Our Team

STAFF:
Our staff play the role of "Network Support Team" and strive to ensure our membership is working as strategically and collaboratively as possible.

about Melinda

Melinda Millen

is CANA’s Organising Assistant. She organises with the Sutherland Climate Action Network and is a member of the Sutherland branch of The Wilderness Society. Since completing a Masters of Environmental Management, she is an activist for social and climate justice and in 2017 lead within the Fossil Free UNSW divestment campaign. Melinda is an active member of the New Economy Network Australia, the Centre for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy and a board member of the Sutherland Shire Environment Centre.

about Jono

Jono La Nauze

Jono became CANA's Executive Director in 2017 after 17 years in the Australian environment movement. Starting out at Friends of the Earth he worked with Traditional Owners and their allies to establish a network of national parks protecting the river red gum forests of south eastern Australia. He went on to lead campaigns to restore the Murray-Darling river system and manage the Australian Conservation Foundation’s Healthy Ecosystems Program. He has served as a Director and Chair of the Forest Stewardship Council and in 2014 was named the inaugural winner of the Jill Reichstein Award for Social Chang

about Steph

Steph Cunio

Stephanie Cunio is CANA's Deputy Director.

Stephanie began her life as an activist with Greenpeace in the 90's, and has since been an organiser/educator with the Trade Union movement . During this time she has worked for the NSW state public service union (PSA). and the council of trade unions (ACTU).

Stephanie has also worked for the Sydney Alliance as a Community Organiser. Her most recent role was Organising Manager at the PSA, where she worked with her peers to transition the union to an organising focus.

Stephanie has strong skills in facilitation, training, relationship building and mentoring and she is excited to be working with the climate movement to build and exercise power to create the change we want.

about Alison

Alison Platt

Alison is the Administrator of the Network and manages our accounts and compliance with relevant rules and legislation. She also administers our Small Grants Scheme. Alison previously worked in the financial sector, but a passion for wildlife and the environment has led her into the areas of environmental conservation and sustainability, where she has now worked for more than a decade.

about Lindsay

Lindsay Soutar

Is Climate Action Network's Network Organiser. Prior to working with the Climate Action Network Lindsay was the National Director and founder of Solar Citizens (formerly the 100% Renewable campaign), where she spent more than 8 years as a campaigner and community organiser working for a renewable powered future. Lindsay first got involved in the climate movement when she set up a local climate action group - Climate Action Newtown. Lindsay was previously a CANA board member and is a former Young Environmentalist of the Year.

BOARD:
Our board is democratically elected by our membership and provides strategic, governance, and financial oversight to the network.

about Louise

Louise Matthiesson

Louise has been involved in environment and climate campaigns for around 20 years, working for a range of community groups in Victoria and Queensland. Most recently she played a lead role in the Fight for the Reef campaign against new coal mines in the Galilee Basin and port expansions along the Great Barrier Reef Coast. Louise is currently the Queensland Campaigner for Solar Citizens, based in Brisbane.

about Erwin

Erwin Jackson

Erwin is one of Australia's most experienced independent climate change policy advocates. Over 30 years he has lead many local, nations and international campaigns to address climate change including as the Deputy CEO at the Climate Institute, climate change program manager at the Australian Conservation Foundation and head of Australian campaigns at Greenpeace. Erwin currently works as an independent consultant to business, NGOs, philanthropic organisations and international think tanks, is a director of Climate Analytics Australia and a member of AGL's CEO advisory council.

about Kate

Kate Smolski

Kate Smolski is an environmental advocate with over 15 years of experience in grassroots organizing, campaign strategy, media relations, policy and lobbying. As a grassroots organiser and campaigner Kate has worked for several leading US environmental non-profits including Green Corps, the Sierra Club and Greenpeace. Kate moved to Sydney in 2012; she now leads the Nature Conservation Council of NSW as the CEO, after two years as the Campaigns Director.

about Simon

Simon Bradshaw

Simon Bradshaw is Oxfam Australia’s Climate Change Advocacy Coordinator. He has been a researcher, policy advisor and campaigner for climate action for over a decade and with Oxfam since 2012. Simon’s work has taken him to many countries of the region and to successive rounds of international climate negotiations. He has authored reports on international climate finance, climate change and the Pacific, the role of renewable energy in reducing poverty, and how Australia is measuring up against its international responsibilities on climate change. Simon joined the CANA Board in 2015.

about Louise

Louise Tarrant

Is a life-long union activist. Her work has mainly focussed on building capacity in unions to develop and run campaigns that genuinely shift power and in so doing give workers a voice, respect and greater reward for their effort. Much of this work was associated with United Voice campaigns that saw cleaners organise across Australian cities, early childhood educators fight for recognition, and workers give new voice to a broader political agenda and explore new ways to respond to environmental concerns.

about Moira

Moira Williams

Originally from Sydney, Moira started her career as an ecologist, policy maker and strategist. Her growing passion is to empower people to challenge corporate power and take action for social change. She has been actively involved in grassroots campaigns fighting coal and gas projects across the country for a decade. Moira has a PhD in ecology and in 2010 she was awarded the Community Campaigner of the year award by the NSW Nature Conservation Council.

about Victoria

Victoria McKenzie-McHarg

Victoria has been Chair of the CANA board since October 2015, and is passionate about the power of collaborative leadership to create systemic social change. In late 2017, Victoria joined Bank Australia as Manager of Strategy and Planning. Prior to this Victoria has worked as the Climate Campaign Manager at the Australian Conservation Foundation, and at Environment Victoria. In 2012, Victoria was listed as one of The Age Melbourne Magazine’s top 100 most influential, inspirational, provocative and creative Victorians for her work leading a legal and community campaign against a proposed new coalfired power station – a campaign that ultimately won.

about Duncan

Duncan Jinks

Duncan is the Board Treasurer and is an environmental and sustainability professional. The focus of his work is on energy policy and politics, community-led sustainability development and the practical delivery of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. With a Bachelor of Environmental Science, a Master of Sustainable Development and currently working towards a Master of Business Administration, Duncan has had diverse experience working in number of environmental roles in local and state government and working within Australia’s environment and climate movements.