About Avandra
Avandra Founding Directors Mary Haverland and Nicole Vukic
Introducing Avandra
Avandra is a transport planning consultancy dedicated to delivering innovative and sustainable solutions.
Avandra is committed to addressing the complex dynamics of transport planning, ensuring that projects are not only efficient and cost-effective but also enhance community connectivity and environmental sustainability. Through a collaborative approach, our firm fosters partnerships that harness technological advancements and best practices, ultimately contributing to smarter and more resilient transport systems across Australia.
With a team of experienced professionals, Avandra combines cutting-edge research with practical expertise to provide clients in both the public and private sectors with insights that drive effective decision-making.
“Change is the one constant that we can rely on in our work, and it’s our pleasure to help our clients look towards, plan for and embrace the future.”
Read more about what we value
Our People
Mary Haverland
Founding Director
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Mary is a seasoned consulting executive with over 30 years of experience in transport planning and advisory services across Australia, the UK, and internationally. With qualifications in town planning and civil engineering, she combines technical expertise with strategic insight to lead complex, future-focused projects across both public and private sectors.
A respected industry voice, Mary speaks regularly at conferences and industry events on future mobility, infrastructure investment, and place-based planning. She is skilled in navigating stakeholder priorities and clearly communicating trade-offs and outcomes. Passionate about mentoring emerging engineers and planners, she shares her knowledge to support the next generation of industry leaders.
Mary lives and works from a passive, sustainable home she built in a thriving rural Tasmanian community, reflecting her commitment to thoughtful design. Her personal interests include local travel with her family, politics, current affairs, theatre and enjoying time in great pubs.
Nicole Vukic
Founding Director
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Nicole is a Transport Planner and Traffic Engineer with over 25 years of experience. As a leader in transport planning and advisory, she has successfully guided businesses and teams, driving growth and transformation under her leadership.
Her expertise spans the entire project life cycle, from strategic planning to design, verification, and operational implementation of transport infrastructure. Passionate about city-shaping projects, Nicole is dedicated to creating vibrant, sustainable places while enhancing mobility and connectivity.
Having been inspired by exceptional mentors and sponsors throughout her career, Nicole is deeply committed to talent development and industry growth. She takes pride in cultivating high-performing teams, sharing her insights, and mentoring professionals to set meaningful goals and accelerate their careers.
Nicole lives in Sydney’s Inner West in one of the first models of a ‘Garden Suburb’, surrounded by greenery with great transport access to employment opportunities. At home, she loves cooking for people and sharing a nice drink. Otherwise, she is often out enjoying live music or in a cosy old pub.
Cindy Williams
Director Growth and Strategy
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Cindy is a strategic transport and land use planning specialist with over 22 years’ experience delivering integrated outcomes across metropolitan and regional Australia. As a senior leader, she brings strong expertise in aligning transport networks, land use and infrastructure to support sustainable growth and resilient communities.
Her experience includes multi-modal transport strategies, Movement and Place frameworks, transport impact assessments, and growth area planning. Cindy is recognised for leading multidisciplinary teams—across planning, modelling, engineering, design and environmental disciplines—to deliver evidence-based strategies and practical implementation.
A skilled project director, she translates technical analysis into real-world outcomes that unlock development potential and guide investment. She is known for strong client relationships, a collaborative approach and a solution-focused mindset.
With a commercial focus, Cindy ensures effective scope, risk and value management while fostering strategic partnerships. She is passionate about creating connected, liveable places and enjoys exploring new destinations on foot or by bike.
Tony Fransos
Technical Advisor Transport Planning
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Tony Fransos is a Transport Planner with 48 years' experience delivering demand forecasting, modelling and planning advice for major infrastructure projects across every state in Australia, as well as in the UK, South Africa, India and Sri Lanka. His work spans the full life-cycle of transport projects — from strategic business cases and patronage forecasting through to detailed design advice and independent technical review.
Tony has led the technical progress of transport planning on some of Australia's most significant infrastructure projects, including the pedestrian modelling for Sydney's Central Precinct Renewal — the largest exercise of its kind undertaken in Australia — and the demand forecasting behind major rail, metro and road projects such as the Melbourne Airport Rail Link, the F6 extension, and the Western Harbour Crossing. He has a particular interest in the treatment of risk and uncertainty in demand forecasting, and in making sure forecasts hold up once a project is actually built — as they did for the Moreton Bay Rail Link, where patronage came in within 5% of business case forecast developed by Tony.
Alongside his transport planning career, Tony holds a degree in Philosophy and writes on the intersection of infrastructure, policy and society. He brings a questioning, sociologically-minded perspective to his work, as comfortable interrogating the assumptions behind a model as he is using one. He is an avid commentator on the issues facing modern society.
Tony brings a drive to have humans at the centre of planning. He is an ardent supporter of our youth and is an enthusiastic advocate for their personal and professional development, as well as for their important place in our future society.
Santi Fracala
Principal Transport Planner and Traffic Engineer
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Santi is a Transport Planner and Traffic Engineer with over 12 years of experience across private consulting and State Government. After nine years in consulting followed by three years in the public sector, she brings valuable perspectives from both sides of the table to her client-focused work.
Her time in government provided deep insight into policy decision-making, the challenges agencies face, and what clients truly need from their consultants. This experience, combined with her consulting background, positions her to deliver genuinely tailored advice that bridges strategy and implementation.
Santi is passionate about the evolution of the transport planning industry as it navigates rapid technological change, evolving community expectations, and the urgent need for sustainable solutions. She is excited to contribute to meaningful projects within an agile team environment where innovation and responsiveness drive real outcomes.
Santi is based in the Hills District in Sydney and enjoys a home renovation project with a paintbrush always at the ready. She also loves good food and wine, and will never say no to a games night.
Brandon Williams
Transport Planner and Traffic Engineer
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Brandon is a Transport Planner with over five years of experience in consultancy. During this time, he has delivered integrated transport planning and traffic engineering solutions across government and private sector projects throughout Australia.
His experience includes major infrastructure, strategic planning and development projects across Australia, where he has supported the delivery of transport impact assessments, movement and place studies, active transport strategies and road network planning. Working across multidisciplinary teams has enabled Brandon to develop a practical and collaborative approach, helping clients balance transport performance with broader community and land use outcomes.
Brandon is passionate about creating sustainable and innovative transport solutions that enhance connectivity, support vibrant communities and leave a positive long-term legacy. As the industry continues to evolve, he is excited by the role transport planning can play in shaping more resilient, accessible and balanced places for future generations.
Based in Inner West Sydney, Brandon enjoys keeping active and absorbing himself in the local community. He frequently visits a bouldering gym, loves going on hikes during downtime and is never opposed to a game of pool at the pub.
Our Values
Connectivity
An ability to connect with ideas, but equally as important, to everyone around us. We see our work as a conduit to building a bright future, one which we are excited to help be a part of.
Being thoughtful
All good work begins with observation. We take the time to deeply understand the challenge at hand, using curiosity and a ‘no question too silly’ approach, enabling us to answer the right questions with great answers.
People-first
From how we build the team around us, to the communities we are planning for, diversity only makes us stronger. By accounting for the experiences of every person, we build places and spaces where humans can thrive.
Adaptability
No matter what you throw at us, we’re ready. Change is the one constant on which we can rely on in our work, and it is our pleasure to help our clients look towards, plan for and embrace the future.
Empowerment
A plan without the tools for traction remain exactly that: plans. The work we deliver is never the end-product, and we go beyond the brief to embed the solutions we have discovered.
Who is Avandra?
Avandra is known as a Goddess of Freedom, Travel, and Adventure.
Also known as “she who creates the path” or the "change bringer", Avandra champions freedom, travel, trade, and adventure across the lands. She guides her followers by trust and encourages them to venture into the unknown.
Why do we need Avandra in our world?
With a market in transition, Avandra has the ability and experience to effectively deliver advisory and planning services, leveraging processes, systems and networks to support delivery. With transport needs rapidly evolving in our world, now is the time when clients and communities need Avandra.