Who we are

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Board Chair the Hon. Niall Blair
Board member since January 2021, appointed Board Chair June 2022

Niall Blair has more than 20 years' experience across the government and private sectors, specialising in risk management, agribusiness, circular economy solutions and sustainability. Mr Blair served as a senior member of the NSW Parliament for 9 years. During his tenure he was appointed Minister for Primary Industries, Water, Lands, Trade and Industry and Deputy Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council.

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Board Deputy Chair Christine Covington
Board member since December 2022

Christine Covington has practiced environmental law for 37 years and was formerly the Independent Chair of the Assessment Review Committee – Native Vegetation. Ms Covington was also a member of the Environment Protection Authority Board for 7 years.

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Professor Leslie 'Phil' Duncan
Board member since April 2024
Professor Leslie 'Phil' Duncan is a member of the Gomeroi/Gamilaroi Nation with a strong connection to the Wiradjuri Nation. Professor Duncan has a background in natural resource management and community engagement with extensive experience providing policy and leadership advice to Indigenous organisations and government agencies.

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Planning and Delivery Committee Chair Dr David Freudenberger
Board member since October 2018
David Freudenberger has experience in senior leadership roles in environmental research at CSIRO, and natural resource management at Greening Australia. He was a senior lecturer at Australian National University (ANU) and remains a Senior Sessional Academic at the Fenner School of Environment and Society, ANU. 

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Public Fund Management Committee Chair John Pierce AO
Board member since December 2020
John Pierce is a senior advisor to governments in the areas of energy and climate change policies. Mr Pierce is currently Adjunct Professor of Economics at Griffith University. He has previously been Chairman of the Australian Energy Market Commission and is a former Secretary of the Federal Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism. 

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Tim King
Board member since December 2022
Tim King is the CIO and co-founder of Melior Investment Management and has an extensive executive career in investing and ESG. He is currently a Senior Advisor to the Gold Standard Foundation board and a member of the investment committee of the Balanggarra Aboriginal Corporation.

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John Maher
Board member since December 2022
John Maher has an extensive executive and board career in agriculture and primary industries. He is Chair of White Prince Pty Ltd and AWN Food & Fibre Holdings and a Director on the Boards of goFARM Australia and the Muir Group. He is a senior advisor to BGH Capital and Precision Pastures Pty Ltd, and was formerly CEO of the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation.

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Ms Fiona Simson
Board member since April 2024
Ms Fiona Simson is a farmer and experienced policy, governance and strategy non-executive Director, with a career in agricultural advocacy and policy development. Ms Simson has a focus on good policy, governance and strategy to support rural and regional communities. Ms Simson was the first female Chair of the National Farmers' Federation and now serves on a number of Boards and Advisory Committees.

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Dr Jane Weatherley
Board member since December 2022
Jane Weatherley has worked across a number of organisations in the agricultural sector, and in her current role as a CEO she manages the national traceability database for biosecurity and food safety purposes for Integrity Systems.

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Chief Executive Officer Dr Erin Giuliani
Erin Giuliani has held a number of leadership roles in the NSW Government over the past 5 years. As an Executive Director at the NSW Department of Education, Dr Giuliani led policy and delivery reform for the department and oversaw financial management and governance of a multi-billion dollar capital program as Chief Operating Officer for School Infrastructure NSW. Prior to a career with the NSW Government, Dr Giuliani was Senior Associate at the global consulting firm Korn Ferry.

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Director Programs Mick O'Flynn
Mick O’Flynn was appointed Director Programs of the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust in July 2022. Mick’s career spans more than 25 years in environmental management with experience in local government, the NSW Environment Protection Authority, the NSW Environmental Trust, WaterNSW and NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. Prior to joining the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust, Mick led the NSW Government’s sustainability and emission reduction programs.

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Director Regional Delivery Alan Goodwin
Alan Goodwin was appointed Director Regional Delivery of the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust in November 2017. Alan’s career spans 30 years and includes extensive experience in land and conservation management. Alan has had an extensive career with the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning as Regional Director and Chief Fire Officer, and prior to this, within Forestry Tasmania.

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Director Strategy and Finance Emily McCosker
Emily was appointed NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust Director Strategy and Finance in February 2021. Emily commenced her career as a policy graduate at the Environment Protection Authority. Her career in the NSW public sector has included policy and governance roles across a range of portfolios including the environment, consumer affairs, criminal justice and government procurement. Emily holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Government, a Masters of International Development and Graduate Certificate in United States Studies.

Co-director Partnerships and Investment Kate Smillie 
Kate Smillie led development of programs to implement a NSW Government investment of $350 million in private land conservation. Ms Smillie has worked within the private land conservation sector since 2005, holding a leadership role with the Nature Conservation Trust of NSW. Kate has worked with the Biodiversity Conservation Trust since its establishment in 2017.

Co-director Partnerships and Investment Holly Park

The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust's Audit and Risk Committee provides independent assistance and assurance to the Trust's Board by monitoring, reviewing and providing advice on governance, financial management, risk management, conformance, internal auditing and our external accountability. Staff members from the Audit Office of NSW regularly attend meetings alongside the Trust's internal auditors. The Audit and Risk Committee membership includes two Board members, independent Chair David Black and independent member Julie Orr.

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Audit and Risk Committee Independent Chairperson David Black
David Black is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He has a BA(Hons) in Economics, a Masters of Business Administration, and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Mr Black serves as the independent member on one other Government sector audit committee and is a non-executive director and audit committee member of an ASX listed company. 

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Audit and Risk Committee Independent Julie Orr 
Julie Orr is a Chartered Accountant, a fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia and Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Ms Orr holds a Masters of Commerce (Hons) in economics, and a Masters of Commerce in finance, from the University of NSW. She also holds a Bachelor of Economics from Adelaide University. Ms Orr is a director of Australian Ethical Investments Limited, AvSuper and Masters Swimming NSW and was previously on the Board of Perennial Value Management and Ord Minnett. 

The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust's Public Fund Management Committee is responsible for ensuring the compliance of the Trust's public fund with requirements under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016. 

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Public Fund Management Committee independent member Lizzie Borwick
Lizzie Borwick is a senior not-for-profit executive with international fundraising, marketing and communications experience. She is the Director for Fundraising and Philanthropy at Amnesty International Australia. Lizzie serves as Director on the Love Mercy Foundation Board and was previously a Director on the Fundraising Institute of Australia Board. 

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Public Fund Management Committee independent member Roewen Wishart
Roewen Wishart is the High Value and Strategy Director of Xponential Group, advising not-for-profit organisations on big gift campaigns and philanthropic fundraising strategy. Mr Wishart sits on the Board of Conservation International Australia, Diplomacy Training Program UNSW, and the Fundraising Institute of Australia (FIA). Roewen has a life-long interest in conservation, and served as the fundraising director for Bush Heritage Australia for a long period.

The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust's Programs and Delivery Committee provides advice to the Board on the organisation's program design, program planning, program delivery and performance.