2011 Alpine Resorts Sustainability Forum Presenters
Professor Mike Archer AM - Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales
'Lateral Solutions for Conserving Australia's biodiversity' (ProfessorMikeArcher.PDF; 4.74MB)
A vertebrate palaeontologist and mammalogist, he was Curator of Mammals at the Queensland Museum 1972-1978 and then moved to the University of NSW, where he was appointed Professor of Biological Science in 1989.
Throughout his career he has encouraged public education and involvement highlighted by his establishment of the Riversleigh Project. Exploration of the World Heritage fossil deposits of Riversleigh Queensland began in the 1970s and the Riversleigh Society was formed in 1986.
In 1990 Mike won the inaugural Eureka Prize for the Promotion of Science. Mike Archer left the Australian Museum in 2004 and took up a position as Dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of NSW.
Mark Pesce - inventor, writer, futurist and educator
'Unfamiliar Places'
Mark Pesce is an inventor, writer, educator and broadcaster. Pesce has written five books, including The Playful World: How Technology is Transforming Our Imagination. As an educator, Pesce founded graduate programs in interactive media at both the University of Southern California’s world-famous Cinema School, and the Australian Film, Radio and Television School. For the last six years, Pesce has been a panelist and judge on the ABC’s hit series The New Inventors, as well as a regular commentator on technology and society for JJJ Hack, the 7.30 Report, the 7PM Project, and ABC Local Radio. (Mark Pesce appears by arrangement with Claxton Speakers International)
Rachael Oakes-Ash – ski & snow journalist, travel writer, radio and television presenter
If the snow is falling then you can be guaranteed Rachael is schussing the heli ski powder of Canada’s interior British Columbia, skinning in Utah, cat skiing in Colorado, backcountry skiing in Japan or tackling the clubfields of New Zealand, the resorts of Australia, bootpacking in Chile or supping schnapps in the swanky après life of the European ski fields.
As a ski and snow journalist her work is prolific and her snow words are published regularly in ski mags including Powderhound, Australian & New Zealand Skiing, Snow Action and Action Asia and newspapers including the Sun Herald in Sydney, South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, Melbourne’s Herald Sun, Brisbane’s Courier Mail and Wellington’s Dominion Post. You’ll find Rachael’s ski writing in Emirates Open Skies, Harpers Bazaar, Australian Gourmet Traveller, Jetstar inflight magazine, Virgin Voyeur inflight magazine, DestinAsian, Bride to Be, Holidays for Couples and more.
Rachael is the Australasian editor for North America’s number one snow portal, The Snow and is the snow blogger for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age inMelbourne.
Gerald West - Sales & Marketing Manager, Lake Crackenback Resort
'Lake Crackenback Resort Sustainable Initiatives' (LCR.PDF; 1.18MB)
Gerald has been living in the Snowy Mountains for 12 years, and is involved in the travel/tourism industry in the area since his arrival, from ski resort operations to staff accommodation for the resorts. From an airline and hotel background, working for Qantas and Sheraton Hotels in Sydney and moving to Beijing for a contract position at Sheraton Great Wall Hotel Gerald has worked with two high profile companies. While in Beijing he gained experience in the day to day operation of a large hotel and used that experience to run a very successful ski lodge in Jindabyne for 7 years with his wife and family. Now based at Lake Crackenback Resort as Sales and Marketing Manager since March 2010, he has returned to the industry he loves in an area very close to his heart.
Nathan has been serving as CORE’s Director since December 2008. He operates in a variety of roles including fundraising, staff and project management, policy research and public outreach. He is also primarily responsible for monitoring REMP funded projects, including CORE’s rebate program. Prior to joining CORE in 2005, Nathan worked with a number of wildlife conservation organizations including Conservation International, the Smithsonian, the Wildlife Conservation Society and La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica. He also worked as a naturalist for the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies. Nathan graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Georgia and holds a B.A in Ecological Anthropology and minors in English and Environmental Ethics.
Cliff Wallis – Owner/operator Sundeck Hotel, Perisher Valley
'Greening Sundeck Hotel, Perisher Valley' (SundeckHotel.PDF; 779KB)
Tertiary qualifications in hotel management and business
Owner / operator of Sundeck Hotel since 1991
Registered volunteer with Australian Business Volunteers – projects undertaken in Cambodia and Solomon Islands
Lives on an old sheep farm at Bournda, NSW with wife Sayaka. The property now has very little grazing. 55% of the property is covered by a Voluntary Conservation Agreement and is registered as a wildlife refuge with the Humane Society International. More than 2,500 trees planted.
Member of Far South Coast Birdwatchers and Australian Plants Society
Keen bushwalker, native plant gardener and musician.
Dr Lynne McLoughlin - Snr Education Officer Community Education, OEH
'Save Power Program' (SavePower.PDF; 1.24MB)
Lynne manages social research and program evaluation in the Community Education Section of the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage. In this role she has managed the social research, monitoring and evaluation underpinning a range of NSW environmental campaigns over the past 8 years, including the litter campaign, Don’t be a Tosser, the sustainable living campaign, Our Environment, It’s a Living Thing, and the energy efficiency Black Balloons campaign. Her research responsibilities also include Who Cares about the environment?, NSW’s triennial social research into the environmental knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of the people of NSW, which she ran in 2003, 2006 and 2009. Lynne also teaches post-graduate courses in sustainability education and heritage interpretation in the Graduate School of the Environment at Macquarie University and prior to her current position acted as a consultant to state and local government in a variety of community education and heritage interpretation projects.
Paul Aleckson – Arctic Cat – Chain Systems
'Evolution of Snowmobiles over the past 10 years' (ArcticCat.PDF; 4.48MB)
Paul has been involved in the snow industry for 4 years, since commencing employment with Chain Systems in 2007. Prior to working with Chains Systems Paul had spent 10 years with Wesfarmers Industrial and Safety leaving the company as a Sales Manager for their head office in Sydney. He then moved to Brisbane to be a technical consultant for Transmark Flow Control, Queensland before coming back to Sydney to commence with Chain Systems. Chain Systems began participating in the snow industry in 1987 and has grown to represent the following leading snow brands Arctic Cat, Prinoth and Lietner Poma to name a few. Paul has travelled overseas and worked with all three of these companies gaining experience in Northern Hemisphere conditions and overseen their manufacturing facilities. This has allowed Paul to experience many different snow management practices and apply this locally.
Judy Dixon - Deputy Manager Tourism & Economic Development
'A Collaborative Approach to Sustainable Destination Management' (MansfieldShireCouncil.PDF; 1.67MB)
Deputy Manager Tourism & Economic Development for Mansfield Shire Council, Member Alpine Resorts Coordinating Council, Member Australian Alps National Landscapes Management Committee, Member Board Alpine Resorts Tourism, former Board Member Mt Buller Mt Stirling Alpine Resort Management.
Background in tourism, marketing, media, training and facilitation. A long commitment to the area coupled with a belief that collaboration is essential for sustainability.
Alex Shilton – Principal Policy Officer, Alpine Resorts Co-Ordinating Council
'Secrets to Achieving Diversity' (SecretsAchievingDiversity.PDF; 1.88MB)
Alex is the principal policy officer at the Alpine Resorts Co-ordinating Council (ARCC) and has been involved in the management of alpine resorts for some two decades, commencing with the former Alpine Resorts Commission. During that time Alex has been involved in statutory planning and strategic land use planning, leasing and licensing, land management, research and the development of policy across all aspects of alpine resorts.
Alex is a town planner by training and has worked in Government both in Melbourne and in regional Victoria. Most recently Alex has worked with theVictorian lift companies and alpine resort management boards in the development of a visitor satisfaction survey and is the author of the summary reports of the 2009 and 2010 surveys. A keen downhill skier, Alex has skied since his university days and has skied at most Australian resorts as well as in New Zealand.
Leona Turra – CEO, Mt Baw Baw Alpine Resort
Leona Turra has formal qualifications at Masters level in both social work and business administration. Leona successfully undertook Authorised Officer Training in 2009. Her professional memberships include: The Australian Institute of Management, The Institute of Public Administration Australia, The Australian Human Resource Institute and The Australian Institute of Company Directors. She is also a Justice of the Peace.
Leona has been recruited to her past and current positions, as an organisational change agent, to design, implement and refine organisational and departmental policies and directions. She has been employed over the past 20 years in local government, health, education and alpine sectors. Leona has an alpine industry background as a former member of the Mt Baw Baw Alpine Village Committee (1995-1998), a member of the Victorian Alpine Resorts Coordinating Council (1998-2005), Chair of Mt Baw Baw Alpine Resort Management Board (2001-2005) and became CEO of Mt Baw Baw after a public recruitment process in August 2005. Leona’s alpine activities include a background in downhill and cross-country skiing; instructing/guiding disabled skiers and has taken up snowboarding since 1994. Leona has been CEO of Mt Baw Baw Alpine Resort for five years.
Workshop & Fieldtrip Facilitators
Mel Schroder – Environmental Management Officer (Monitoring), OEH
Mel has 19 years experience (16 with OE&H) working in ecological restoration and rehabilitation projects in a wide range of vegetation communities from the coast to the mountains. Following a move from the NSW mid -north Coast in 2008 she has been employed as the Environmental Management Officer (Monitoring) focussing on a broad range of environmental monitoring programs in and around the alpine ski resorts of Kosciuszko National Park. As part of this position she is working with other experienced staff, resort lessees and the community to improve the implementation of rehabilitation programs in ski resort areas. Her other collaborative projects include water quality monitoring, the development of pest management programs, small mammal monitoring and developing research projects in coordination with various universities.
Tom Hazell – Sustainability Officer – Thirroul Ski Club – Marrantha Lodge
Tom Hazell is the Sustainability Officer for Thirroul Ski Club, who manage Marrantha Lodge in Perisher Valley.
An accountant who then spent 30 years running various equestrian import and manufacturing companies and on retirement studied Land Conservation and Management. For the last 7 years, Tom has been actively involved as a team leader with Conservation Volunteers Australia and as a Volunteer Supervisor and Site Coordinator on bush care sites in Warringah Local Government area of Sydney. Tom has been responsible for leading a team of Club volunteers working on regeneration, weed and erosion control at Marratha Lodge since 2008.
Danny Corcoran - Project Manager- Thredbo Valley Shared Use Track, OEH
NPWS since 1985 Ranger since 1988
Worked in all bio-geographic regions of NSW
First Marine Park Ranger in NSW in Solitary Islands Marine Park
Thredbo Ranger since 1999
Responsible for Kosciuszko Walk (raised steel platform from Thredbo to Rawsons pass) and track emanating from Thredbo & Project Officer for the Thredbo Valley Track since 2008.
Penny McLennan – Manager, Snowy Region Visitor Centre, OEH
Penny McLennan began working with National Parks and Wildlife Service in 1997, as the Visitor Entry Station Coordinator, after two years with the Wilderness Society in Sydney coordinating the Koala fundraising program. In 2000 she became the Manager of the Snowy Region Visitor Centre and has been in that position since then, with breaks here and there for various project work. Part of her role at the visitor centre involves working with local tourism operators and as part of this responsibility she is the Chair of the Kosciuszko Alpine Way Touring Route Steering Committee. Penny is a keen though untalented snowboarder raising two very keen skiers.
Euan Diver - Environmental Services Manager, Kosciuszko Thredbo Pty Ltd
Euan has lived and worked in Thredbo for over 17 years. He is a geological engineer by training and currently manages the Thredbo Environmental Services Department who are responsible for the municipal services for the resort. Euan started his professional career as a geotechnical engineer working in Victoria and following two winter seasons at Falls Creek in the early 90’s, moved to Thredbo as an assistant engineer. He has overseen many of the development projects in Thredbo, including the Crackenback Ridge and Woodridge sub-divisions and installation and upgrade of municipal infrastructure throughout the resort and is responsible for the implementation and management of Thredbo’s environmental management system.
Page last updated: 19 January 2012
