Our Team

Leigh first joined GreenCollar as a part-time Field Technician while completing her Bachelor of Environment in Fluvial Geomorphology. Leigh worked in the field during GreenCollar’s early stages of surveying where she helped to develop the company field manual.

After 18 months Leigh left GreenCollar to pursue a job in her area of study, as a Sampling Technician with Sydney Water. Leigh couldn’t stay away and returned to work with GreenCollar 7 months later.

Leigh is now the Operations Divisional Manager, regularly reporting to landholders and the Clean Energy Regulator while managing movement of field staff and equipment. Leigh is still heavily involved in landholder communication herself and spends a lot of time in the field fostering great relationships with our landholders.

Leigh can often be found at regional watering holes sporting an injury from mountain biking or rock climbing, swapping tales of adventure and tips on craft beer brewing or the best way to serve quandong jams, pies and preserves.

Dave came to GreenCollar in 2012 with 10 years of investment banking experience in Australia and overseas. He holds a Juris Doctor from the University of New South Wales and is a solicitor of the Supreme Court of NSW.

Dave joined GreenCollar to use his skills to work on meaningful environmental projects. As part of the Legal and Compliance team he helped the company to grow under the Carbon Farming Initiative working on aspects of Australian climate change law.

Now, Dave is occupied with managing the company work program and overall strategy. He oversees project development and new business origination while constructing and developing innovative commercial solutions to address a range of ecosystem services including carbon, biodiversity and water quality. Dave still makes time to get out into the field where he builds and maintains strong relationships with our stakeholders and gets to see the direct results of GreenCollar’s work in regional communities and the land sector.

Mike joined GreenCollar in 2016 after 15 years in the NRM sector, chairing the Wet Tropics region and the Queensland Collective of 14 regions. Mike has a broad science background and history as a green activist, newspaper owner, journalist, farmer and five term Mayor of the Douglas Shire. Mike’s experience gives him instrumental insight into the politics and science of the environmental challenges facing Australia. At GreenCollar Mike builds valuable partnerships with rural communities, industry, regional NRM bodies and government.

Mike has been part of a variety of ministerial, scientific, agricultural, biodiversity and waste management committees and boards. He was awarded an Order of Australia for his work in the conservation of the Daintree Rainforests and for his contribution to local government. Under Mike’s leadership the Douglas Shire won awards in planning and environment which lead to Mike becoming an honorary Fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia.

Always controversial, Mike is known as the ‘greenie with the sawmill’. A lover of wood, furniture-making and joinery, Mike built his own house from salvaged timber and wood he has grown himself on a shared property in the heart of the Daintree forest. Mike has also farmed fish and grown purple mangosteens and taro and for over 15 years.

James joined GreenCollar in 2017 to manage new project development in New South Wales. He has a background in natural resource management and is passionate about triple-bottom-line agricultural management. James is based in Dubbo and has properties in Western NSW. He understands the complexities of managing rangeland grazing enterprises and enjoys helping land managers to recognise and develop carbon farming opportunities on their properties.

James runs a successful livestock business in partnership with his wife and father on properties located near Wanaaring and Condobolin in NSW. His grazing business is focused on high quality low input lamb production. James believes regenerative agriculture is the key to future food stability and resource protection. He has a passion for the natural environment and change management.

James enjoys sharing life’s experiences, with his wife, Danielle, and three energetic children Ruby, Marcus and Samuel. He loves all sports ‘specially cricket, football, tennis, water skiing, fishing and surfing.

Mark is based in Bundaberg and brings over 20 years’ experience in environment and resource management to GreenCollar’s Queensland team. He travels widely throughout the state meeting with landholders and other stakeholders as our Relationship Manager for Central & Northern Queensland.

Mark has a background in both the public and private sector, having worked for the Queensland Government, corporate entities and small businesses. He is well versed in legislation, negotiating mutually beneficial outcomes for complex land matters and managing contracts. Mark is keen to take the time to truly understand what is important to our landholders and provides excellent support to those getting involved in the carbon industry.

Mark holds a degree in Applied Science specialising in Natural Systems & Wildlife Management. He has a keen interest in marine conservation and can often be found stand up paddle boarding on the coast or exploring the country with his young family in their off-road caravan.

James is the Chief Executive and Co-founder of GreenCollar. James’s interests and expertise lie in exploring how environmental markets can offer innovative solutions that lead to real environmental, economic and social outcomes. He has used his skills all over the world, working across a range of organisations including the World Bank, the African Union and the United Nations’s Food and Agriculture Organisation.

James is a highly regarded advisor to government departments and organisations. He has been involved in the development and implementation of climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies, environmental markets and natural resource management. James has presented at high profile conferences including the Global Carbon Expo and annual UNFCCC climate talks, as well as at regional events such as the annual Carbon Market Institute and New Zealand Carbon Expo.

Most recently James’s passion for frontier industries has led him to set up Earth Space Robotics, which invests in start-ups focusing on space exploration. He is also adding a Masters in Astronomy to his existing degrees in Anthropology and International Relations

Jenny coordinates research with a number of universities, government departments and CSIRO using the enormous amount of data generated by GreenCollar. With her knowledge of ecosystem services, carbon accounting methodologies and landscape function, she is also responsible for the implementation of GreenCollar’s Project Services.

Jenny is an experienced ecologist with an extensive portfolio of research behind her. She holds an Honours Degree from the University of Texas at Austin, a PhD from Macquarie University and has many years of experience as a Senior Research Associate at the University of New South Wales. She has conducted research in terrestrial, aquatic and marine environments on a diverse range of projects covering conservation, ecology, genetics, population demography, behaviour and evolution. Jenny specialises in research and management of ecology projects in remote locations such as Antarctica, the sub-Antarctic territories, Eastern Mexican ranges, central Australian rangelands and remote Western Australia.

Based in Tasmania, Jenny and her family also run an award-winning winery overlooking Marion Bay. Their cool climate vineyard varietals include Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Jonathan has been with GreenCollar since 2011 and is involved in all aspects of the company. He has over 10 years of experience in business operations and a background as an Outdoor Adventure Guide.

Jonathan is saddled with the mammoth task of marshalling the GreenCollar field teams who work in remote areas all over the country. He is responsible for coordinating project scheduling and logistics, providing technical support and ensuring the field teams’ safety through WHS compliance.

Jonathan often works out in the field himself and is prone to getting into (and sometimes out of) sticky situations where his four-wheel driving skills are put to the test. Luckily, he is well equipped with practical outdoor experience as a lover of rock climbing, canyoning and camping.

Lewis has always been at the forefront of financial innovation, policy and law in the creation of environmental solutions. Before co-founding GreenCollar, Lewis founded the Climate Roundtable in 2006. He has been a lawyer for over 20 years, practising in equity, commercial and environmental law. Lewis practised at the NSW bar and holds a Master of Laws with a major in environmental law.

Lewis has also been a director of several public companies and advised governments and major corporations in South East Asia on emissions and environmental impacts. Lewis has developed a range of protocols, policies, and strategies for compliance with the Australian Government’s Carbon Farming Initiative. He speaks widely in Australia and overseas on environmental markets and the carbon economy including at United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) events and the 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP21) which established the global Paris Agreement to reduce emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

In his heyday, Lewis was a part of the crew that established the Queenscliff Boardriders Club in 1978. He can still be found hanging-ten near his residence in Byron Bay.

Rach first joined GreenCollar in March 2014 as a member of the field team. Now the Technical Division Manager, Rach is responsible for managing the assessment and reporting workflow of GreenCollar’s Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) projects. Her experience as part of the field team has helped her to develop new surveying methods and data management systems. Thankfully, before leaving the field team Rach passed on her amazing cake baking skills to other field team members. The Sydney office is lucky enough to enjoy those skills on a birthday or special occasion.

Rach has an Honours degree in Biological Sciences from UNSW where she specialised in reproductive ecology. Before joining GreenCollar she worked as a graduate data analyst for an environmental monitoring company in the wastewater industry. Rach has used her skills to volunteer for ecological research projects overseas in Costa Rica and South Africa.

Esther brings with her over 12 years’ experience in the environmental, not-for-profit sector as an Executive Assistant and Office Manager. As the Executive Assistant at GreenCollar, Esther supports our executives making their roles as simple and effectiveas possible. She also helps to ensure that everyone is doing what they need to do to make the design and implementation of new projects go as smoothly as possible.

Esther is originally from New Zealand and holds a Bachelor of Social Science from the University of Waikato. She has worked in New Zealand and the UK as well as in Australia.

Esther’s other occupation is being a full-time parent to her two young twins, who she adores.

As our resident accountant Jess looks after everything finance. She has a Bachelor of Business (Accounting) from Western Sydney University and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand. Jess worked in a private practice for three years focusing on small businesses, family trusts and self-managed superannuation funds before moving to London where she spent five years as a Finance/Management Accountant for a Venture Capitalist firm.

When Jess isn’t tracking GreenCollar’s spending habits and preparing budgets, you will find her walking her labrador on the beach before enjoying a delicious drop from her extensive wine collection.

Emily’s primary responsibility is to keep GreenCollar staff members out of trouble. As our (Legal) Corporate Counsel, she coordinates and manages all legal issues across the company. Emily oversees preparation and negotiation of our legal documentation and provides advice on issues covering corporate, contractual, workplace, land law, climate law and any other legislation affecting the business.

Emily comes to GreenCollar with an interesting career portfolio that has beginnings in hospitality and sunglass wholesales to working as a paralegal for a mid-tier, commercial law firm. Once admitted as a solicitor she eventually moved on to a small, boutique law firm where she remained for the next 7 years.

Emily is always willing to share her favourite recipes and dining spots from around the globe. Other non-official duties include skiing in winter, beaching in summer or reading trashy airport novels.

Laura is our mapping guru, helping the field team navigate around our projects where google maps just won’t cut it. She uses GIS and remote sensing analysis to design vegetation projects under the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) and is involved in the spatial aspects of the monitoring program.

Laura has a background in spatial science and physical geography. She holds an Honours degree in Geography from The University of New South Wales. Prior to joining GreenCollar Laura worked as a research assistant and tutor in GIS, remote sensing and statistics. She is interested in using spatial tools to monitor the effects of climate change.

Laura is a super fit member of the company and was a star player in the GreenCollar futsal team. Now she focuses her sporting skills on ultimate frisbee and boxing.

Elissa has been with the GreenCollar team since April 2014. Prior to this Elissa spent 10 years travelling and working around the globe in a wide variety of fields ranging from deck handing on sport-fishing vessels off the coast of Panama to selling tickets to Barcelona FC games on Las Ramblas in Barcelona. In 2013 her passion for conservation and the environment saw her return home to pursue her environmental career.

As a previous member of the Monitoring Team, Elissa has a strong understanding of what is required for effective communication and developing long-term relationships in rural Australia. Elissa studied a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Zoology & Conservation Biology at Monash University, Melbourne. During this time, she worked in Veterinary and Biomedical Pathology, later using these skills to work as a Biomedical Scientist in London.

Elyce began working at GreenCollar as a member of the field team where she remained for two years using her skills in flora identification, ecological survey techniques and data collection. Elyce became the Reporting and Verification Manager in 2016 coordinating development and maintenance of reporting protocols and systems for our Human Induced Regeneration projects. She is now a Communications and Stakeholder Manager focusing on stakeholder engagement for both new business and existing clients.

Elyce holds a Bachelor of Science (Biology and Environmental Studies) with Honours in Behavioural Ecology at the University of Sydney. She has recently undertaken further study to get ‘lawyered-up’ beginning a Juris Doctor at the University of New South Wales in 2017 with a focus on environmental law.

With a hectic schedule, Elyce is always eager to let loose between study and work when she can and is a great coordinator of social events and after work drinks. A sucker for all things cute and cuddly, Elyce is passionate about animal welfare and her home is full of rescue waifs and strays.

Dave started with GreenCollar as a Field Technician, helping to trial field survey protocols during the developmental stages of the Avoided Deforestation Methodology under the Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI). He became a Field Team Leader, then Senior Field Team Manager and is now the Quality Assurance and Relationship Manager for Western Australia & South Australia. Dave spends his time developing relationships with potential clients and interested parties, ground truthing projects, and turning his steely gaze to the collection and processing of field data.

Dave has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland in Political Science and Environmental Studies. Away from the office, he can be often found ascending remote cliffs, out running on a cliff top track, or having a drink with his colleagues.

Louise first joined GreenCollar in 2014 as a member of the field team and is now a Team Leader and Data Manager. She supervises staff on field trips during biomass and monitoring surveys and assists in development of Human Induced Regeneration and Avoided Clearing projects. Louise is also responsible for coordinating data entry and database management of these projects and is a whiz at data entry herself.

Louise’s field experience inspired a particular interest in floristics and plant identification helping Louise to create the GreenCollar vegetation bible, our in-house plant ID guide. Louise is a keen traveller and manages to juggle her time in the field and office with expeditions across Australia and overseas. When travelling she’s always on the lookout for wildlife photography opportunities and seeks out all sorts of creatures including her favourite, the quokka.

In Saul’s primary role as Field Team Leader he supervises GreenCollar field teams performing biomass and monitoring surveys across our projects in regional Australia. Saul is a skilled field ecologist with extensive experience in flora and fauna identification and surveying techniques. Saul has also provided training to new field staff and has been a patient driving instructor to those learning to drive the fleet of manual field vehicles. A country boy at heart, Saul also brings many practical skills to the field team and spends his days off building and working on his house in Taree.

In his role as Geospatial Technician Saul maintains geospatial data for the monitoring team. Prior to joining GreenCollar, Saul worked in the United States for community and government organisations where he became familiar with the mapping application of Geographical Information Systems.

.

Zoë is originally from New Zealand and joined Green Collar as a member of the field team in 2015 shortly after she moved to Sydney. She managed to survive and adapt to working in the remote environments of regional Australia, the furthest she had ever been from the coast. Zoë is now GreenCollar’s Marketing & Communications manager responsible for the companies external communications, brand and messaging. 

Zoë has a Masters of Conservation Biology and Bachelor of Science with majors in Ecology & Biodiversity and Spanish. Outside of GreenCollar Zoë combines her interests in language and science as a freelance Science Writer. She has created and edited a range of media content including educational resources for school textbooks, science exhibitions and information centres.

Bipul joined GreenCollar in 2017, seizing the opportunity to work for an organisation whose values aligned with his own. As part of the geospatial team Bipul works on the spatial aspects of GreenCollar’s project design, mapping, database management, monitoring and auditing. Bipul has a background in environmental science and began his studies and career in Nepal, working on natural resource management projects and community-based microfinancing. Bipul has also worked alongside farmers in the Himalayas providing technical support in the domestication and cultivation of medicinal herbs.

Bipul completed further study in Australia gaining a Masters in GIS and Remote Sensing from Charles Sturt University. Along with his geospatial expertise Bipul brings his language skills to the GreenCollar office providing informal, Nepali vocabulary lessons in the lunchroom. Bipul also has a longstanding love for cricket and soccer, through fitness sessions at GreenCollar he has also discovered a new passion and talent for boxing.

Ehren joined GreenCollar in 2015 as a member of the field team. During his time in the field he was known as the resident ‘foodie’, drawing on experience teaching at a cooking school and his culinary expertise to make delicious, morale-boosting meals.

In late 2017 Ehren joined the Data Modelling Team in the Sydney office where he assists in project viability assessments, regeneration modelling and other general data flow work. He holds a Bachelor of Liberal Arts and Science and is continuing to gain knowledge and further a career in natural resource management and environmental markets.

While Ehren is now mostly based in the office, he still knows his way around a Hilux and a pair of callipers, regularly visiting the field for ground truthing and monitoring surveys.

Evan has worked for GreenCollar on the field team for many years and is now a Team Leader. He is very experienced in remote survey work and has honed his data collection skills to a fine art. Evan has perfected small handwriting to fit inside data sheet cells, identifies countless species of Australian flora and can perform impressive feats with a plastic bag and a clipboard to fend off the elements and record data regardless of the weather. In his time at GreenCollar Evan has also acquired a level 2 chainsaw operator’s ticket, used for destructive sampling methods, and boasts an (almost) entirely clean record for avoiding wildlife collisions on hazardous rural roads.

Evan brings a longstanding enthusiasm for working in the outdoors to the field team. Before joining GreenCollar Evan was an outdoor adventure guide in the Blue Mountains with various local companies. During his breaks from the field Evan is located in the Blue Mountains where he takes advantage of his surroundings by rock climbing, gardening and hiking.

Atiq joined GreenCollar in 2018, bringing with him two years of Business Intelligence Consultant experience. Atiq has a Master of Computer Science from University of Wollongong and keenly follows the ever-developing technologies in the field of IT. At GreenCollar, Atiq derives meaningful information from our data providing support to the company in decision making.

Atiq has found GreenCollar a distinctive place to work. Different to other companies he has worked for, GreenCollar provides an exclusive platform which has helped him enhance his skills and knowledge through working on complex data structures and figuring out a unique solution.

Atiq’s love of programming keeps him striving to learn more and he is constantly boosting his skillset through new certifications, trainings and workshops. Outside of IT Atiq is interested in soccer and is an invaluable member of the GreenCollar Futsal Team.

Casey is a dedicated member of the field team, as a Cobar local he is based in the field full time. Casey is ‘on the ground’ almost 24-7 and has collected more biomass data than any other GreenCollar employee. He is experienced in remote field surveying and is always well equipped to deal with whatever comes his way including variable weather, difficult and hazardous terrain and physically demanding conditions.

Casey came to GreenCollar after completing a two-year School Based Mechanics Apprenticeship and now uses these skills to oversee maintenance of GreenCollar vehicles. Casey also completes important administrative tasks in the field and regularly calibrates and maintains all field equipment ensuring trips run as smoothly as possible.

Oscar is a vegemite hating Englishman turned true blue Aussie with a background in water quality and physical geography. He has many years of experience working in rural locations across Australia on environmental and agricultural projects.

Tom studied Renewable Energy Engineering at UNSW and comes to GreenCollar from working in a wholesale nursery in Dural. Be sure to ask him for any hot tips on Kurrajong cultivation.

Peter first started at GreenCollar as a member of the field team, he loves the outdoors and working in the bush. Before joining our team, Peter spent three months chasing dingoes in the desert for his Honours degree and also worked on and off in the desert as a research assistant.

Peter continues to use his research skills at GreenCollar, investigating Carbon Farming methods and facilitating the modelling and workflow of carbon abatement and Reef Credit projects. When Peter is in the city he spends his spare time growing plants on his balcony and passionately supporting English football.

Luka studied Environmental Science at the University of Wollongong and joined GreenCollar as a graduate in 2018. As a Junior Data Technician Luka is responsible for error checking and uploading the enormous amounts of data that GreenCollar collects. He also sometimes works with the field team in regional Australia collecting data and carrying out vegetation surveys.

Charlotte originally hails from New Zealand and is a keen traveller who came to GreenCollar after completing an internship at a solar energy start-up in California. She has a strong interest in renewable energy, sustainable food systems and impact investment and studied Environmental Science and Geography at the University of Sydney.

Charlotte works with our Stakeholder Managers to facilitate the project development process for carbon and reef credit projects. Charlotte is also very athletic and can be found at the beach, hiking, and horse riding or at the gym performing impressive feats in Olympic Weightlifting.

Laura is part of GreenCollar’s Queensland team and is based in Bundaberg. She is shared resource with Burnett Mary Regional Group fulfilling the roles of Queensland Relationship Coordinator for GreenCollar, and Data Technical Officer for Burnett Mary Regional Group.

Laura has significant experience working both in the field and in head office placements within the natural resource sector. She is happy to now be hanging up the steel caps after 7 years in fly in, fly out positions to be part of an organization striving to fortify rural enterprises and deliver practical sustainability options to agricultural operations.

Laura grew up on a property outside of Bundaberg the way many little girls dream of, with a pony. This rural upbringing has given Laura a deep appreciation and connection to the natural environment, learning from a young age not to name pets the family would inevitably eat.

This connection to the land lead Laura to pursue a Degree in Environmental Science, from the University of Queensland.

Tiara joined GreenCollar as a graduate from the University of Sydney where she studied Geography and Environmental Studies. She enjoys using spatial tools and works on the spatial design of our projects with the rest of the geospatial team. Tiara has previous experience working for Earth Hour Global in Singapore, The Chai Room and Gastronoms. Tiara loves coastal hikes and has recently embarked on mission to increase her fitness and improve her cooking skills.

Maddy began as a field member at the start of 2018. She came to GreenCollar after a living in outback South Australia where she interned for a small NGO dedicated to arid land conservation. Using her knowledge gained in the desert, Maddy assists in vegetation surveys and project the monitoring. Maddy also works in the Sydney office and aids the data modelling team with project viability assessments and data flow.

Maddy graduated from UNSW with a Bachelor of Arts/ Science and an honours degree in desert ecology. Her thesis focused on the role of dingoes in maintaining soil productivity in semi-arid Australia.

Maddy has a keen interest in sustainable development and has experience working and living in rural Indonesia. During her down time, she enjoys travelling to remote diving destinations to check out strange marine life inhabiting all corners of the world.