Our Board

Carolyn Loton

Chairperson

A Nature Conservation Council board member since 2021, Carolyn is passionate about nature and Australia’s biodiversity. She believes that immediate action to address climate change is imperative. Prior to becoming the Chair of NCC in 2022 she held the role of Treasurer. As Treasurer, she led the formalisation of the NCC Evans Wetlands Bequest policy and associated initiatives; and was also involved in developing clearer internal reporting formats. Carolyn is a co-founder of Professionals Advocating for Climate Action, established in response to the 2019/2020 Australian Bush fires, and with a membership of over 400 people in NSW and across the country. Carolyn works fulltime in the marketing agency she founded in 2006. She is a Qualified Practicing Researcher (Australian Research Society) and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She originally trained and worked as an Occupational Therapist and holds an MBA from the University of Edinburgh Scotland.

Julie Taylor Mills

Vice Chairperson & Southern Regional Representative

Julie has spent the last 20 years of her professional life working in the field of Environmental and Social Governance - assessing, monitoring and advocating for better sustainability practice by corporations globally, and in Australia. She has long held a passion for the forests of the South East and holds the firm belief that they should be left standing and this commitment was strengthened from lived experience in the 2019/2020 fires. Julie joined the NCC Executive after the fires in 2020 as representative for the South of the State, held a former role on the Board of WIRES and is involved in a range of other environmental causes, ranging from impact investment, fostering independent candidates, committed to climate change outcomes, Australian Wildlife Conservancy support and membership of the Australian Environmental Grantmakers Network.

Susheela Peres da Costa

Secretary

Susheela Peres da Costa is Chair of the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia and a director of US‐based think tank, The Shareholder Commons, and principal of the Stewardship Centre. Since 2006 she has advised financial institutions on responsible investment governance, strategy, and implementation. Susheela is a passionate believer in the power of community and deeply committed to the role of civil society in healthy democracies; and is experienced in shaping outcome-driven governance for not-for-profit organisations with diverse membership bases.

Luke Austin

Treasurer

Luke is a senior finance executive who has spent 21 years working to help multinational IT companies optimise their financial performance, including responding to changing stakeholder requirements, regulatory changes and other external events. He has a deep belief in the importance of sustainability and climate change action, including the key roles that individuals, corporations and governments need to play. He is a member of Professionals Advocating for Climate Action and brings a wealth of financial management and corporate governance skills and experience to the NCC board.

Justine Bucknell

For the last 20 years Justine has been director/secretary of Quambone Pastoral Co. with her husband Dugald, who run a beef cattle production enterprise on the eastern side of the Macquarie Marshes and floodplain. Justine is also Secretary for the Macquarie Marshes Environmental Landholders Association, a group of floodplain graziers in and around the Macquarie Marshes who are concerned with preserving the RAMSAR listed wetlands with the challenge of ever diminishing flows in the lower Macquarie Wambuul River. Justine is a member of Healthy Rivers Dubbo, and the Great Artesian Basin Protection Group, and helped with the No CSG and pipeline campaign in Coonamble and participated in the campaign against a proposed re-regulating weir at Gin Gin in the Macquarie River.

Justine has advertising and marketing experience along with communication, customer relations and organisational skills, is politically motivated and strongly believes in the power of grassroots advocacy, focusing on the sustainability of the Murray Darling Basin as a whole. She has on ground experience with the challenges of retaining flows in the lower Macquarie Wambuul River and has observed changes in ecosystems as a result of reduced flows and climate change. Justine hopes for a sustainable and viable future for her children, and that is a key driver for her motivation.

Prof. Don White

Don has been actively involved in the environment movement and with conservation issues his entire life. Though he semi-retired in 1998 from his life as an engineer, he now seem to be more active than ever with a part time position at the University of Sydney and environmental interests in Climate change, Sustainable living, Bushfire, Water (rural and urban), Forest conservation, waste and waste avoidance and local environment issues. As well as being an active member of many other organisations, Don was Chair of the Nature Conservation Council board for 17 years and was Treasurer before this.

Peter Singleton Coughlan

Peter is a recently retired Chartered Accountant and business consultant. He is an active volunteer with both Hunter Renewal, a project of Lock the Gate, and the Hunter Community Alliance. He currently sits on the boards of Lock the Gate and the New South Wales Alliance for Community Building. He completed the AICD Company Directors course in 2016. In recent years he has also beeni a board member of several Hunter based not-for-profit organisations including Hunter Basketball Assocation, Connectability and Lifeline Hunter Central Coast.

Jim Morrison

North Regional Representative

Jim has been resident of rural NENSW for more than thirty years and active in regional conservation issues for most of this time. He has an extensive communication network with conservation groups and individuals across the North Coast and Northern Tablelands and works closely with indigenous groups including the Firesticks Alliance on regional Natural Resource Management projects. In addition to being a Nature Conservation Council executive member 15 years, Jim is currently the president of North Coast Environment Council, Member of North East Forest Alliance, President of Northern Rivers Fire and Biodiversity Consortium, and the NCC representative on Clarence Valley Bushfire Management Committee.

Julie Barnes

Julie has spent eight years volunteering for WIRES, rescuing and releasing hundreds of birds in the eastern suburbs, and periodically acting as the bird coordinator. She channelled her concern about land clearing and climate change into campaigning against the Biodiversity Act and volunteering with TEC and NCC. Professionally, Julie has a background is in law and finance, working as a corporate lawyer in New York before moving to Sydney in 2003. She went on to become a Director at Credit Suisse where she was head of investment banking legal for Australia.

Winsome Hall, OAM

Winsome is a highly experienced non-executive director with over twenty-five years of trustee and corporate board roles, largely in the finance sector. She brings a strategic, member focused outlook, and diverse thought leadership experience to the NCC board. Winsome was involved in the Franklin River campaign, has campaigned against forest logging and as a part of various climate actions. She is a member of the Australian Conservation Foundation, Australian Plant Society NSW, various bush care groups within the Southern Highlands, and a supporter of native habitat groups, in addition to being President of the Friends of Wingecarribee.

Terry Korn

Terry has been involved in water management since 1979 through management of the Macquarie Marshes. Terry has sat on catchment management committees, regional vegetation management committees, national parks advisory committees and boards for West 2000, West 2000+ and Mutawintji national park. From 1999-2006 Terry was Director Western for NSW NPWS during which he acted as director general. Terry established a water reform unit for western NSW which negotiated water sharing plans for western rivers. Since retirement Terry has held positions on the committee of the Australian Floodplain Association (primarily floodplain graziers), including the presidency for six years during which time he lobbied for healthy rivers. Terry has sat on the Productivity Commission's stakeholder working party which undertook the 5-year review of the Murray Darling Basin Plan and was a member of the Commonwealth Environment Water Holders Stakeholder Reference Group. In 2007, Terry was awarded the Public Service medal for conservation in western NSW, Aboriginal joint management, establishing the protected area system in Timo-Leste and managing the Brigalow Belt South bioregional assessment process. Terry has consulted to the NSW Natural Resources Commission as an independent expert on pest management.