Speakers
Here are our speakers for the 2022 Australian Environmental Philanthropy Conference.
Adrian Appo OAM
Yajilarra Trust
Adrian Appo is a Gooreng Gooreng man from South East Queensland. He joined Yajilarra Trust in 2020 as the First Nations lead to develop and implement a First Nation investment strategy.
Adrian is currently a Director of The Salvation Army – Australian Territory; Indigenous Advisory Committee Member for Equity Trustees; Indigenous Advisory Committee Member for Westpac; Australian Advisory Committee Member for Social Enterprise World Forum 2022 and Indigenous Advisory Committee Member for Social Enterprise World Forum 2022.
Adrian Appo OAM
Adrian will open the conference with an Acknowledgement of Country on Tuesday 22 March at 11.30am AEDT.
Anjali Sharma
Class Action 4 Climate
Anjali Sharma is the lead litigant of Sharma vs Environment Minister, a class action which established that the environment minister owes young people a duty of care to protect them from the harms of climate change. She is extremely passionate about climate justice.
Anjali Sharma
Anjali will join our Melbourne dinner at the Melbourne Museum for a panel discussion on Wednesday 23 March.
Brendan Wintle
Professor of Conservation Ecology at the University of Melbourne
Brendan Wintle is Professor of Conservation Ecology at the University of Melbourne and for past six years Director of Australia’s Threatened Species Recovery Research Hub. He develops quantitative and economic methods to support conservation decision-making and policy. He co-chaired the UN IPBES chapter on biodiversity decision support, teaches Applied Ecology, Global Environmental Change, and Environmental Risk Assessment, and currently serves on the Zoos Victoria Board.
Brendan Wintle
Brendan publishes on monitoring design, cost-efficient conservation spending, actions for preventing extinction, and species loss under climate change. He has held numerous ARC Fellowships, including an ARC Future Fellowship and significant grants including as theme leader of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions. He harbors strange obsessions with greater gliders, playing football with a round ball, tigers (AFL variety) and spider orchids.
Brendan will speak at the Megatrends deep dive: Nature virtual event on Thursday 24 March at 11.30am to 1.00pm AEDT.
Cassandra Goldie
CEO of the Australian Council of Social Service
Cassandra Goldie is CEO of the Australian Council of Social Service and Adjunct Professor with University of New South Wales. With public policy expertise in economic, social and environmental issues, civil society, social justice and human rights, Cassandra has represented the interests of people who are disadvantaged, and civil society generally, in major national and international processes as well as in grassroots communities.
Dr Goldie
Prior to joining the Australian Council of Social Service, Cassandra held senior roles in both the not-for-profit and public sectors, including with the Australian Human Rights Commission, Darwin Community Legal Service and Senior Executive with Legal Aid in Western Australia.
Cassandra has a PhD from UNSW Sydney and a Masters of Law from University College London. She is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and serves on the UNSW Law Advisory Committee, the Australian Climate Roundtable and the Energy Charter Independent Accountability Panel. Cassandra is Co-Chair of the ACOSS and UNSW Sydney Poverty and Inequality Partnership and a member of Chief Executive Women.
Cassandra has been recognised as one of the Inaugural Westpac Australian Financial Review 100 Women of Influence. She has been voted one of the Impact 25 Most Influential People in the Social Economy, most recently in 2021. In 2018, Cassandra was recognised as one of Australia’s top 50 Outstanding LGBTI Executives by Deloitte and, in 2021, she received the 2021 UNSW Alumni Award for Social Impact and Service.
Cassandra will speak at our Megatrends deep dive: Climate virtual event on Wednesday 23 March at 11.30am to 1.00pm AEDT.
Charlotte Pera
Vice President for Strategy and Programs at the Bezos Earth Fund
Charlotte Pera is Vice President for Strategy and Programs at the Bezos Earth Fund and works closely with President and CEO Andrew Steer to build and lead the growing organisation. Before joining the Earth Fund, Charlotte served for more than eight years as President and CEO of the ClimateWorks Foundation, a leading philanthropic organisation that works globally to advance climate solutions. Charlotte previously held leadership roles with the Energy Foundation and engineering consulting firm Acurex Environnmental. She serves on a variety of boards and steering committees and holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in mechanical engineering from Stanford University.
Charlotte Pera
Charlotte will speak at the conference opening Megatrends: Environmental Philanthropy on Tuesday 22 March at 11.30am to 1.00pm AEDT.
Denis Rose
Chair of Country Needs People
Denis Rose is a Gunditjmara traditional owner from South West Victoria, Australia and has had a long involvement in natural and cultural heritage management. He is employed at Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation as a Program Manager and manages the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape.
The Budj Bim Cultural Landscape in South West Victoria includes evidence of one of the world’s largest and oldest aquaculture systems and was recently inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
Denis Rose
In the mid 1990s, Denis was involved in the establishment of the nationally and internationally recognised Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) program. This program has now voluntarily dedicated more than 67 million hectares of Indigenous owned and managed lands as Protected Areas throughout Australia. IPAs are recognised as part of the National Reserve System, protecting the nation’s biodiversity for the benefit of all Australians.
Denis is Chair of the recently established Country Needs People company.
Brendan will speak at the Megatrends deep dive: Nature virtual event on Thursday 24 March at 11.30am to 1.00pm AEDT.
Harry Burkitt
General Manager, Colong Foundation for Wilderness
Harry is the Colong Foundation for Wilderness General Manager, running a multi-faceted corporate and political campaign against the proposed raising of the Warragamba Dam wall which would flood and permanently destroy extensive areas of the World Heritage Listed Blue Mountains National Park.
Harry Burkitt
The Colong Foundation is Australia’s longest serving advocate for wilderness, having formed in 1968 to protect the southern Blue Mountains. Harry and his Board are now taking the cause of landscape-scale wilderness protection to a national level, re-aligning the organisation’s mission under the new name of ‘Wilderness Australia’, coinciding with his organisation launching a new national campaign to end native forest logging.
Harry will join our Sydney dinner at the The Calyx, Royal Sydney Botanical Garden on Tuesday 22 March.
Helene Desanlis
Associate Director, ClimateWorks Global Intelligence
Helene Desanlis is an Associate Director for ClimateWorks’ Global Intelligence team. She leads the development and ongoing management of an integrated landscape of philanthropic datasets and designs products and services deemed high-priority as part of ClimateWorks’ Global Intelligence Function in support of climate mitigation strategies.
Helene Desanlis
Previously, Helene was the Senior Director of Certification at Fair Trade USA. She led the strategic development and operational implementation of the Fair Trade USA certification system across the Agriculture and Seafood Certification Program, for both trade and producer certifications. She was responsible for ensuring the credibility of the claims and the robustness of the certification program. She has over ten years’ experience across the financial, international trade and international development sectors, working for organisations like HSBC and Kiva. She is the lead author of the funding trends report on ‘Climate change mitigation philanthropy’ published by ClimateWorks in October 2021.
Helene will join our Megatrends deep dive: Climate virtual event Wednesday 23 March at 11.30am to 1.00pm AEDT.
Isabella Wiggs
Director, Wiggs Foundation
Bella is a Director of the Wiggs Foundation and currently works as an Engagement Strategist at Groundswell Giving. Before that, she was Strategy and Operations Director at Coalition for Conservation. She has worked at Social Ventures Australia on campaign design, in financial services, including on strategies for carbon risks and offset approaches in portfolio management, and as a volunteer consultant with NFPs.
Isabella Wiggs
Bella has served as a Fellow for United Nations Academic Impact at the University of Sydney, and sat on the inaugural Climate Action Committee at Mosman Council. She is the Co-Chair of Philanthropy Australia’s New Gen Network, and a Nexus Australia Committee Member. Bella has a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Sydney.
Bella will join our Sydney dinner at the The Calyx, Royal Sydney Botanical Garden on Tuesday 22 March.
Jordan Crook
Nature Conservation Campaigner, Victorian National Parks Association
Jordan’s background in conservation work ranges from the ocean to the tall forest of the Central Highlands. He has done conservation work since he was 13 and has worked with all levels of government to get results for the natural world and wildlife.
Jordan Crook
Jordan will join our Melbourne dinner at the Melbourne Museum for a panel discussion on Wednesday 23 March.
Joshua Gilbert
Indigenous consultant, agriculturalist and innovator
Joshua is a Worimi man, whose family ancestors are recorded as having the first recorded birth in a cave in the Gloucester mountains. His connection to the Worimi nation stems through both his parents, tracing back to the Bugg family.
Josh is a well known climate and environmental advocate. He has been named Australian Geographic’s Young Conservationist of the Year, was a Young Australian of the Year Finalist , created a documentary with Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project, and spoke at TEDxCanberra to share his Aboriginal wisdom.
Joshua Gilbert
Joshua’s work on Traditional Native Foods has helped shaped the industry and provides farmers and Traditional Landholders with opportunities for the future.
He is the current Indigenous Co-Chair of Reconciliation NSW and on the Boards of KU Children’s Services and the Aboriginal Housing Office. He is also the ambassador for Bridging the Gap Foundation and Young Farmers Connect.
In 2021, Josh was announced as the Nature Conservancy Council’s Rising Star and in the inaugural cohort of 50Next.
Joshua will join our Sydney dinner at the The Calyx, Royal Sydney Botanical Garden on Tuesday 22 March.
Lesley Hughes
Distinguished Professor of Biology and Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research Integrity and Development), Macquarie University
Lesley Hughes is Distinguished Professor of Biology and Interim Executive Dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Macquarie University. Her principal research interests have been the impacts of climate change on species and ecosystems and the implications for conservation. She is a former Lead Author in the IPCC’s 4th and 5th Assessment Report, a former federal Climate Commissioner, a member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, and a founding Councillor with the Climate Council of Australia.
Lesley Hughes
Lesley will speak at our Megatrends deep dive: Climate virtual event on Wednesday 23 March at 11.30am to 1.00pm AEDT.
Lillian Myer
The Myer Foundation Sustainability and Environment Committee
Lillian is currently a Senior Strategy Consultant with Monitor Deloitte, having worked in professional services for over three years. Professionally, Lillian has experience across the retail, media, not-for-profit and energy sectors. She has experience in strategy design and delivery for Australia’s largest retailers.
Lillian is passionate about the importance of embedding sustainability into core business operations, and believes corporate Australia has an important role to play in restoring a safe climate. She believes that reframing the sustainability narrative will ensure sustainable business models become a true source of competitive advantage, as opposed to a compliance or regulatory imperative.
Lillian Myer
Personally, Lillian is an experienced Board member, with nearly five years of governance experience across the sustainability, climate change and social justice sectors. As a fresh University graduate in 2018, Lillian joined the Board of Climate for Change, where she served as the Chair of the Strategy Subcommittee for three years. She has served as a Director of the Andyinc Foundation since 2017, a charitable foundation that has made nearly 300 grants – or over $3.7 million – to a range of organisations across social justice, environmental sustainability, and the arts. More recently, she joined The Myer Foundation’s Sustainability and Environment Committee, a grant making committee with a focus on supporting organisations that seek to influence key stakeholders to take action on climate change.
Lillian will join our Melbourne dinner at the Melbourne Museum for a panel discussion on Wednesday 23 March.
Rebecca Gorman
AEGN member, individual funder
Rebecca Gorman is a regenerative farmer and advocate from the NSW South West Slopes near Gundagai. She is a former journalist and a fan of all AEGN collaborations.
Rebecca Gorman
Rebecca will interview Charlotte Pera, Bezos Foundation, at our Conference opening: Megatrends in environmental philanthropy virtual event on Tuesday 22 March at 11.30am to 1.00pm AEDT.
Rebecca Milgrom
Executive Director, Tripple
Bec Milgrom (she/they) is a member of the AEGN and Executive Director of Tripple, a family office and private investment company that seeks to use capital as a force for good. Through a combined effort of ethical investments and grant making, Tripple seeks to create real change in response to our greatest environmental and social challenges. Bec has extensive experience in marketing and strategy in the start-up and not for profit sectors and is a current Board member of the Centre for Australian Progress, a not for profit enabling civil society to win social and environmental progress. And Steward, a crowd-lending platform focused on regenerative farming. Bec has a particular passion for food, farming, social justice and systems change.
Rebecca Milgrom
Bec will MC our Megatrends deep dive: Climate virtual event on Wednesday 23 March at 11.30am to 1.00pm AEDT.
Saul Griffith
Inventor, author, founder and scientist.
Saul is an inventor, author, and founder of multiple companies and nonprofits. He has led projects for agencies including NASA, DARPA, National Science Foundation and more. He has founded and co-founded multiple successful companies, including one acquired by Google, another by Autodesk, and another by a consortium of vehicle manufacturers including Toyota. In 2007 he was awarded a Macarthur Fellowship, the so-called ‘Genius Grant’, for inventions in the service of humanity.
Saul Griffith
Saul will speak at our Megatrends deep dive: Climate virtual event on Wednesday 23 March at 11.30am to 1.00pm AEDT.
Shara Lohrasb
Associate Director of Asset Management, Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Co-Chair of the Nature Working Group at the Responsible Investment Association Australasia.
Shara Lohrasb is an Associate Director within Asset Management at the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, and oversees the management of the organisation’s debt capital markets portfolio of AUD1.3b. She is also the Co-Chair of the Nature Working Group at the Responsible Investment Association Australasia. Shara has almost 20 years experience across the financial sector, including at Westpac, ANZ and Macquarie, as well as several years’ experience actively advocating positive environmental outcomes and managing ESG risk within investments.
Shara Lohrasb
Shara also has a background in science and has contributed toward research in atmospheric and ocean systems. Drawing on her skills and experience she enjoys actively working with not-for-profits which seek to draw attention and action toward conservation and protection of natural resources and biodiversity.
Shara will speak at our Megatrends deep dive: Nature virtual event on Thursday 24 March at 11.30am to 1.00pm AEDT.
Victoria McKenzie-McHarg
Strategic Director of WELA.
Victoria is the Strategic Director of WELA, bringing 15 years of experience as a climate campaign manager to the role. She is the immediate past Chair of the Climate Action Network Australia , and a Steering Committee member of the Forrest Gateway to the Otways project.
Victoria McKenzie-McHarg
Victoria will moderate the panel of speakers at the Melbourne dinner event at Treetops, Melbourne Musuem on Wednesday 23 March at 5.00pm AEDT.