Official Event Advisory Panel
Quest Events would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the official event advisory panel who contributed their valuable time and expertise to ensure the agenda for this event is timely and relevant for all stakeholders working in the Australian waste management and environmental sustainability sectors.
Alison Covington
Founder & Managing Director
Good360
Alison Covington is an innovator, passionate about creating change that disrupts industries, empowers communities and creates a better world. It has often been said she sees opportunities where others see problems. As a Director of multi-million public transport business, Alison developed a record for innovation and raising standards, increasing profitability in loss-making companies and guiding them through the obstacles of major industry reform. Her business success has become a platform for her philanthropic ideas – today, she uses her corporate expertise to benefit others and make a positive social difference as the Founder and Managing Director of Good360 Australia.
“Good360 is a matchmaker, helping repurpose things of value by directing them to the Australians who need them most. We bring together the people working to lift up Australian communities, and the spare brand-new goods of businesses. We connect surplus with need. The goal is for nothing useful to lie unused – either in a retailer’s warehouse or in landfill. Whether its toys to a family violence shelter or note books for a school—if Australians have the need, our business partners have the goods. “
Alison’s goal is to connect $1bn of brand-new goods to Australians who need them most.
Alison is passionate about starting conversation with Australians to talk about matchmaking ‘spare with need’. She believes great conversations can be had at BB’Q’s, dinner parties and workplaces. Once you know about Good360, honestly you will wonder why you never thought about it yourself – it is a no brainer – right. When she isn’t trying to make the rest of the country get onboard with the concept, she is home with the loves of her life, her husband of 23 years, 2 sons and a crazy border collie.
Anne Karin Kehlhofer
Manager Environmental Sustainability
Taronga Conservation Society Australia
Anne is the Manager, Environmental Sustainability at Taronga Conservation Society Australia. She is a trilingual Swiss-Australian citizen, who has a multi-disciplinary background in sustainability, environmental management, human geography, business and education.
She has worked across diverse sectors (including: public, private, not-for-profit and tertiary education), and has thereby acquired strong expertise in waste management, energy, sustainable procurement and green building.
In her current role at Taronga, she is responsible for integrating and managing environmental sustainability performance across the seven divisions at both Taronga Zoo and Taronga Western Plains Zoo.
A key focus of this role, is to mitigate the organisation’s carbon footprint, reduce waste going to landfill and increase resource diversions by identifying opportunities, collaborating closely with internal and external stakeholders, while focus on technical, operational and behavioural aspects simultaneously.
Belinda Chellingworth
Resource Recovery
The GPT Group
Georgina Davis
Policy Advisor for Resources
QLD Farmers’ Federation
Georgina is a Doctor of Engineering and holds masters degrees in Environmental Engineering (MEng) and Education (MEd). She is a Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv) and Chartered Waste Manager, with over 25 years international experience. She has an Adjunct within the Australian Rivers Institute at Griffith University and holds numerous Committee and Board positions.
Georgina provides policy advice to the State’s peak farming body, Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF) and its members. The Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF) is the united voice of intensive agriculture in Queensland, representing the interests of peak state and national agriculture industry organisations, which in turn collectively represent more than 13,000 primary producers. She also provides both policy advice and peer-review to governments and government departments across a range of initiatives.
Ryan Swenson
Julie Currey
Senior Manager Environmental Infrastructure
Sydney Olympic Park Authority
Over 30 years years experience in environmental assessment, regulation, compliance, waste, remediated lands, project delivery and environmental risk management. Provision of technical advice on odour, dust, waste, noise, contamination, remediation, waste, geotechnical reports, site audit statements and Impact Assessments, including over twenty years experience in Government including representing the NSW EPA as a technical advisor to Government on NSW Treasury Sale of Waste Assets.
Currently - Senior Manager Environmental Infrastructure, Sydney Olympic Park Authority responsible for specialist technical advice in relation to best practice operational management of Sydney Olympic Park’s remediated lands. At the same time managing numerous strategic Project within Sydney Olympic Park including review of the Sydney Olympic Park Master Plan 2030 and coordinating the Authority’s input into key projects within Sydney Olympic Park including the Sydney Metro West and Parramatta Light Rail.
Prior to joining the Authority - NSW Environment Protection Authority for sixteen years in a wide variety of roles including six years as Manager Sydney Landfills working with contaminated sites specialists and the Department of Planning on major waste infrastructure projects.
Honors degree in Applied Science from the University of Technology Sydney and almost 25 years experience environmental science, regulation and environmental management.
Chris Brown
Commercial Business Analyst
Wollongong City Council’s Waste Services
Chris is currently working as a Commercial Business Analyst within Wollongong City Council’s Waste Services team. His primary focus is on identifying and developing innovative ways to effectively provide environmentally, socially and economically sustainable waste management solutions in the Local Government context.
Prior to working in Local Government, he has worked in the Agricultural, Information Technology and Tertiary Education sectors in a variety of roles which provide alternative ways of tackling waste management challenges.
Chris’s skills include project management, business analysis, contract management, data visualisation and change management.