Earthwatch Institute (Australia) has a Board of Directors who are responsible for the governance of Earthwatch and overseeing its strategy and direction. The Board meets quarterly with members of Earthwatch Executive Team and other staff as required.
The following people generously donate their time as Earthwatch Australia Board Members:
Philip Weickhardt
Prof Mark Burgman
Heather Campbell
Richard Gilmore
Colin Gomm
Anthea Hancocks
Victoria Sedwick
Prof Nigel Stork
Ed Wilson - CEO Earthwatch Institute (US)
Philip Weickhardt - Chairman
Philip Weickhardt joined the Board in 2002. Prior to this he was, from 1997 until July 2001, CEO & Managing Director of Orica Limited, (previously ICI Australia Limited) Australia's largest chemical company and the world's largest commercial explosives companies.
As well as chairing Earthwatch Australia and and being a Director of Pilotlight Australia, a small not for profit organisation active in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility, Philip is a Commissioner with the Productivity Commission, on an Advisory Board for Anglo American in Australia, on the Board of the Cooperative Research Centre for Molecular Plant Breeding, teaches in the Executive Education area for the Melbourne Business School, and Chairs a CEO Roundtable Group for CEDA (Committee for Economic Development of Australia).
In his spare time Philip's interests include education, travel, the arts, bushwalking, skiing, tennis and golf.
Philip, has a Master of Science from Melbourne University, is a Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and was a member of the Business Council of Australia and Chairman of its Energy Reform Task Force from 1997 to 2001. He completed the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School in 1990.
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Prof Mark Burgman
Prof. Mark A. Burgman joined the Board in 2006. He also chairs the Earthwatch Australia Scientific Advisory Committee, which he joined in 2002.
Mark is Managing Director of the Australian Centre of Excellence for Risk Analysis and is the Adrienne Clarke Chair of Botany in the School of Botany at the University of Melbourne. He works on ecological modelling, conservation biology and risk assessment. His research has included models on a broad range of species including giant kelp, Orange-bellied parrots, Leadbeaters possums, bandicoots, and Banksias in a range of settings including marine fisheries, forestry, irrigation, electrical power utilities, mining and national park planning.
Mark received a BSc from the University of New South Wales (1974), an MSc from Macquarie University, Sydney (1981), and a Ph.D. from the State University of New York (1987). He worked as a consultant ecologist and research scientist in Australia, the United States and Switzerland during the 1980's before joining the University of Melbourne in 1990.
Mark has received research grants from the Australian Research Council, government agencies, industry and private foundations. He has published four authored books, two edited books, over 140 research papers, and more than 50 reviewed reports and commentaries. His most recent book is ‘Risks and decisions for conservation and environmental management', which appeared through Cambridge University Press in 2005. He was selected to the Australian Academy of Science in 2006.
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Heather Campbell
Heather Campbell joined the Board in 2007 and brings with her 18 years experience in leadership and management in the manufacturing sector including over ten years experience managing sustainability and non-financial risk issues at the senior management level for both Australian and international companies. She is currently Australian Risk Manager for Cheetham Salt and Ridley AgriProducts.
Heather's skills include problem analysis, strategy development, process simplification and finding innovative solutions. In addition Heather has international experience in negotiation and stakeholder relations, change management and team building with people from other cultures and walks of life.
Heather has a passion for environmental education and believes fully in the benefits of linking scientists with enthusiastic individuals. To this end she is the Chairman of The Gould Group and has participated as a private individual in an Earthwatch expedition. Heather also managed the Earthwatch Fellowships program over a number of years when she worked for Amcor Ltd.
Her educational qualifications are in Agricultural Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Occupational Hygiene and Business.
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Richard Gilmore - Executive Director Earthwatch Australia
Richard Gilmore joined Earthwatch in 2007 firstly as Operations and Programs Director and was appointed Executive Director the same year. After seven years working in the financial markets, Richard joined Amcor Recycling in 2001. During his five years at Amcor Richard held a number of roles, most recently as NSW Business Development Manager. The responsibilities of this role included national account management, new business, OHS&E, operations and trade practices compliance. Richard was an Earthwatch corporate Fellow in 2005 and assisted Dr Mark Huxham with the in-country establishment of Earthwatch's Sri Lankan Mangroves project in 2006.
Richard is currently undertaking a Master of Environmental Management Degree at UNSW and is married with two daughters.
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Colin Gomm
Colin Gomm joined the Board in 2008 after having been responsible for managing the Earthwatch partnership in BP Australia from 2002 until 2005, during which time BP sponsored 15 employees to undertake Earthwatch fellowships.
After a 19 year employment history with BP Australia Ltd in a variety of senior Health, Safety and Environment functional roles which included stints in the UK from 1996 to 2001 and again from 2005 to 2008, Colin joined BHP Billiton Ltd as the Vice President Health, Safety, Environment and Community Governance in February 2009.
Colin was also a member of the Board of Environment Business Australia from 2003 to 2004 and completed the Institute of Company Directors course in 1985. He was a board member of L'Ouverture (louverture.co.uk) a small arts and education company while he was living in the UK. He also served 5 years on the Council of the Chatham Primary School in Melbourne.
Colin has a Bachelor of Engineering (1975) and a Masters of Business Administration (1984) both from Monash University.
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Anthea Hancocks
Anthea Hancocks joined the Board in 2005 bringing with her an extensive background in business development, education, communications, relationship marketing and strategy developed through a long career in academia and the corporate and not-for-profit sectors.
She is currently the Chief Marketing Officer for Herbert Geer having moved from holding several senior strategy roles for the National Australia Bank.
Anthea has also worked as General Manager, Corporate for the Melbourne Business School where she was responsible for leadership, strategy and management programs. Prior to this she worked as National Business Development Director for Deloitte and Manager, Corporate Development for Museum Victoria.
Anthea also has 10 years experience in the USA working in academia as Associate Professor for Museum Studies at the University of Arizona and consulting in education and Board development in the non-profit sector. Anthea has also worked in Australia for Taronga Park Zoo and the Northern Territory Museum of Arts and Sciences.
Anthea has a B.Sc in zoology and anthropology, an MA in anthropology and business, an MBA and is an accredited mediator through the Institute of Mediators and Arbitrators of Australia. Anthea is also on the Board of Trust for Nature.
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Victoria Sedwick
Victoria Sedwick joined the Board in 2005 bringing with her over 25 years experience in manufacturing and consulting across a broad range of industry sectors including the aerospace industry, petroleum refining, power generation and distribution, defence, general manufacturing, industrial chemicals manufacturing, metals processing, waste management industries, timber plantations, tourism, construction and building products, food/beverages and packaging.
Victoria's areas of expertise include mergers and acquisitions, corporate reporting, environmental health and safety management and auditing, contaminated site assessment, chemical/dangerous goods management and integrated management systems.
Victoria is currently a Principal at Environ Australia. She is a registered Lead Environmental Auditor with QSA (Quality Society of Australasia). Victoria is a co-ordinator of global due diligence projects for the Asia Pacific Region.
She has a Bachelor of Applied Science (Chemistry), from the University of Technology, Sydney and a Master of Engineering Science from University of New South Wales.
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Prof Nigel Stork
Prof Nigel Stork is a biodiversity specialist who joined the Board in 2007 bringing with him much international experience, having worked in many parts of the world including South and Central America, Africa and South-East Asia. He has published 10 books and more than 150 papers including papers in Nature and Science on insect ecology and biodiversity, how many species there are on Earth and rates of extinction.
Prof Stork is a pioneer in the exploration of tropical forest canopies and he installed the first ‘canopy crane' in the Southern hemisphere in the Daintree rainforest in 1999. Prof Stork played an important role in establishing a joint partnership between the Queensland Government and the Smithsonian Institution. He has also worked in collaboration with UNEP, UNESCO and CIFOR, on international activities focussed on identifying global priorities for biodiversity research and climate change. More recently he has helped to establish the Global Canopy Program.
His latest edited book is ‘Living in a dynamic tropical forest landscape', which summarises how research he led on tropical landscapes in Northern Australia has changed management systems, community engagement and economic development.
Prof Stork is currently Head of Department of Resource Management and Geography, and Head of Burnley Campus, University of Melbourne. From 1995-2007 he was the CEO of the Rainforest CRC (Cooperative Research Centre for Tropical Rainforest Ecology and Management) in Cairns, Queensland and prior to that he worked at the Natural History Museum in London (1980-1995). He was formerly the Chair of the Community Consultative Committee for the Wet Tropics Management Authority and is currently a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
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Ed Wilson - CEO Earthwatch Institute (US)
Edward Wilson is a graduate of Kings College London, where he specialized in African Studies and Third World Development. Ed has over 15 years management experience mainly in the non-profit sector. Early in his career he worked for a number of game reserves and eco-tourism operations in Southern and East Africa including The Wilderness Foundation and Conservation Direct. He is a former UK trustee of Rhino Ark, a not-for-profit organisation partnering with the Kenya Wildlife Service in fencing the Abedares National Park.
Ed joined the European office of Earthwatch as a volunteer in 1993 and quickly moved into the position of Marketing and Events Manager. In 1998 he was appointed Vice President Marketing and Communications for Earthwatch US and in 2005 he took up the reins as CEO.
Prior to joining Earthwatch, Ed was an officer in the British Army and was mentioned in dispatches for service in Northern Ireland. Ed has lived in Pakistan, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom and has travelled in Africa, Asia, South America and throughout Europe. A fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, he has been a member of several research expeditions, the most recent being to Central Asia and Inner Mongolia.
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