Gareth Johnston
Chair
Board Director – Murray and Riverina electoral zone
Bringing over 30 years’ management consulting history, Gareth is an experienced company director with service on public company, private company and NGO boards with State and Commonwealth, UN and other sovereign advisory appointments.
Prior to his participation with Landcare NSW, he was elected Treasurer then Chair of Murrumbidgee Landcare Inc., one of Australia’s oldest regional Landcare groups. A pioneer in responding to climate change, Gareth was founding CEO of CSIRO’s first cleantech company, formed an international climate adaptation and risk advisory practice and is Lead author of Climate in the Boardroom credited by regulators as the basis of climate governance in Australia.
He is a Director at Strategic Resilience with Future Ready, a specialist advisory practice with clients including enterprise, sovereign and multilateral agencies. Living off grid in the Southern Tablelands, Gareth sees Landcare as a critical element of community resilience. He believes water security, climate variability, cheap green energy, adaptation and community wellbeing as key challenges for rural Australia.
Gareth is an active shaper of corporate governance in climate risk in Australia. Gareth is an ordinary Director from Murray and Riverina region.
Mobile: 0433 108 391
Kathy Kelly
Treasurer
Independent Director
Kathy is an executive director of the Mulloon Institute Limited, a leading research, education and advocacy charity focused on landscape and water cycle restoration. She is also a director and chair of the Finance and Audit and Committee of Plant Health Australia Limited. Through these companies Kathy has developed an appreciation of natural capital, biodiversity and the relationship to biosecurity.
From 1989–2019 she was a Director at Boyce Chartered Accountants, the largest regional accounting firm in Australia. Based in Cooma NSW she managed the office and provided specialist tax and audit services to both corporate and family farms. Kathy has developed an understanding of the agriculture sector and the risks and issues facing boards and has deep and practical knowledge of the accounting and tax issues in agricultural and related agribusiness entities. Kathy also has a strong background in not for profit entities and charities.
Mobile: 0428 883 044
Steve Bunnell
Vice Chair
Board Director – South East and Greater Sydney electoral zone
Steve is a member of the South East Landcare Regional Landcare Coordinator steering committee and Treasurer of the Boorowa Community Landcare Group. Currently dividing his time between a finance and administration consultancy in Sydney and his wool and sheep trading property at Boorowa, Steve is active in his local Landcare and Regenerative Grazing Groups. Steve is currently undertaking several revegetation projects on his property including recently completing several tree planting and direct seeding sites.
Mobile 0419 284 836
Lyn Thomson
Secretary
Board Director – North Coast and Hunter electoral zone
Lyn Thomson has been involved with Landcare for the past 10 years. For part of that time, Lyn was Richmond Landcare’s School Officer working on various projects with many schools in their area. Lyn has a passion for Australian Native Bees and has worked with schools and the community educating them on the importance of native bees. Lyn is an executive member of North Coast Regional Landcare Network, Committee member of Richmond Landcare and Committee member of Bagot Park Landcare.
Mobile: 0410 319 311
Bruce Rolph
Independent Director
Bruce joins Landcare NSW as a skills based Independent Director, bringing a wealth of leadership experience in banking & finance, environment & sustainability research and advocacy, and good governance & fund raising as a Chair, Director, advisor and consultant across a range of community/not-for-profit organisations. Bruce’s recently completed Masters in Environmental Management brought him into regular contact with the great work and goodwill generated by Landcarers throughout NSW. At a personal level, Bruce is a long-time custodian of a pocket of wonderful biodiversity in the Lower Hunter region now recovering from the bushfires and doing battle with lantana.
Mobile: 0417 018 886
Liz Riley
Independent Director
Liz joins Landcare NSW as a skills based Independent Director, bringing diverse stakeholder experience at a local, state and national levels in the wine industry across a wide range of areas – from grape grower, through the wine value chain, to industry research development and extension, industry training and biosecurity, and bring an ability to understand a range of complementary and conflicting interests. Liz has board experience in the not for profit and charity space and provides strong governance credentials.
Mobile: 0411 203 773
Wayne Chaffey
Board Director – North West and Northern Tablelands electoral zone
Wayne has worked with a number of Landcare organisations since the 1980’s, at local, regional and state levels, and has spent the vast majority of his life on the family farm, managing livestock and increasing biodiversity with his wife, children and now, grandchildren.
After more than forty years as a parent, science teacher, educational leader, mentor and community volunteer, Wayne promotes life-long learning, research-based change, and the education of youth to ensure community wellbeing, through an understanding of the importance of the natural world, especially local ecosystems. He, and his wife, are working to understand and improve soils, increase landscape rehydration, and through holistic planned grazing, improving their property and producing healthy cattle.
Mobile: 0400 358 217
Position Vacant
Board Director – Western electoral zone
The ordinary Director role for Western region, is currently vacant. The Landcare NSW Board Nominations Committee will be seeking expressions of interest to fill this ‘Casual Vacancy’ through until the AGM in 2025.
You can view more information here, and if you wish to to reach out to the Chair of the Nominations Committee or you can submit your 2024 Nominations Form – Board Director Candidate Expression of Interest via election@landcarensw.org.au
Position Vacant
Independent Director – Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander
The Independent Director role dedicated to a person of Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander heritage, is currently vacant. The Landcare NSW Board Nominations Committee will be seeking expressions of interest to fill this ‘Casual Vacancy’ through until the AGM in 2025.
You can view more information here, and if you wish to to reach out to the Chair of the Nominations Committee or you can submit your 2024 Nominations Form – Board Director Candidate Expression of Interest via election@landcarensw.org.au
Position Vacant
Board Director – Central West/Central Tablelands electoral zones
The Ordinary Director role for Central West/Central Tablelands electoral zones is currently vacant. The Landcare NSW Board Nominations Committee will be seeking expressions of interest to fill this ‘Casual Vacancy’ through until the AGM in 2026.
You can view more information here, and if you wish to to reach out to the Chair of the Nominations Committee or you can submit your 2024 Nominations Form – Board Director Candidate Expression of Interest via election@landcarensw.org.au