Describe your journey to AMCL.
My introduction to AMCL coincided with the pivoting of the Port of Melbourne towards ISO certification. While the Port had been working to improve its asset management practices for some time, the requirement for formal certification was included as an assurance measure when the Port was leased to private interests and vastly accelerated the asset management program, leading me to engaging with AMCL as they supported the formalization and implementation of the Port’s Integrated Management System. Working with AMCL on the framework gave me a much wider view into to the world of asset management, and when the opportunity arose to support the New York Office I was thrilled to step into that role. As someone who grew up moving around the world as a child due to my father’s job, continuing that tradition and going overseas to further my own experiences was a perfect fit.
What project(s) are you currently working on?
Since 2019, I’ve been working with the Federal Monitor appointed for the New York City Housing Authority following systematic failures to manage its property portfolio and provide safe and sanitary housing to residents. The monitorship has been active for some time, with a new monitor appointed in early 2024, and working with a client over such a long period has meant that as a team we have developed a long-term relationship and been able to work closely with NYCHA and the Monitors to develop and implement long term initiatives for change, which has been truly rewarding. In particular being involved in the full lifecycle of change, from involvement in the development of the Organizational Plan, the blueprint for NYHCA’s organizational transformation, providing recommendations as to its suitability to the Monitor, and then monitoring NYCHA’s progress against its blueprint as part of a collaborative effort to support their transition, has given me a unique opportunity to see the impact of organizational improvements on the lived experience of NYCHA residents.
The scale of NYCHA’s transformation has required a broad range of services from AMCL to be coordinated to best support its ongoing improvement, with significant data analytics and visualization support being provided alongside tactical and strategic planning and change management.
What challenges do you see facing when it comes to managing their assets?
The most significant challenge I see facing many infrastructure providers managing their assets is the size and scale of issues they have to address across their portfolios. NYCHA is the largest Public Housing Authority in the United States, if Brooklyn Borough were separated as an independent entity it would be the second largest authority in the US behind the rest of NYCHA, but with that scale of assets is a commensurate scale of problems that require resources to address. With significant disinvestment across infrastructure and aging assets, prioritization of those problems, all of which materially impact end users at a most fundamental level in their day to day lives, is a never ending quagmire. Is it more important to abate lead in an apartment with a child under six, fix a leak that is causing chronic mold, provide stable heat in a New York winter, or responding to Procurement violations that led to dozens of charges against staff? The need to prioritize limited resources is a challenge that impacts every level of a large infrastructure manager, and it takes significant internal effort to transform the organization to address both the short- and long-term need in a timely manner while continuing to deliver services.
How are you supporting clients with and what are the most common pitfalls you see?
Sustainable and effective organizational transformation takes time and consideration. Especially with internal and external pressures, it can be challenging for organizations to give enough weight to medium- and long-term plans, leading to them existing in a state of continual churn to meet the immediate need. As part of the Monitor team, my role has been to support NYCHA’s efforts to both address the low hanging fruit while appropriately planning for sustainable change that has measurable improvement for their residents, which has involved a significant upskilling of NYCHA’s capabilities across benefits identification and analysis, performance tracking, and program management. At times, this has meant holding NYCHA to account publicly; at others, we have supported their efforts by supplementing directly with resources as well as expertise.
What is something fun and/or interesting about you that your colleagues may not know?
I love to travel, and had lived on 4 continents before I was 13.