Meet the Future Green Leaders of the year award finalists

Caitlin is a passionate and driven sustainability advocate with deep insight into how built environments reflect the vision and priorities of their developers. Joining Dexus as a Graduate in 2019, she has driven meaningful change through city-shaping projects. Now, as Assistant Development Manager of Dexus’s Waterfront Brisbane project, she passionately champions innovative initiatives that elevate sustainability across the project, organisation, and industry.  

Caitlin’s commitment goes beyond quick fixes—she fosters a cultural shift that embeds sustainability into every decision. This passion was solidified during university, when she was awarded a New Colombo Plan Scholarship to study sustainable buildings at the National University of Singapore. Immersed in a world-leading built environment, Caitlin learned that sustainable outcomes stem from countless small decisions and bold leadership.  

As sustainability targets evolve, Caitlin’s belief in creating a better tomorrow through an appetite for change will continue to shape her career and the projects she delivers. 

Kaylee Hussain has a grounded understanding of businesses, allowing her to provide practical solutions to ESG challenges. In her role at Frasers Property Australia, she drives change by  overseeing the successful implementation of the company’s ESG strategy. Kaylee aligns sustainability goals with actionable initiatives that deliver value for both the environment and customers.

Her key contributions include empowering team members by developing guidance documents, bridging sustainability goals with customer aspirations, and embedding sustainability into business practices through certifications like Green Star. Kaylee is dedicated to enhancing performance and fostering collaboration across teams to achieve meaningful sustainability outcomes within the organisation and the wider industry.

With a passion for integrating health, well-being, and sustainability into the built environment, Kaylee believes these initiatives not only support the natural environment but also improve the 
quality of life for people who live and work in these spaces.

Kim Nguyen is a member of the Sustainable Design Team at Homes Victoria, a government body established to develop and manage social and affordable housing across the state of Victoria. Kim comes to Homes Victoria with 6 years of experience in sustainability consulting and her work in the sustainability field is now focused on utilising her technical knowledge to help shape sustainability standards in the social and affordable housing sector, advocacy within the organisation and broader industry, and supporting the delivery of sustainable outcomes for social and affordable housing tenants and other under-represented groups. Her career highlights include undertaking computational modelling to support the design of a mixed-use precinct in North America, working with the Sustainable Design Team to develop Guidance Notes and Design Brief inclusions for future housing projects, and co-hosting and developing content for a sustainability-focused workshop with the Homes Victoria Renters’ Consultative Committee to gather sustainability insights. 

Ruchita Panchal is a Senior Sustainability Consultant at AECOM, specialising in the Commercial, Health, Education, and Transport sectors. With a background in Architecture & Design from India, Ruchita's passion for sustainability is driven by firsthand experiences of wasteful design and resource inequity.  

She is passionate about addressing environmental and climate change impacts by minimising material use, promoting circular economy principles, and integrating health and wellness into architectural design to enhance occupant satisfaction.  

Experienced in ESD consulting, Ruchita collaborates with stakeholders to drive sustainable outcomes through evidence-based design. She applies advanced energy modelling to optimise thermal comfort, daylight access, and passive design strategies.  

Committed to knowledge sharing and industry impact, Ruchita simplifies sustainability concepts for diverse stakeholders.  

She is also a strong advocate for female representation in STEM, having piloted a workshop for high school girls to explore careers in sustainability. 

Through collaboration and innovation, Ruchita is shaping a more sustainable and equitable built environment.