Jennifer has an extensive career in teaching from Pre-primary to University pre-service primary and early childhood education which has enabled her to advocate for education for sustainability. She has held the following roles:

• Project officer for a local Landcare group for local schools for river restoration, growing and planting trees in rural settings
• Immediate past president of AAEE (2010 – 2014 & 2018 – 2022)
• Convenor of AAEE WA Chapter (2002 – 2023)
• Chair of the Little Green Steps WA (2009 – 2023) and co-developing EfS for early years educators
• Jennifer coordinated the Biological Earth Environmental Science Day career day for years 9 – 11 students (2004 – 2022)
• She also develops and delivers Earth Day Expo (2003 – 2023) events for primary schools to provide hands on experiences with a range of EfS programs

Keith is a long-time advocate for the ecological values of south-western Australia and for the power of local communities. He helped establish some of Australia’s earliest landcare groups; has run building, beekeeping and native seed businesses; run numerous educational camps and short courses; consulted to the mining sector, local government and others; worked in local enterprise development and at a policy level in government. Keith has co-written and produced two films, one book and numerous papers. He is a past Chair of the WA Landcare Network and is currently CEO of Gondwana Link, which he was part of establishing in 2002.

Harry Breidahl has worked in Australia for 50 years as a teacher, university lecturer, author and freelance consultant. Specialising in marine education, he has published over 100 books and a wide range of other educational material. Harry was a founding member of the Australian Association for Environmental Education (AAEE) and the Marine Education Society of Australasia (MESA) and was also one of the founders of International Pacific Marine Educators Network (IPMEN). Although now retired from formal employment, Harry’s current interests are focused on Ocean Literacy programs, both in Australia and internationally and he is still actively involved with AAEE, IPMEN and other international networks, including the IOC-UNESCO Ocean Literacy With All (OLWA), Ocean Acidification Research for Sustainability (OARS) and as an advisory board member for the Asian Marine Educators Association (AMEA). Locally he is also an advisory board member of Oceans IQ and partners with Saltwater Projects to deliver marine education programs for schools and community groups aboard the Pelican 1.

Dr Sue Elliott is an Adjunct Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Education at the University of New England (UNE), New South Wales, Australia and a visiting scholar at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. Sue is a long-standing early childhood education for sustainability advocate, researcher and author, she currently co-convenes the TransNational Dialogues in Early Childhood Education for Sustainability research group (TND) and the European Early Childhood Research Association Sustainability Special Interest Group (EECERA). In 2023, Sue was awarded a Fellowship of the Australian Association for Environmental Education in recognition of her leading role and her most recent international publication is Young Children and the Environment (Davis & Elliott, 2024).

• OzGREEN Director, Lead Facilitator and Trainer
• BSc DipEd
• NSW 2020 Senior Australian of the Year
• Co-Founder OzGREEN
• Founder Youth Leading the World (YLTW)

To Sue, OzGREEN is not a job – it is her strategic response to her deep concern for the environment and her vision to build a more sustainable, peaceful and equitable world. Sue, along with her late husband Colin, has been the driving force behind OzGREEN since its inception in 1992. She is a social entrepreneur (winner Social Ventures Australia Big Boost 2002) and a former high school science teacher.

Sue is a grandmother, an avid gardener and lives a simple life, “off the grid” with her extended family. Sue was named as one of the Most Influential People in Sydney in 2007 and 2020 NSW Senior Australian of the Year. OzGREEN’s work has been acknowledged by the Eureka Prize, Banksia Awards, UNAA Media Peace Awards, UNESCO, Buckminster Fuller Catalyst program, and is a Best Practice Case Study for the Australian Association for Environmental Education (NSW).

• LinkedIn
• 60 Minutes – The RiverKeepers (1997)
• FreshWater Video (1991) – UNAA Media Peace Prize
• Great Eastern Ranges Initiative – Hunter Valley Stakeholder Forum (2010)
• NSW 2020 Senior Australian of the Year
• Transformative Learning & Sustainability Leadership: Sue Lennox at TEDxOrangeCoast (2013)

Vanessa MacDonald is a business professional with experience managing large scale, complex programs across research, education, arts and health sectors in Australia and the UK.

As Business Lead and Manager of the ARC Centre for Healing Country, Vanessa is an advocate for Two-Way, Right Way Science and supporting Indigenous leadership to build training pathways and applied research that shares two way solutions, relationships and impact within the wider community.

Vanessa grew up on Whadjuk Noongar Boodja, holds a Bachelor of Arts (Social Sciences), is a pre-service primary teacher and an advocate for all things STEAM. With experience across K-6, VET training and Higher Education, Vanessa enjoys collaborating with great teams to deliver meaningful, real world impact.

In her spare time, Vanessa enjoys travelling, seeing live music and exhibitions.

Vivienne lives and works on Ngunnawal land in ACT, Canberra, Australia. As a science teacher she has spent most of her career delivering programs in high schools and secondary colleges. For the last 12 years she has worked at the Australian National Botanic Gardens delivering education programs. She is a passionate advocate for the power of environmental education, to transform society, helping the young and old and particularly the disadvantaged, to care for Country and our planet. Through her paid and unpaid work, she helps and mentors our educators and hopefully inspires the next generation of environmental activists.

Vivienne has been AAEE (Australian Association for Environmental Education) member since 2010, and Past President of the ACT Chapter and current Vice-President of the National AAEE and member of National Executive for five years. She is a long-term Board member of Conservation Council ACT, 2XX Community Radio Station and peak parent body in ACT for government schools.

Recent awards:

• 2022 ACT Environmental Educator of the Year
• 2019 Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in the General Division – for service to education
• 2021 ACTCOSS Award for Ingenuity in Reconciliation as coordinator of ACT Parents Reconciliation Action Plan Working Group

Dr Lisa Siegel is the national President of the Australian Association for Environmental Education (AAEE). She lives and learns on Gumbaynggirr country, also known as the Mid-North Coast of New South Wales. Lisa is a lifelong educator, having worked as a school teacher before taking up her current role as a Lecturer in the Faculty of Education at Southern Cross University, where she teaches Environmental and Interdisciplinary Education to pre-service teachers. Lisa is a member of the SEAE (Sustainability, Environmental, and Arts Education) Research Centre; her PhD research explored the stories of women environmentalists, and she continues to be fascinated with the interconnected stories of environmental educators. Lisa is also a founding member of the Centre for Ecological Learning in Bellingen NSW, and was named as the Australian Environmental Educator of the Year in 2022.

Recognised as a path-cutter in Environmental Education, Helen inspires communities through engaging workshops and intergenerational projects that adopt pathways to sustainability and stewardship. Her early career with NSW Education included K-12 curriculum consultancy roles and 10 years as Principal of a Centre of Excellence for Environmental Education, receiving a 1989 Director Generals Award for ‘Learning with a Purpose using students’ everyday existence in their environment as the medium’.

She then assisted hundreds of Australasian school communities to create Learnscapes – innovative spaces for learning, play and sustainability; created multi award winning Youth-led Water Ambassador community education programs for local councils; and co-created and wrote KidsGrow, a curriculum-based process for teachers to create successful themed gardens with their classes.

A founding member of the International School Grounds Alliance (ISGA) Leadership Council, she facilitated their first Southern Hemisphere conference in 2015, continues to contribute internationally and as a member of the IUCN led Task Force on Learning through Nature.

Awarded NSW 2007 Environmental Educator of the Year, 1999 Banksia National Environmental Education and Training and the 1999 Gold Banksia for “depicting the importance of empowering future generations to become competent and involved caretakers of the planet”.

As a mother, grandmother, educator and community advocate, Helen inspires generations with her passion, optimism and determination to initiate positive action.