Women in Rail Yorkshire Regional Group

Isobel is a Major Projects Director at AECOM, with 18 years of programme leadership experience (8 years in the Rail sector) in a wide variety of industries leading major infrastructure investment and delivery programmes. She has delivered major projects and programmes in multiple sectors including Space Camera Systems, Defence, Microwave Technology, Financial Services and Rail.

Isobel is passionate about supporting and empowering women in the industry. She feels compelled to give back to help women in rail to progress, to feel like they are not alone in battling gender bias and to give them the skills and support they need. She wants the legacy she leaves behind to be a more diverse and accepting industry because of the events held and the conversations had in support of Women in Rail.

Bethany is a Commercial Apprentice at Network Rail, working on the transformative Transpennine Route Upgrade. Since starting her apprenticeship in September 2022, she has completed several placements across the programme, including in Commercial Management, Procurement, and Contract Management. Currently part of the Contract Management Team for TRU East and West, Bethany supports the successful delivery of major contracts—most notably the award of Network Rail’s largest contract to date, W34, valued at approximately £2 billion.

An active advocate for inclusion and opportunity, Bethany joined the Women in Rail Yorkshire and North East Committee in Summer 2024 and stepped into the Co-Chair role in April 2025. She is passionate about promoting apprenticeships and STEM careers to young people, especially women and girls, helping to break barriers in a traditionally male-dominated industry. Through her involvement in social value initiatives, Bethany is committed to reaching and inspiring the next generation of rail professionals, driving positive change and inclusion across the sector.

Anna is an Engagement and Diversity Manager at Northern Trains and her responsibility is to look after EDI agenda in the business. She is also in the leadership team for Rail Unites for Inclusion which brings together all EDI leads, Employee Network Group chairs and people who are passionate about diversity across the rail industry. Before joining Northern Anna has worked in several sectors including banking, charity, and manufacturing.

Anna is originally from Estonia and have moved to UK almost 14 years ago to do her master studies in Human Resource Management. She is passionate about diversity and inclusion, advocate for change and believes that teamwork and collaboration is the key to success.

Anna is delighted to work with amazing women in Yorkshire steering group to promote and support more colleagues across the region.

Sarah joined Network Rail in 2013 and is currently the North & East Route Business Manager. Having joined the management graduate scheme, she has held a variety of roles across managed stations, human resources and programme management.

A STEM ambassador since 2014 and active member of Women in Rail Yorkshire since 2018, Sarah is passionate about promoting the rail industry as a career of choice for young people.

Sarah is currently on a planned leave – May 2025

Caroline is the Accessibility Delivery Manager for the long-distance train operator LNER. In this role Caroline delivers projects to improve accessibility and integrated travel on the East Coast Mainline to enable more people to travel by train. Before starting this role in July 2022, Caroline worked in Corporate Partnerships at the National Railway Museum and before that was the Customer Loyalty Lead at LNER.

Prior to joining the rail industry Caroline worked in the landscaping and construction industries. Her experience in a range of male-dominated industries made her want to do more to support women in rail, particularly ensuring women have the confidence, pathways, mentors and role models in place to attain senior leadership roles.

Clare is an Engineering Geologist with over twenty years’ experience working primarily on railway embankments and cuttings.  She spent nearly ten years working as a designer with Donaldson Associates Ltd. in Glasgow and York followed by a move to Network Rail’s Geotechnical Route Asset Management team based in York.  As the Route Engineer (Geotechnics) for North & East and East Coast Routes, Clare leads a team of twenty Geotechnical Staff who together manage an asset portfolio of c.36,000 individual earthworks assets from the examinations, evaluations and assessments through to maintenance, refurbishments and renewals.

Helen Townend, Head of Inclusion and Social Value at Amey Consulting, has thirty years’ experience in the field of geotechnical engineering working on projects in the UK, Europe, Asia and Australia. A Chartered Geologist since 1999, Helen has focused her career in the Transport Sector, with operational experience in a wide range of infrastructure renewal projects. Helen has been a member of the Yorkshire Committee since 2017, when she also became Lead for Inclusion and Inclusive Design at Amey Consulting. Championing inclusive practices within Amey service provision and Amey culture.

Emily is an Assistant Project Manager at Linbrooke Services Limited, working on multi-disciplinary projects across Network Rail’s Eastern, North West and Central Regions. Starting in July 2021, Emily is relatively new to the rail industry and able to bring new ideas and learning from previous roles which include the Tesco Management Graduate Scheme and working with a UK charity providing grants to low-income families.

Emily has a keen interest in bringing people together, extolling the benefits of creating diverse teams at every opportunity. She is delighted to be part of Women in Rail Yorkshire region and looking forward to working collaboratively with colleagues from across the industry.