Sue O’Connor
President. BAppSc, GDipBus Mgt, FAICD. Appointed 2019
Sue has served as a Chairman, Director and senior business leader with ASX Top10, global unlisted companies and high-profile statutory authorities and not for profits. She brings to the Board her commercial acumen, growth mindset and deep expertise in technology, climate change, critical infrastructure and risk. Sue is currently Chair of Indara Digital Infrastructure, a Director of Mercer Superannuation, CDC Data Centres and ClimateWorks Australia, and an Advisory Council member of the Monash Sustainable Development Institute. Sue is also a photographer who uses her art to promote conversations about the environment and our relationship and response to the natural world.
Phillip Cornwell
Vice President. BA LLB (Hons). Appointed 2015
Phillip is a Senior Finance Counsel at the commercial law firm Allens. Previously a partner there, Phillip headed its Project Finance practice and chaired its Pro Bono and Footprint Committees. Phillip is also a Director of the Midlands Conservation Fund, a Director and Deputy Chair of Suicide Prevention Australia and a Director and Chair of the Australian Pro Bono Centre. Phillip is a long-term Bush Heritage supporter.
Dr Alexander Gosling AM
FTSE FIEAust DEng MA(Hons) MAICD. Appointed 2016
Dr Alexander Gosling was the founding director of Invetech, and has worked in the field of product development and technology commercialisation for 40 years. He has been appointed a member of the Order of Australia for services to industry, technology and the community, awarded an honorary Doctorate of Engineering, elected a fellow of the Academy of Technology and Engineering and a Fellow of the Institute of Engineers Australia, and sits on a number of Boards. He is an active supporter of Zoos Victoria’s “Fighting Extinction” programme. He produced a film about the Outback which included a section on Bush Heritage.
Angus Holden
B.Sc LL.B. Appointed 2023
Angus is the CEO of Jord International, a global, privately-owned organisation focussed on helping the transition to renewable energy. Founded 50 years ago, the engineering business now works across most continents designing, manufacturing and commissioning bespoke plants and systems for a wide range of industries in the energy and resources sector. Angus brings significant business experience coupled with a passion for environmental issues and a deep understanding of Bush Heritage Australia’s work through volunteering and corporate support.
Avelina Tarrago
LLB. Appointed 2019
Avelina is a Wangkamadla woman from central-west Queensland and traditional owner for Pilungah and Ethabuka Reserves. She holds a Bachelor of Laws and Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice and has been admitted in the Supreme Court of Queensland since 2009. Avelina was a Federal Prosecutor for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions and for the Queensland Office of the Health Ombudsman. Avelina practises at the private Bar in Queensland, with a focus on administrative law, inquests and inquiries.
Distinguished Prof Michelle Leishman
BSc (Hons), PhD, FNRS. Appointed 2015
Michelle is a plant ecologist with over 30 years’ research experience on invasive plants, climate change adaptation, restoration ecology, plant conservation and urban greening. She leads a research group in the School of Natural Sciences at Macquarie University and is the Director of Macquarie University’s Smart Green Cities Research Centre. Michelle is a Trustee of the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, Chair of the Australian Institute of Botanical Sciences Advisory Committee and elected Council member of the Australian Flora Foundation. She has been awarded the 2022 NSW Premier’s Prize for Excellence in Biological Sciences, the Journal of Ecology’s Eminent Ecologist award and the 2020 NSW Royal Society Clarke Medal for distinguished research in botany.
Prue Bondfield
LLB, Dip (ProjMan), GAICD. Appointed 2023
Prue is a livestock industry leader with extensive experience across family and corporate agricultural businesses. She is a non-executive director on a number of commercial, industry and government boards. Prue’s roles have provided her with a broad knowledge of finance and business management, biosecurity and environmental risks, property acquisitions and sustainable land and livestock management.
Prue was the inaugural Chair of the Beef Sustainability Framework committee, which designed the first public report to document the industry’s commitment to continual improvement across a range of environmental and animal welfare priority areas.
Prue supports stronger links between agriculture and conservation to foster long term sustainable natural capital stewardship.
Dr Rebecca Nelson
J.S.D., J.S.M., B.E. (Env.Eng.)/LL.B. Appointed 2014
Rebecca is a lawyer who researches, teaches and advises on environmental and water management, regulation and policy. She’s an Associate Professor at the Melbourne Law School at the University of Melbourne, Director of the Melbourne Law School’s Centre for Resources, Energy and Environmental law, and a member of the Advisory Committee on Social, Economic and Environmental Sciences of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority. Rebecca combines this work with independent consulting. In 2014, Rebecca was named the Australian Young Environmental Lawyer of the Year by the Law Council of Australia for her significant contributions to environmental law.
Professor Sarah Bekessy
PhD, BSc (Hons). Appointed 2017
Sarah leads ICON Science at RMIT University (Interdisciplinary Conservation Science), which seeks to engage in high-impact, interdisciplinary and collaborative research to find solutions to applied environmental problems. She's involved in a range of research projects investigating nature-based solutions for cities, biodiversity sensitive urban design, message framing for effective biodiversity communications, and designing effective private land conservation schemes.
