Who we are

I have worked with South Coast NRM since June 2007 and have been Operations Manager for the past five years.

Whilst with the organisation, I have also filled the roles of regional water facilitator, area leader west, area leader east and invasive species coordinator.

My focus is on developing and refining the organisation’s teams and the processes needed to achieve the strategic planning, program development, fund acquisition and project management requirements essential for South Coast NRM to meet the aspirations, goals and outcomes set out in its regional strategy – Southern Prospects 2019 – 2024.

I supervise a core operations team comprising of three program leaders who manage our Land, Water, Biodiversity, Coastal and Marine, Regional Capacity and Cultural Heritage themes.

I also oversee a broader operations team comprising project officers based in Albany and Esperance.

I joined the South Coast NRM team as the Chief Operations Officer in December 2020. With the Pilbara’s red dirt between my toes as a young child, a love and appreciation of nature was fostered in me at a young age meaning the values I hold align very well with those of South Coast NRM and the regional strategy, Southern Prospects.

I have lived and worked on the South Coast for over 20 years where my life is centred around my family and our farming businesses. Prior to my appointment, I worked as a consultant providing a range of facilitation, management and governance services, predominantly with non-profit organisations in the natural resource management sector.

My focus at South Coast NRM is to provide leadership in the operations division which is comprised of the Land & Water, Healthy Environments and Sustainable Communities teams, as well as the monitoring and evaluation and communication operations. I provide strategic advice on logistical and operational matters, as well as overseeing operations and at a contract and corporate level.  This involves ensuring existing and new contracts are delivered to a high standard, as well as overseeing the process of acquiring investment to support operations across the region. Collaboration and partnerships across the region are a focus; an aspect of the role that I am passionate about.

I joined South Coast NRM in 2019 in a role focusing on projects that aim to improve the conservation status of threatened species and communities in the South Coast region. I work with subregional groups and agencies to ensure our target outcomes are achieved, as well as implementing some on-ground monitoring for our target species.

Prior to joining South Coast NRM, I spent several years working on mammal reintroductions in South Australia’s arid zone, with species such as chuditch, burrowing bettongs, bilbies and brushtail possums. I was awarded my PhD in 2019.

My role  is to oversee the Sustainable Communities Program for South Coast NRM, which includes developing new projects for the region, seeking investment and managing existing projects to deliver on the regional capacity and cultural heritage outcomes.

As part of the cultural team, I enjoy working with the Aboriginal community to care and reconnect to country plus educating the wider community about the importance of cultural heritage on our beautiful south coast region.

I have been working at South Coast NRM since November 2009 and prior to July 2015 I was the program leader for both Cultural Heritage and Regional Capacity themes.

I have a background in both Environmental Science and Education. Prior to joining the team at South Coast NRM I worked for the Department of Water supporting community involvement and education in waterways protection, consulted in facilitation and coordinating cultural awareness and taught in primary schools across the state for 10 years.

I am very passionate about involving and educating our community in sustainability and cultural heritage.

I started working at South Coast NRM in June 2009 initially as administration officer, providing support to the both the contracts team and the admin/finance team.
After about 18 months my role changed to contracts management officer and my position now sits within the Business Services team.
I oversee the running of the contracts office which includes preparing new contracts and variations, coordinating reporting, managing contract closures and assisting with procurement. Human Resources administration is also an important part of my role as well as providing general support to our team.
Throughout the time I have been working at South Coast NRM, I have learnt a lot in regards to environmental issues and threats, but the highlight for me is working as part of a team of passionate people striving to protect our environment for the benefit of future generations.