Isolde is Construction Manager for Tunnels on the Suburban Rail Loop project between Cheltenham and Glen Waverley and will be leading the world’s first all-women crew. She began her career in the civil construction industry over 25 years ago and has worked around the globe in the Netherlands, Turkey and more recently in Australia. Her interest in construction and engineering came about through her hobby of surfing and learning about the design of surfboards. This then prompted her interest in technical design.

Isolde obtained her Master of Science Civil Engineering, Underground Construction at the Delft University of Technology. Her first role out of university was working on what was considered the largest tunnel at the time - the Groene Hart Tunnel; she was also TBM pilot at this project making her the first female TBM pilot in the world.

While in Australia, Isolde has set up a precast factory to manufacture tunnel segments in Brisbane and worked on North East Link project most recently. Isolde is a strong supporter of attracting more women into the construction industry and will lead the construction and operation of the SRL East twin tunnels between Cheltenham and Glen Waverley, and all the tunnelling crews, including the world’s first all-women tunnel boring machine crew.