When Collingwood-based civil engineer Heather McGinnity watches news coverage of climate disasters, she sees more than just headlines – she sees preventable devastation. In early 2025, as ferocious wildfires caused an unprecedented $150 billion in losses around Los Angeles, she couldn't help but think of a rejected $18 billion climate resilience plan that might have mitigated such destruction. For Heather, it was yet another sign that her mission to revolutionize infrastructure planning couldn't wait.

Launching Amethyst Infrastructure Management (AIM) in 2024, she's working to help communities build infrastructure that can withstand tomorrow's climate challenges.

The stakes are clear: floods are now Canada's costliest climate disasters, averaging roughly $1 billion in damages each year, while the wildfire season of 2023 shattered records with 16.5 million hectares burned. For Heather, these aren't just statistics – they're a mandate to revolutionize how we plan and build our communities.

From Nature-Loving Kid to Infrastructure Insider

Long before launching her own firm in Collingwood, Heather was a 12-year-old who knew exactly what she wanted to be. That early clarity came partly from an aunt who worked in chemical engineering—one of the few women in the field at the time—and partly from her deep connection to the natural world.

“I was the kid who loved animals, trees, and being out in nature,” she says. Combine that with a mind for math and science, and it was a straight line to the University of Waterloo’s environmental engineering program.

Her time at Waterloo only confirmed her calling. Through six co-op placements, she tested drinking water, helped manage contaminated sites, and even drove one of Canada’s earliest hybrid cars—long before sustainability was a buzzword. By graduation, she had job offers waiting.

Heather dove into environmental consulting and eventually found herself managing entire municipal systems. She was suddenly overseeing everything from drinking water and wastewater operations to capital planning—responsibilities meant for a multiplepeople. “I was never bored,” she laughs. But the pressure was relentless. From juggling grant applications to handling emergency incidents (including a very public sewage spill nicknamed “the big stink” in Collingwood), Heather began to feel the personal cost. 

Pandemic Pressure, Climate Wake-Up, and a Bold New Start

When the world shut down in 2020, Heather was just starting at the helm of Collingwood’s water and wastewater services—juggling critical infrastructure needs and operation teams from her laptop. Zoom calls replaced site visits, anxious staff looked to her for stability, and the town faced a massive water capacity issue that put development on pause. “It was an interesting time,” she says, with a knowing smile.

Supply chain delays and rising costs were threatening a key water treatment plant expansion. But Heather pushed through, advocating for more than just pipes and pumps. She fought for community-driven priorities—green space, Indigenous consultation, even gender neutral change rooms. “We were building for 50 years from now,” she says.

This forward-thinking approach wasn't new for Heather. In her previous role in Orangeville, she had secured a federal grant for a climate adaptation coordinator—a position few municipalities even considered necessary at the time. While others focused solely on reducing emissions, she was already planning for climate impacts: "What happens when the storm hits? How do we protect our communities?"

In her view, adaptation isn’t optional. Flash floods in places like Toronto and Montreal now routinely overwhelm systems that weren’t built for today’s climate, let alone tomorrow’s. “Flood lines are changing,” she warns. And while solutions like basement apartments may address housing needs, they can also put more people in harm’s way if stormwater systems can’t keep up. It’s this big-picture thinking—combining policy, planning, and engineering—that Heather believes is missing in how we approach public infrastructure.

After navigating Collingwood through the early pandemic, she took a short break at a friend’s consulting firm. It gave her the clarity she needed: she didn’t want back in. She wanted to do things differently—to help municipalities from the outside, without the red tape.

In 2024, she launched Amethyst Infrastructure Management (AIM), her Collingwood-based consulting firm dedicated to helping communities plan for the future. Through AIM, she partners with municipalities to navigate the intersecting challenges of aging infrastructure, climate risk, and rapid growth. Her role is part technical expert, part strategic guide—offering fresh thinking that blends sustainability with function.

“AIM is about long-term thinking,” Heather says. “We make sure today’s decisions won’t leave tomorrow’s communities vulnerable.”

The name Amethyst isn’t just branding. It’s her birthstone—one she used to collect on childhood camping trips—and it symbolizes clarity and balance. “That’s exactly what we need in infrastructure planning right now,” she says. In a field often resistant to change, Heather brings a rare combination of heart and systems-thinking—reimagining how we build not just for today, but for the generations that follow.

Inspired to Lead Change

Talking to Heather McGinnity, it’s clear that engineering is far more than a job to her – it’s a personal mission to leave the world better prepared. After two decades in the trenches of public infrastructure, she recognizes that technical fixes alone aren’t enough; policy, funding, and community engagement are equally critical pieces of the puzzle. Heather’s approach blends all these, informed by her unique vantage point as both an engineer and a citizen who cherishes the natural world. 

She jokes that she finds joy in things other engineers might find mundane – “it often surprises people that I find asset management exciting,” she writes, describing the thrill of turning scattered data into a clear roadmap. 

But what truly drives her is the human side of infrastructure: the knowledge that behind every bridge or water plant are people and ecosystems depending on smart decisions. Climate change, as Heather sees it, has made her work more urgent and more meaningful. “We’re at a turning point in our industry,” she says, noting that most people now recognize “we need to build differently”. She is determined to push that evolution forward, to ensure resilience isn’t just a buzzword but a standard practice.

On a personal level, Heather remains grounded and energized by the very passions that set her on this path. She’s still that girl who loves the outdoors – an avid curler since age 12 and a cross-country skier who finds peace gliding through snowy forests. Making time for fitness and friends is non-negotiable, she says, because it “helps me show up as my best self” at work. Balancing personal well-being with professional ambition is something Heather had to learn the hard way, but she now passes that wisdom to younger colleagues. By prioritizing mental health and setting boundaries, she has proven that one can lead huge projects without sacrificing oneself – a quietly radical notion in the always-on engineering culture.

As Heather builds her company, she isn’t doing it alone. In fact, one of her inspirations came from the entrepreneurial community in Collingwood itself. After moving to this vibrant town on Georgian Bay, Heather was struck by how many people were launching passion-driven businesses. “All the different people I’ve connected with in this community gave me the confidence [to go out on my own],” she says gratefully. The local support system, including the Collingwood Foundry, has been a game-changer. “The biggest concern for me [after leaving the corporate world] was being isolated as an independent consultant,” Heather admits. She had always thrived in team environments and wondered how she’d manage solo. But coworking at the Foundry put those fears to rest: “Foundry has been great… I don’t feel like I’m doing it alone,” she says, reflecting on the new friendships and collaborations that fill her day. Surrounded by fellow innovators, Heather is more motivated than ever to succeed – and to help others succeed alongside her.

In Heather’s story, there’s a powerful message of hope: the challenges of climate change and aging infrastructure are not insurmountable. With tenacity, expertise, and empathy, Heather is changing the status quo one project at a time. She’s showing Canada that infrastructure isn’t just about pouring concrete or fixing pipes – it’s about protecting communities for generations to come. And as she leads by example, it’s easy to imagine a future where many more will follow in her footsteps, building on the resilient foundation she’s helping to lay.