WCC Founder, Director, Program Leader

Janet was the founder of the respected science information company Biotext Pty Ltd. Through her work over 25 years, she developed a strong interest in dialogue around contentious public policy issues. Since 2006, she has extended that interest through her membership of Canberra-based group A Chorus of Women, who give artistii expression to citizen concerns. Janet was the initiator and facilitator of a series of 14 Canberra Conversations hosted from 2009-201 and bringing together citizens from across different professional and political perspectives for conversations about environmental and development issues, the arts, peace and human rights. Many were hosted in collaboration with the ANU Climate Institute. A grandmother of 5, in January 2020, concerned by the ongong political climate wars and horrified by the Black Summer bushfires, Janet brought together Canberra women to promote women-led collaborative climate action. This led to the formation of the WC.C.

Director, Membership and Communications Lead

Lyn has a background in mental health, public sector management, and organisational development consulting. She has had a long interest in dialogue practice and for some years was the director of the ANU Centre for Dialogue. In this role, in 2008 she started the ANU Dialogue Group, a community of practice for dialogue practitioners, which is still active today. She has also been very active in the Art of Hosting Conversations community in Australia and coordinates a support group for AoH practitioners to share ideas and deepen their practice.

Director, Finance, Advocacy and Grassroots Activism

Kirsten trained in law, both in Australia and the US. After working for some time with Legal Aid, she has mainly focused on family as they lived in different places around the world. She has developed an interest in conflict resolution and mediation, especially in the community context, and believes that communication amongst decision-makers that is honest, open and empathetic would improve the quality of government and put us in a place from which we could move forward on the important challenges that will shape our future.

Director, Policy and Research Lead

Dr Mary Picard works from Australia as an international consultant in disaster and climate risk law, policy and practice, and is a recognised specialist on women’s resilience to disasters and climate change. In 2017 she co-founded Humanitarian and Development Consulting, a feminist consulting company. She has recently worked with UN Women, the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), the Asian Development Bank and the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

Mary’s work evolved during 16 years overseas from 2000 to 2017 in Switzerland, Guatemala and Zimbabwe, after being a trade union official and then an anti-discrimination and labour lawyer in Melbourne in the 1980s/90s. Mary completed a Master’s and PhD in international law in Geneva and began working in international disaster response law with the Red Cross, which evolved into national disaster and climate risk governance over the last decade.

Director, Governance and Systems Coordinator

Shelley is a Certified Environmental Practitioner (EIANZ and IEMA) with consulting expertise in the assessment of pollution on ecosystem and human health. Currently, she helps organisations to collate and analyse their activity data and GHG emissions, and report on sustainability outcomes. Shelley has researched and written articles about sustainable business systems, carbon footprinting and net zero emissions and led research on the pain points of ESG disclosures and reporting. She was the Environment Director and Company Secretary of the Cotswold Canals Trust (UK), where she led the Natural Environment Team through a two-year bid phase, resulting in funding from 2020 – 2025.

Director

Liz Courtney is an award-winning social entrepreneur and visionary communications leader, driving a global multimedia platform that educates, mobilizes, and inspires communities toward social and environmental change. With over two decades in corporate communications, including her role as MD at Ogilvy PR Australia, Liz brings her strategic prowess to the climate sector, crafting high-impact narratives that resonate across sectors. In 2024, Liz was awarded "Women Changing the World in Media," presented by the Duchess of York in London, for her pioneering work in climate awareness and education. She has also been honoured as one of the 100 Women of Influence for uniting youth in climate action through the "Youth4Planet" initiative, and she is an inductee of the Australian Businesswomen’s Hall of Fame.

Liz's personal journey into climate advocacy began in 2010 with "Cool School Antarctica," an expedition with 40 teenagers for the Global Youth Climate Summit, alongside Prof. Robert Swan OBE. This project included the first Indigenous youth on the continent, offering a powerful cultural perspective on climate issues. Since then, she’s led many other groundbreaking initiatives. During her tenure as Artist in Residence at The Earth Observatory of Singapore (2019-2024), Liz expanded her reach with projects like Changing Ocean Asia, narrated by Dr. Sylvia Earle, and Future Cities, which delves into nature-based solutions.and, more recently, Antarctica: The Giant Awakens, a documentary exploring the impact of melting glaciers on global sea levels.

Director

A Noongar Traditional Owner, experienced working with communities across Australia, Bec is a driven and experienced executive with 15+ years in project delivery, program design and people leadership in human rights and social justice. She is the Managing Director of First Nations Affairs, an advisory firm that partners with industry, government and Aboriginal corporations towards a just transition, we: elevate First Nations voices and lived experience in policy and programs that impact them; understand and embed the principles of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; understand and promote First Nations self-determination; promote and work towards Nation Building; and drive meaningful and sustainable reconciliation.

Director

Diana has worked collaboratively with Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) people of the Western Deserts over the last fifty years, Learning Pitjantjatjara in 1975 she worked in bilingual education, the arts and community governance. She gained a PhD in 2006 at the Australian National University (ANU) and worked on the Canning Stock Route rock art project. Diana then co-designed and was lead researcher on the Song lines of the Western Desert ARC Project in collaboration with APY, Ngaanyatjar'ra and Martu artists, singers and dancers. 2012-2017 this research team tracked thousands of kilometres over the tri-state deserts to audio-visually record two major Songlines in digital formats for Indigenous knowledge archives. Public outcomes included performances and exhibitions of the Kungkarangkalpa Seven Sisters and Ngintaka Songlines. Tracking the Seven Sisters Exhibition opened at the National Museum of Australia in 2017 and has been touring internationally from late 2020 to England, France, Germany, currently in Finland then to Japan and the United States of America (https;//www.nma.gov.au/exhibltionslsonglines)e