Executive Board
Nigel Murphy
Board Chair
Peter Burgess
Vice Chair
I am trained as a metallurgical engineer and held senior operational, corporate and advisory roles with several large Australian and international mining and manufacturing projects including Alcoa in Western Australia, Victoria and USA, served as Chair of the Federal Government and Industry Light Metals Action Agenda, on the Board of Engineers Without Borders Australia and as consultant to Alumina Ltd and CSIRO Minerals and Energy. I believe that, more than ever before we need our forests to provide habitat, shade, stabilise land and produce oxygen and clean water; soils that are living organisms able to sustain healthy food crops; and clean air unburdened by emissions from excessive extraction and burning of fossil fuels. I believe biochar is starting to play what will become a major beneficial role for our forests, soils, water and air as well as providing sustainable circular economy benefits to local communities. I believe that Australia and New Zealand will gain significant environmental, social and economic benefits using 21st century technologies to produce renewable energy and biochar from biomass residues.
Melissa Rebbeck
I am Director of Climate & Agricultural Support Pty Ltd, also a Councillor for the Goolwa Hindmarsh Island Ward of the Alexandrina Council, Project manager/developer, business management/development, innovator, stakeholder manager, facilitator, researcher, extension professional, board and group support, farmer. 20 years experience as an applied climate, agricultural and environmental scientist. I am a Member of the following boards/groups: South Australian Livestock Consultants South Australian Dairy Industry Fund Board Fleurieu Farming Systems Board Fleurieu Beef Group Secretary/Treasurer Alexandrina Sustainable Agricultural Round Table Environmental Advisory Panel – Alexandrina Council Ranges to River NRM Group Chair of the Murray Darling Association Inc – Region 6 Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth Community Advisory Panel
Dennis Enright
I live at Mosgiel, Dunedin on a hectare of land and have more than 20 years experience in soil and fertiliser research with AgResearch, as well as organic production and certification. NZ Biochar Ltd was established in 2008. I am very keen to have biochar recognised and used as a tool for sustainable management. I am currently the Chairperson of the Biochar Network New Zealand, recently nominated for a second year term.
Hilary Furlong
Hilary is retired and lives on Tamborine Mountain, Queensland. Professional experience includes: advertising department David Jones Ltd (Brisbane); actress, publicity, production The College Players, Queensland’s first fully professional theatre company; National Press Officer, The Australian Opera (now Opera Australia); theatrical agent M&L Casting Consultants; Director, Special Production Fund, Australian Film Commission; independent film maker: producer Don’t Call Me Girlie (documentary); producer/script The Place at the Coast (feature); prod./dir./script The Golden Cord (documentary); research/production Island of Dreams; The Secret Discovery of Australia (documentaries); publishing supervisor Four Plays Nimrod Theatre Press; editor On the Edge of Red Jo Dutton/Transworld; Administrator, School of Drama, VCA, Melbourne.
From 1989 in Top End, NT: consultant Australia Council for the Arts; NT Centre for Contemporary Art; NTU>CDU School of Fine Arts; from 1999 in Central Australia as: Manager, Ernabella Arts Inc.; Central Land Council, Community Development Unit.
Dr. Stephen Joseph
Stephen Joseph holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Metallurgical Engineering and a doctorate in Architecture and Applied Anthropology. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Energy, a chartered engineer and has been a senior adviser to both commercial, government and non-government organizations, in renewable energy, and sustainable agriculture and forestry. Stephen has extensive experience worldwide in all forms of renewable energy including biodiesel, oil from algae, biomass combustion, pyrolysis and gasification plant, biochar, plastic wood composite, microhydro, wind and solar energy additives for high strength concretes. He has also been involved in multi-country market research into areas related to biochar, waste recycling and renewable energy. He has written over 100 books and articles and lectured and trained other engineers and scientists throughout the world. He was the founding vice chairman of the International Biochar Initiative and co-editor with Dr. Johannes Lehmann of Biochar for Environmental Management. He served on the committee of Australia New Zealand Committee and was a founding memebr from 2017-2020. He is currently a visiting Professor at UNSW, UNE, Univ. of Wollongong and Nanjing Agricultural Univ., China
Don Coyne
Executive Director
I am a Qualified Horticulturist with over 25 years experience in the industry. I am also a qualified Adult trainer, Frontline and Small Business Manager. I have worked previously with NSW DPI Soils team as Technical Assistant on Biochar projects and have coordinated three ANZ Biochar Conference’s & one Study Tour. I am currently event coordinator for this year’s 2nd Australia New Zealand Biochar Study Tour & 4th Conference (ANZBC20) and previous to this role I was the First Public Officer & President for Australia New Zealand Biochar Initiative (ANZBI) from 2017-2020. I own and operate Byron Biochar, a reseller of Australian Made Biochar & Wood Vinegar.
Advisory Board
All members of our executive board are on our advisory board
Laura Fell
Laura Fell is a successful rural producer and businesswoman and a widely experienced director in private and public sector boards. She has over 15 years’ experience as Chairman of energy sector start-up businesses and has developed a strong interest in the production and applications for Biochar as a by-product of electricity generation from biomass. Laura is widely experienced in strategic planning and has an extensive understanding of the rural sector. Laura’s formal qualifications include an MBA and she is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Fellow of the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation.
Shaun Scallan
Head of Products: Capricorn Power. Eng Electrical Engineering, Grad. Dip. Chem Eng, MSc Renewable Energy. After establishing 3 For Purpose Startups at Planet Ark over the past 6 years, Shaun joined Capricorn Power in February 2020 to commercialise the next generation of Capricorn Power’s innovative new Heat Engine. This Australian designed Heat Engine produces electricity from heat more efficiently and can be deployed at smaller scale than current technologies, and uses no water. Shaun is an Electrical Engineer with postgraduate studies in Chemical Engineering and a MSc in Renewable Energy. He is passionate about creating a renewable and sustainable energy future.
Karen Enkelaar
Co-director, Agspand Pty Ltd, healthy profitable agriculture. Author, “A Commercial Cycle for Biochar Markets”, a consultant tool outlining the community participants and commercial uses of biochar in a large-scale industry, which contributes to managing waste, improving soils, and the sequestration of CO2eqv gases. Education and business non-fiction book and journal copy editor and designer
Graham Lancaster
I am a long-term professional staff member Southern Cross University and its predecessor institutions since the early 1990s. In 1987 I commenced study in the Bachelor of Applied Science Coastal Management and then conducted Honours in 1990 in water and environmental chemistry. Under the mentorship of Professor David McConchie (Dec.) I was instrumental in the establishment of the University’s Environmental Analysis Laboratory (EAL) in 1993 which was initially based in the School of Environment, Science and Management. The EAL start-up concept was due to a lack of instrumentation funding available to a small regional university to support research, therefore commercial income was essential. The EAL is now a successful research, teaching and environmental agricultural laboratory supporting over 40 staff and has a commercial income of almost $5m per year with continued national and international growth. I have been Director/Manager of the EAL for over 25 years. I am very active with the University Gym and running groups, in the community for regional tennis and international competitive waveski surfing.
Andre Van Zyl
Mr. Van Zyl graduated in 1986 as a Chemical Engineer from the “VAAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY” in South Africa. He has substantial experience in process plant design and commissioning for the steel, water treatment, mineral processing and mining industry in Africa, Asia and South America. For the past 15 years he has focused substantially and has acquired specialized knowledge and skills in pavement and construction technology, especially in the development, manufacturing and application of environmentally friendly emulsified bitumen cold premix materials for new urban and remote infrastructure development areas. During the last 4 years, he has been instrumental in the further development and re-design of carbon rich binder technologies to suite specific climatic, geotechnical and soil conditions as commercially viable and carbon neutral/negative construction products in the ASEAN region, utilizing large quantities of BioChar and other products obtained from torrefaction and pyrolysis processes.
Patrice Newell
Patrice Newell was once on Television. But she left that industry in 1987 to become a sustainable land manager and writer/researcher dedicated to developing and communicating improved agricultural systems and innovations in an era of rapid climate change. Elmswood Farm has been her obsession ever since. Read about her PhD in Biochar & CV
Euan Beamont
Originally a farmer from Mullewa, Western Australia, I am the co-founder of Energy Farmers Australia. I hold a degree in Agribusiness, a diploma in Farm Management and have over 20 years experience in agriculture. I lease my farm to local farmers from Mullewa and I take a keen interest in the West Australian agriculture industry. I have also travelled and worked throughout the world in various logistic and construction roles with the French aid organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres or Doctors without Borders. I have worked for a large offsetting company in WA, have studied carbon accounting and reporting and have a strong knowledge of the Australian carbon market. I have experience in business development, stakeholder engagement, public relations, marketing and international logistics. I participate on a number of boards and steering committees.
Annette Cowie
I am a Technical Specialist climate policy (Principal research scientist) Climate Research and Development at the NSW Department of Primary Industries. My Research interests include sustainable land management – indicators, assessment, certification and policy development, assessing and enhancing resilience of agro-ecosystems, carbon dynamics in agriculture and forestry, GHG accounting for inventory and emissions trading, life cycle assessment, especially to assess the carbon footprint of products, and climate change mitigation value of reforestation, bioenergy and biochar systems. I have a background in soil science and plant nutrition, with particular interest in sustainable resource management. Annette contributes to development of climate change policy and GHG mitigation in the agriculture sector, including GHG accounting for emissions trading at state, national and international levels. Annette was a lead author in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Climate Change and Land, and is a lead author in the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report.
Adrian Morphett
I am an environmental engineer with over 27 years experience in energy and carbon sector. I have specialised in conducting greenhouse gas and energy audits to comply with the relevant regulations and standards; and providing specialist technical, engineering and commercialisation consulting on biomass and bioenergy technologies, and industrial and commercial building energy efficiency projects. I have had a varied career spanning several industries including petrochemical, government, academia, energy design and mechanical drafting. I am co-inventor of the Charmaker Batch & Continuous pyrolysis technologies and run the Green Man Char operations @ Earth Systems.
Jennifer Lauber-Patterson
Jennifer Lauber Patterson, Managing Director of Frontier Impact Group, has a 30 year track record in developing and advising on technologies or solutions that have an environmental and social impact. Jennifer’s passion is to fill the gaps between a good idea or new technology or business models by assisting it to become a bankable outcome. Jennifer commenced her career over 30 years ago, when she was awarded a company sponsored scholarship in the electricity generation sector in the Latrobe Valley. She started working on the shop floor before moving up in to management, senior finance and then electricity trading roles. Nearly 25 years ago she pioneered one of the first green electricity trades in the market that began her interest in sustainable solutions.