I’ve long had a passion for environmental management and conservation, and the unique challenges of the Australian bush led me to study and work with a particular interest in fire ecology. Early in my career, I completed an honors project on the ecological impacts of bushfire suppression operations on native species recovery, weed invasion and soil compaction, and made recommendations for improvement.
After university, I started working with the Country Fire Authority, where I supported the operations in the State Control Centre and then worked in land-use planning, in the early days of the Wildfire Management Overlay (now Bushfire Management Overlay).
I started with Parks Victoria in 1999, when I spent a year supporting tourism operations and licensed tour operators across the state. I then moved to East Gippsland and worked right across the region, planning and coordinating projects, including the return of land to Mitchell River National Park that was previously destined for a large dam.
Following the proclamation of Victoria’s system of marine national parks and marine sanctuaries, I worked across eastern Victoria writing management plans for the seven marine national parks and sanctuaries from Cape Liptrap to Cape Howe, including Wilsons Promontory Marine National Park.
I then worked as Ranger in Charge in Bairnsdale before moving to Central Queensland, where I also worked as a Ranger in Charge. This experience was challenging and very rewarding, as I learned new approaches across new environments.
With a young family and the lure of extended family in Victoria, we returned home and I worked again for Parks Victoria, this time as a District Program Manager in the Otways/Surf Coast. Here, I was involved in a range of strategic initiatives, including overseeing the implementation of programs and projects for the newly declared Great Otway National Park.
Following the Black Saturday bushfires and Royal Commission, I helped set up a team to implement a new approach to bushfire management in the Otways as part of a pilot program. I was seconded to DELWP for this important period.
I was subsequently offered the position of District Manager for northeast Victoria, overseeing up to 40 staff in six different locations. Around this time, I became president of the school council in Bright, and was a member of a not-for-profit community leadership program board.
My recognition of the need to make personal change led me to study coaching and mentoring with a view to helping men recovering from the grief and trauma associated with divorce. This was an interim period — a working sabbatical — that allowed me to further clarify and fine-tune the philosophy and practice of positive psychology. During this period, I maintained my connection and interest with conservation and land management.
Becoming a consultant was a natural evolution from all these experiences. I am continuing to work with a number of organisations on a range of interesting projects, including Parks Victoria, DELWP and bushfire management consultancies.
A full list of my experiences are detailed in the CV section below.
