For many young professionals, the water sector does not begin as a grand plan. It begins with a first role, a good team and a few chances to meet people who make the industry feel less distant.
Valentina Zheng, a digital designer at Mott MacDonald, found that path starting during the COVID pandemic, when a role in water opened soon after graduation. Today, Zheng works on Mott MacDonald’s Next Generation for Delivery (NG4D) program, supporting Urban Utilities across South East Queensland with reticulation services.
The Australian Water Association’s Young Water Professionals program gave her a way into the wider sector.
“I was pretty certain that this is my passion, this is my drive in my career, pretty early on within my career,” Zheng said. “A lot of it was actually thanks to AWA.”
That early exposure came through sundowners, industry events and conversations with other water professionals. Over time, the network became an anchor.
“Once you’ve got friends, and you know people that you’re acquainted with in the industry, it kind of anchors you,” she said. “You start to feel like, ‘Oh, I’m part of this industry, and I don’t want to move anywhere anymore.’”
Zheng’s sense of belonging now underpins his role as chair of the planning group for the 2026 AWA/IWA Young Water Professionals Conference and Ball.
The Melbourne event’s theme, “From Vision to Action,” challenges Zheng and her team to ensure the conference is practical, valuable, and directly linked to the decisions young water professionals are actively influencing.
How did Valentina Zheng find her place in Australia’s water sector?
Zheng’s involvement with the YWP program grew from the same networks that helped her settle into the sector. She began attending AWA events through encouragement from colleagues, then joined the AWA mentorship program. Her mentor, Justin Simonis, helped her see volunteering as a way to contribute, not only a way to build a career.
“I saw his passion,” Zheng said. “I saw how much he cannot just get out from volunteering, but also how much he can contribute to the industry. I was very inspired.”
The advice she received was simple: start somewhere. In Zheng’s case, that meant applying for the AWA YWP committee.
“I pushed hard. I talked to everyone that I knew who was on the AWA committee to vote for me, and I made it in,” she said.
Attending events can introduce people to the sector, but volunteering builds a different kind of connection.
“You really only build relationships, meaningful relationships, when you go through that camaraderie with someone,” Zheng said.
That has meant planning events, sharing responsibility and working with peers toward a common outcome. It has also opened the door to reviewing Ozwater papers, assisting conference chairs and taking part in what she described as “adult table conversations”.
Those experiences have helped build her knowledge of the sector. They have also made the industry feel more accessible.
- Want more information on what Inside Water is up to? Sign up for our weekly email, landing in inboxes with the latest news.
- Do you want the magazine delivered to your letterbox? Sign up here to subscribe.
How will the 2026 YWP Conference and Ball turn vision into action?
The YWP Conference and Ball is of national scope, but its organising model is grounded in young-professional leadership.
The taskforce brings together volunteers from different states to plan an event that can stand apart from larger industry conferences while still treating young professionals as serious contributors.
Zheng became chair after raising her hand during the planning process.
“I said, ‘I’m happy to chair this planning task force, this planning group,’” she said.
The group wanted the conference to show what young water professionals can do when they have ownership of the agenda. That intent sits behind the theme.
“We realised everyone was leaning towards the idea that the industry has been having a lot of conversations,” Zheng said. “We’ve been having conferences, but after the conference, everyone just goes home and forgets about everything, and nothing really happens.”
That observation led the taskforce to focus on implementation. The question became how to turn conference discussion into something delegates could use when they returned to work.
“People can share their visions all the time, but how do we really bring them into concrete actions that can make a real change?” Zheng said.
The planning group for the 2026 program has placed strong emphasis on digital innovation, artificial intelligence, workforce diversity and emerging leadership. Zheng’s own digital background shaped some of that discussion.
“Digital is a great starting point,” she said. “It’s a great tool to transform your ideas into reality.”
The workforce stream also reflects questions that many young professionals are already asking. These include how organisations support generational diversity, create inclusive teams, and make space for people at different career stages.
Those conversations are not abstract. They are part of how the water sector can keep knowledge moving between generations while giving new professionals room to contribute.
Why do young water professionals need a seat at the table?
For Zheng, the conference also aims to shift the industry’s perception of young water professionals.
“You have to expose the next generation to decision making, to just give them a seat at the table to observe, to participate, to even say the wrong things, so that they understand why it’s wrong,” Zheng said.
That is where the emerging leadership focus becomes practical. Panel discussions will give delegates access to lessons from senior water leaders.
Paper selection has also been used to ensure the program conveys the right messages on climate resilience, digital transformation, community engagement, and workforce change.
Zheng said a YWP conference creates a different atmosphere from larger events because the proportion of young water professionals is higher and the topics are more relatable.
“They know the majority of the people around them are at a similar experience level as themselves,” she said. “They’re probably more open to start conversations.”
That matters for confidence. A delegate who might feel hesitant in a large industry room may be more willing to ask questions, test ideas, and start conversations when the event is designed with young professionals in mind.
Zheng hopes delegates leave Melbourne with a stronger sense of agency.
“You might be young, you might not be at the top tier in your organisation at the moment, but we have just as much, if not more, power to push for changes and to push for actions,” she said.
As the chair of the taskforce, success will depend on whether delegates return to their workplaces with ideas they feel able to share and the confidence to act on them.
“We want delegates to return to their workplaces, saying ‘I attended this conference, I learned heaps, and guess what, you were not there, and I can share this with you,’” Zheng said. “They should want to be able to make some real changes.”
For more information, visit awa.asn.au/young-water-professionals
