Our people

Fiona has 25 years' experience as a registered practicing architect, urban ecologies researcher, local government leader, and board member. Fiona’s recent roles include Executive Manager City Design and Executive Manager Catalyst Projects at the City of Ballarat, and the Founder and Director of Civic Collective, an urban research and design consulting agency dedicated to assisting government and community organisations address complex, place-based challenges and foster inclusive communities and sustainable, thriving places. Fiona holds a Ph.D. in Architecture and has undertaken extensive research in the field of Urban Design and Ecologies at Deakin University where she holds an Adjunct Associate Professorship.

Tim is an experienced membership engagement and systems manager, community organiser, volunteer manager, campaigner and governance expert. He heads up the memberships team at Renew, coming on board in early 2022. Tim is also Deputy Mayor of the City of Port Phillip.

Dean is responsible for policy analysis and advocacy in national and state energy markets, with an emphasis on making the energy system work better for residential consumers while also reducing its environmental impact. He's passionate about ensuring that no-one is left behind as we transition to a clean energy future. Qualified as a social worker, Dean worked in several community development roles followed by a decade in energy policy advocacy for the Victorian Council of Social Service before joining Renew in 2016.

Rob leads Renew’s Climate Resilient Homes campaign. Rob has extensive experience in campaigns, policy, advocacy, research, and federal politics. He has worked on housing, energy and climate issues as a caseworker, community organiser, and policy advisor.

Anna has been in communications at Renew since 2010. For many years a member of the production team for Renew and Sanctuary magazines, she has also been responsible for various projects including organisation of more than a dozen Speed Date a Sustainability Expert events around the country. She became Managing Editor of Sanctuary in July 2019 and has a passion for sustainable architecture and clever house design.

Lance is technical editor of Renew: Technology for a Sustainable Future, and Sanctuary: modern green homes, Australia’s leading magazines on renewable energy and sustainable living. He has worked for Renew for nearly 30 years and been involved in publications, IT and the organisation’s original website. He has a strong interest in all things related to sustainable technology.

As advertising manager, Mohit is a part of the communications team. He is responsible for maintaining relationships with advertising customers and developing collaboration for Renew's initiatives, including sponsorships for Sustainable House Day. Mohit has eight years of sales and marketing experience of both traditional and digital advertising.

James joined Renew in 2020, after completing a B.A majoring in Political Science at the University of Queensland. James is passionate about ethical politics, social justice and political theory.

Previously our Events Manager, Jess has recently returned from maternity leave on a part time basis, organising our Green Rebuild Toolkit event series.

As our Organisational Support Officer, Lori keeps things flowing. Lori has qualifications in Professional Writing, International Relations and Sustainable Development. She has experience in State and Local Government and the energy sector. She has a particular interest in sustainable strata management, energy regulation and a circular economy.

Harry has a background in environmental management and renewable energy. He manages Renew’s projects in East Timor and Indigenous communities in Australia. Prior to Renew, Harry worked with both small and large renewable energy organisations in Australia, the Pacific and sub-Saharan Africa, including establishing a social enterprise that has reached millions of people with solar-powered lighting.

Mick Harris re joined the board in December of 2020. He has an extensive background in the renewable energy and sustainability area. He is currently the managing director of two private companies, EnviroGroup and EnviroShop. He has previously worked in local government managing on a range of environmental programs. Mick has a long history with Renew and has previously been President, Treasurer, CEO and a part time staff member giving technical advice to members. He founded the International Projects Group and the magazine Renew. He is also currently an apprentice electrician. “I like to get my hand dirty”.

Alicia works as a manager in stakeholder engagement at the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO). She started her career as an engineer in the wind industry, and worked at the ATA in 2007 to research and deliver the report ‘The Viability of Domestic Wind Turbines in Urban Melbourne’. After a few more years of technical wind engineering, she pivoted into energy policy about 10 years ago when she worked as a Policy Director at the Clean Energy Council. Most recently she spent 18 months in the Victorian Government, including working as Senior Energy Adviser to Minister D’Ambrosio and in the Energy Department, where she managed the Wholesale markets and security team. Alicia enjoys speaking and writing about energy, and in her spare time has contributed articles to Renew magazine, and has developed five university guest lectures on wind energy technology and policy, which she still delivers. She has a Bachelor of Mechatronics Engineering with Honours from UWA and a Master of Environment from Melbourne Uni.

Graham has been a member of Renew/ATA for 17 years. He has been involved in the committee of the Sydney Central branch since its formation around 2008 and is currently co-convenor of that branch. He designed and built his first passive solar house in 1983 and has been involved with sustainable design since then. Graham was NSW State Secretary of the ANZSES (Australian and NZ Solar Energy Society) from 2005 till 2011 and during that period was the state coordinator for Sustainable House Day. He renovated his home two years ago to make it more energy efficient, adding a 3 kW solar system and grows a lot of veggies. He likes to cycle rather than drive as much as possible. Graham is a Registered Architect with over 33 years of experience and a NatHERS assessor with over 20 years of experience. He is currently Director of Delisle Hunt Wood Pty Ltd Architects – www.dhwdesign.com Graham represents the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA) on various national government committees in relation to the NatHERS system and energy efficiency in the building regulations. For the Australian Building Sustainability Association (ABSA) he undertakes QA assessments of NatHERS assessments and assist with their technical support. Linkedin profile.

Dick is principal of Envirotecture and is an Accredited Building Designer with 40 years experience. He focuses exclusively on ecologically sustainable and culturally appropriate buildings, as well as sustainable design in vehicles and vessels, and has received many Design Awards. He is Director of Sustainability and past President of the NSW Chapter of Building Designers Association of Australia (BDAA). He is a past President and Board Member of the Association of Building Sustainability Assessors (ABSA). Dick currently sits on the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC), the peak body representing industries committed to a sustainable built environment. He has been design director of many hundreds of projects over 40 years, with sustainability as the major driver over that whole period (with the ever-changing understanding of what sustainability is), and his work has covered a wide variety of project sizes and types. Dick has edited the sought after book for designers, builders and home-owners; ‘How to Rethink Building Materials’.

Jenita is an experienced conservation campaigner, facilitator, researcher and sustainability practitioner. She was recognised as an emerging leader in the fields of ‘Environment and Sustainability’, after being awarded a 2019 emerging business in leadership award from the Perth Women’s Business Alliance. She lives and breathes sustainability, having recently designed and built an all electric solar passive home in Walyalup (Fremantle) with her partner, and is driven by the vision of a safe climate & healthy biodiverse planet for future generations, including her 3 year old daughter.

Clint is an experienced general manager and strategic leader with over 15 years’ experience in sustainable design, residential property development, major infrastructure delivery, and commercial negotiation. He is currently the General Manager of The Cape housing estate in Cape Paterson, Australia’s first net zero carbon housing estate of scale, and has a bachelor's degree in engineering and a master's in business. As the co-founder of Integrated Sustainability Consulting Clint also advises government and private sector clients on practical sustainability and regenerative solutions for their projects. Clint was elected to the Renew's board at the 2021 AGM.

Shaila Divakarla received her Ph.D. in Sustainable Architecture from the University of Melbourne. She is also a registered architect (NSW) and sustainable design consultant with over 15 years of experience in the building industry in Australia. She is currently working in local Government providing expert sustainability advice on planning applications and council projects and is also a sessional academic at University of Sydney. Shaila’s experience has spanned widely across design, research, project coordination/management, expert sustainability advice, education/training. She has been on several judging panels for sustainable building awards for a number of years. Her passion for sustainable built environments in the mainstream is demonstrated by a proven track record in championing sustainable project housing highlighted by her key role as Design Sustainability Specialist in the Ecoliving Display Village, which was the recipient of state and national awards in 2012. Shaila also contributed to the recently released ISO standard 20400 on sustainable procurement as a member of the Australian delegation and actively collaborated with national and international sustainability standards organisations to scale up impacts during her role as Standards and Technical Manager at Good Environmental Choice Australia. Her commitment to a sustainable built environment is unwavering and her focus has always been on implementation at grassroots level and sharing information and knowledge freely. This has seen her engage in several voluntary activities in this area including Renew’s (and previously ATA’s) Speed Date a Sustainability Designer for several years. Shaila joined the Renew Board in December 2020."