05/03/2019

International Women’s Day – Practice Management

Phillips Smith Conwell is more than just technical staff. Our practice management team supports and enables the architectural studio to do what it does best and includes: Soraya Harris, administrative assistant & receptionist; Faye Holmes, Human Resources; and Eliza Mullins, Document Controller

Soraya is first and foremost the face of PSC, being the first point of contact in the office.  She plays an integral role in the daily running of the office, ensuring all office requisites are ordered, meetings run smoothly, staff are looked after and a myriad of other tasks that may be sprung on her at a moment’s notice.

Faye manages all Human Resource aspects of the firm and has developed policies and guidelines to support these areas but more importantly to grow the sense of community, respect and team at PSC.

As document controller, Eliza works primarily in our Corrections and Healthcare sectors, and is responsible for assisting with the control and issue of documentation across all project phases. Her role ensures the effective flow of documentation between the project team, client and contractors.  It’s a critical role at PSC and Eliza is happy that she can make our architects’ jobs a little less stressful.

We asked each of these wonderful ladies about the women in their lives and how they’ve inspired them, personally and professionally.

Soraya: I’ve had some very strong women to look up to in my life so far, but my Nana ‘Renie’ Irene has always been my greatest inspiration. She was joyous and optimistic, had an independent spirit, respected and loved people with vigour and faced her challenges with strength and resilience. Since I was a child, she inspired me to harness my creativity and I believe my passion for design has been gifted to me from her.

Faye: I have been inspired by a number of amazing women, both professionally & personally. One incredibly strong woman was the director of HR of a global business management firm where I worked previously.  Sue demonstrated that you can be high achieving, strong and tenacious whilst being warm and respectful; a single mother who valued her children, her family and her HR team.  The other is my mother, who built her first home with her own hands, had 5 children and lost one to cancer, gave tirelessly to the community her entire life and continues to contribute enormously at the age of 90.  Bau taught me that recognition doesn’t come in the form of a pay cheque, rather value in terms respect of self and of others; and in a job well done.

Eliza: I’m inspired by any woman who doesn’t let negativity, adversity or downfalls get in their way of success. I’m inspired by my Mum who was a primary school teacher for her entire working life and was passionate about giving kids the best start to life. I think the importance of teachers is often overlooked, but they are the people who shape us. A few of my own teachers come to mind, in particular my high school French teacher. She was passionate and inspiring and taught for the love of teaching, instilling in us the idea that the world is an amazing place and we can do whatever we want to do, go wherever we want to go and become who we want to become. She was intelligent, brave and had lived a jam-packed life – she always had some crazy story to tell us.