Mrs Whittem's expertise is in post-occupancy of educational building spaces. Prior to pursuing architectural qualifications, Mrs Whittem had an extensive career as a Chartered Accountant in commerce, local government and public practice.

Recently Mrs Whittem has been employed by Deakin University as a Casual Academic for Tutoring, Marking and as a Research Assistant.

Mrs Whittem has also consulted for the Geelong City Council and Ballarat City Council for preparation of building conversion guides.