This was a pivotal point in my career where it emphasised the community spirit when we all work together. My current work has been about assisting crews in the field and ensuring the values of our communities are incorporated at all levels of work. Most recently with my work for Powerlink, getting into my PPE and into the Roma community really makes my day!”

Kerry

Landholder Relations Advisor

“Supporting our communities is my top priority”

Kerry
Landholder Relations Advisor

Kerry likes to advocate for rural and regional communities and explore the best methods to assist them. Working alongside rural and regional communities gives Kerry a boost and she is very proud to be part of Kingaroy’s local industry, sport and community groups.

Kerry has long been praised for her people skills within Powerlink, assisting landholders and communities. Supporting regional communities to be the best that they can is what really drives Kerry.

Combining a passion for agriculture and viticulture, and a farming property in the South Burnett, Kerry aims high to represent these industries on a national platform.  We see this at Powerlink when she connects and achieves the best outcome for communities.

Ehren

Senior Easement Officer

“I love to take time and have a chat with people and Powerlink provides that opportunity for me to connect with our stakeholders” 

Ehren
Senior Easement Officer

Ehren works in our Lines Field Delivery team supporting strategic objectives and improving the customer experience. He and his easement team work with our 19,000 landholders across Queensland and the communities they live in. His job builds strong relationships and ensures we maintain a safe and reliable network for the future.

“Working with the Powerlink people always lifts my day and then I get to meet the people we are doing this for. Being in the community means I can answer valuable landholder questions on anything from easements through to the footy score.” 

Tony

Project Director

“Talking to a broad range of people helps improve community outcomes"

Tony
Project Director 

Tony has been pivotal in progressing the Genex Kidston connection project in Northern Queensland as well as being part of many project completions including new connections in the Surat Basin, and projects at Dysart, Mackay, Cairns and Gin Gin to name few.

Tony enjoys seeing the community flourish and being part of something greater than himself. Visiting family in Gladstone is always a priority as it exposes him to a range of opinions, ideas and possibilities for the future, particularly in challenging times.

Tony believes working from Cairns to Brisbane has a lot of diversity but the one thing that’s common is working together. He believes it is very encouraging when visiting remote areas of Queensland to see the great work that Powerlink is doing in connecting these communities to a world-class energy future.