Green Cross Australia runs a hub-and-spoke model. This means a
small hub of expert Directors and community, corporate, research
and business partners work with contractors and volunteers to
deliver digital engagement platforms which help people adapt to our
changing climate.
We are empowering a resilient Australia by catalysing and
sharing postive responses that mitigate climate risk at the same
time as building our adaptive capacity.
Green Cross Australia currently runs six award-winning digital
platforms. These address audiences ranging from primary school
students, to disaster affected communities, through to communities
adapting to the gradual impacts of climate change. These platform
projects are our spokes.
Together, our network has reached over 520,000
Australians and others around the world through
international award winning, rich media journeys. Learn about our
people here and if you are inspired to get involved, please contact
us.
Special thanks also goes to the wonderful group of
University interns and volunteers who have supported our work over
the years, and to the many experts who have guided our projects
through Steering Committees along the way.
Mara BúnCEO
Mara Bún began her career as a Financial Analyst with the
international investment bank Morgan Stanley, spending five years
in their New York and San Francisco practices where she specialized
in high technology corporate finance. In 1989 she joined a World
Bank Nepali earthquake reconstruction project in Kathmandu, then
moved to Australia embracing leadership roles with Greenpeace
Australia and CHOICE in the 1990s.
Mara returned to investment banking as Senior Internet Equities
Analyst at Macquarie Bank in 1999, covering Internet equities
during the dotcom boom and its demise. She was a Director in the
Allen Consulting Group's Sydney public policy economic consulting
practice, and later joined CSIRO as Director of Business
Development and member of CSIRO's Executive Management Council.
Mara is proud to be the founding CEO of Green Cross
Australia.
Linda DreghornCompany Secretary (part-time)
Linda has a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Law from the
University of Queensland and she has practised as a solicitor in
Queensland for over 20 years.
She has also completed a Graduate Diploma in Company Secretarial
Studies. Linda is currently working in a senior governance and
strategic planning role in Arts Queensland.
She was formerly Company Secretary/Legal Counsel for Major
Brisbane Festivals Pty Ltd and is a Director and Company Secretary
for Dvconnect Limited.
Previous roles include General Manager of Brisbane Festival 2006,
Secretary of the Queensland Law Society Inc, Coordinator of Due
Diligence for SunWater's acquisition of major water infrastructure,
Lecturer in Law at QUT and as a corporate solicitor in private
practice.
Sue Lyons Financial Controller (part-time)
After completing her Bachelor degree with distinction in 1987,
Sue was invited to join the global firm of Arthur Andersen as a
graduate accountant.
For 15 years at Arthur Andersen, Sue specialised in taxation
consulting and compliance. Prior to the merger of the firm
with Ernst & Young in 2002, she held the position of Principal
and was second to the National Head of the Private Client Services
Practice in Australia. Sue continued to work for the merged
firm of Ernst & Young in Brisbane and for 4 years she lead the
Human Capital practice in Brisbane, providing taxation and
accounting advice to high net worth individuals and private client
groups.
In 2007, she left the firm to operate a private consulting
business, providing advice on accounting and taxation matters, and
to take up the part-time position as Financial Controller of Green
Cross Australia.
Sue is a member of CPA Australia since 1991 and is a Fellow of the
Taxation Institute of Australia.
Bec EdmondsNetwork Support Officer
Bec supports Green Cross Australia to develop
networks involved in our government and environmental education
areas on a voluntary basis. She has a strong background in high
level project and administrative support to CEOs both in the
private and public sectors giving her extensive experience in
stakeholder liaison and building relationships in the community.
During this time Bec also worked in event management and marketing
and has done extensive volunteer work with vulnerable people in
Brisbane. Her passion lies where humanitarian and environmental
efforts meet to build a bright future for our communities and as
such is currently completing a degree in Human Services majoring in
Community Development. Rebecca is business minded and is a
partner in a distribution business selling design based wares in
the UK, Europe, Australia and beyond with a goal to be able to
support development projects locally and abroad with the profit,
and of course to fund her other passion - travel.
Courtney JohnstonHead of Digital
Courtney is a marketing and communications professional who
joined the Green Cross team in 2013.
She holds a Bachelor of Mass Communications and is thrilled to
combine her enthusiasm for sustainability and digital
communications within her role at Green Cross Australia.
Courtney has previously worked both client side and within
creative agencies. Her varied work experience means she brings a
range of skills and experience to Green Cross Australia.
As Head of Digital, Courtney is using her marketing and
communications skills to manage content and drive online strategy
for Green Cross Australia's exciting digital projects.
Elizabeth RestaProject Adviser
After two years in Australia Elizabeth hsa returned to the US,
but continues to advise Green Cross Australia on community
engagement and project management. She has a background in
marketing, strategic planning, event management and leading teams.
She has worked in both the business and non-profit sectors,
bringing her passion for sustainability to both.
Prior to leading project management at Green Cross Australia,
Elizabeth served as Marketing Manager with Zipcar Philadelphia
where she oversaw membership growth, partnership building,
connecting with community and government organisations and
marketing communications. Previously, she was the Event Director
with the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia as well as the
Marketing Specialist/Community Liaison with Whole Foods Market,
Inc. Elizabeth graduated Cum Laude from William Paterson University
with a Bachelors of Art in Communications. She is a Senior Fellow
of the Environmental Leadership Program and a volunteer with
Bicycle Queensland.
Jeremy MansfieldHead of Development - Volunteer
As the Sustainability Manager for Queensland and Northern
Territory at Lend Lease, Jeremy is an invaluable corporate
volunteer for Green Cross Australia.
His passion for innovation and positive change, along with his
depth of experience in sustainability through design, construction
and project management disciplines, has contributed greatly to the
development of Green Cross Australia.
When he's not at work, volunteering for Green Cross Australia, or
being Dad, Jeremy can be found enjoying his passion for the world
football game. We are not sure how he fits it all in!
Adam Davis Adaptation Leader – Green Cross Australia Corporate Volunteer
Adam is passionate about resilience and volunteers to support a
number of Green Cross Australia climate adaptation projects. He
helps to guide our thinking across industry sectors and assists
with building partnerships.
Adam is Associate Director and Head of Climate Change Adaptation
& Resilience at KPMG in Sydney. He has worked as a Senior
Executive at RPS Group (formerly Manidis Roberts) and was the
leader of its Environment Practice Group in Sydney, specialising in
infrastructure sustainability, climate risk and resilience,
environmental management and environmental assessment and
approvals.
Adam is a Certified Environmental Practitioner and a Green Star
Accredited Professional with over 17 years' industry experience.
Adam has worked with some of Australia's leading businesses and
government authorities on their sustainability and climate risk
strategies. Adam is a respected thought leader in climate
adaptation and resilience, providing advisory services for a number
of large investment portfolios, new developments, local communities
and critical infrastructure networks.
This extensive industry experience has seen Adam appointed as
Green Cross Australia's Adaptation Leader - Corporate Volunteer,
climate adaptation advisor to The Climate Institute and a member of
the Green Building Council of Australia's Green Star Faculty as
their adaptation and resilience subject matter expert.
Ariel LiebmanSolar expert - Volunteer
Dr. Ariel Liebman is senior research fellow and Director
of Carbon Programs at the Monash Faculty of Information Technology.
Ariel is an energy markets specialist with experience across all
aspects of the electricity supply chain. His experience includes
deregulated power markets, network regulation, smart-grids, and
commercial retail operations. Ariel's core interest and specialist
is modeling and simulation of electricity systems, and markets
using high performance computing platforms such as computing
clouds. Ariel holds a PhD in Physics (Quantum Optics) from the
University of Queensland and a Masters in Physics from Auckland
University. He has published on various aspects of the electricity
industry including impacts of emission trading, real-options
investment, and wholesale price forecasting.
Bringing a unique mix of research and
commercial experience Dr. Liebman has advised energy utilities
across Australia including TRUenergy/EnergyAustralia, United
Energy, ERM Power, Ergon Energy, and others. He has collaborated
with and secured research funding from the CSIRO's Energy
Transformed Flagship, AGL Energy, and Energy Exemplar.
Dr. Liebman is a member of the Smart Grids
Australia R&D leaders working group. He has presented at
academic and industry conferences over many years on issues ranging
from portfolio risk management to carbon permit pricing.
