Felicity is a senior climatologist at the Bureau of Meteorology. She has worked extensively across many sectors including government, agriculture, energy, and emergency management, and more recently with Defence and the National Security sector. She has a background in aviation forecasting, extended and long-range climate forecasts, and the influence of climate drivers on global rainfall and temperature patterns. During her career she has worked closely with grain farmers in Tamworth, Defence personnel preparing for the high risk weather season, and government staff in diplomatic posts around the globe. She also contributes to the World Meteorological Organisation's expert team on climate services.

Karen leads 400 employees across 18 locations, to set the state sport policy agenda and provide direct service delivery to communities throughout NSW.

Despite significant challenges in recent years, Karen is proud to have continued serving communities and supporting the sport sector. Throughout various adverse weather events, including bushfire, flood and drought, the Office of Sport has operated its sport and recreation centres as evacuation centres to provide displaced community members with accommodation and assist emergency services workers. In addition, the Office of Sport has offered relief programs for youth who were directly impacted during these difficult times and administered grant programs to support the repair and restoration of vital sport infrastructure.

Prior to this appointment Karen was the Executive Director of the Sports Infrastructure Group at the Office of Sport overseeing the delivery of sport infrastructure across NSW. Earlier in her executive career, Karen was the Director of Transport Assessments and the Director of Infrastructure Projects at the NSW Department of Planning and Environment where she managed the assessment of critical infrastructure and transport projects, including the Sydney International Convention, Exhibition and Entertainment Precinct, Northern Beaches Hospital, Sydney CBD Light Rail, the Pacific Highway and WestConnex.

Karen holds a Masters of Business Administration and has studied at Harvard University, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and Western Sydney University.

Peter is a highly respected and experienced sports executive who has led notable changes at the local, state, and national level across all areas of community football, particularly governance and management reform. Peter worked in the AFL system for 22 years as Community Football Manager for AFL Victoria (12 Years), including the past 10 years as CEO of the Northern Football Netball League. During this time, Peter was involved in growing the game, particularly female football, multicultural and indigenous programs, club development resources and policy development and education programs, volunteer programs, stakeholder engagement with government at all levels, and incident management. Peter is a strategic and big picture thinker who has a strong focus on developing people to be the best they can be. Peter commenced as CEO of the Australian Camps Association on January 31 this year, and he is looking forward to working with and supporting and assisting all stakeholders within the camps and outdoors industry.

Tim Macartney-Snape is widely recognised as one of the world’s elite alpinists. He conceived and led the first Australian team to ascend Mt Everest, pulling off what was described at the time as ‘the mountaineering coup of the century’ by establishing a new and difficult route on the north face, climbing alpine style without the assistance of supplemental oxygen or high altitude Sherpa porters. Among other difficult ascents, Tim went back to Everest in 1990 becoming the first and still only person to walk, then climb all the way from sea level to the summit of Everest. A climb he accomplished solo and again without oxygen. Tim co-founded the globally successful outdoor equipment brand Sea to Summit. He recently divested his share to pursue other interests in outdoor adventure, environmental initiatives and evolutionary biology.

Greg has spent most of his life involved in the camping and horse industry, working at camps in both Australia and Canada. When a unique opportunity arose in 2010, he then transitioned into the insurance industry to work at Affinity Insurance Brokers in the Equine and Leisure team. He has worked his way through the business, from a broking assistant to now Manager of Affinity’s Equine and Leisure division.  In 2022, he was recognised by the National Insurance Brokers Association as Young Broker of the year for Victoria and Tasmania for his work in the Equine and Tourism and Leisure industry.

Greg is a qualified Horse Safety Australia instructor and is an ASPA (Australian Ski Patrol Association) qualified patroller at Mount Baw Baw in Victoria, holds a Bachelor of Science from Monash University in Ecology and is a Qualified Practicing Insurance Broker and Senior Associate with ANZIIF (The Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance).

Aaron has been working in outdoor adventure education for 25 years. He was an instructor at Outward Bound Australia in the 90’s, and since then has been an outdoor trainer, ran youth at risk programs and worked in leadership roles at various Outward Bound schools around the world.

Aaron is a member and secretary of the Accreditation Council of the Association for Experiential Education (USA), which sets standards in adventure programing and outdoor behavioral healthcare. He also serves on the Global Research Advisory Committee for Outward Bound International, and as treasurer for the Asia Pacific Regional Council of the Association for Experiential Education, which convenes an education conference each year around Asia.

In addition to outdoor qualifications, he has a Master of Education, an EMBA, a Bachelor of Arts (Media Communications), and a Diploma of Training and Assessment. Aaron enjoys trekking, cycling, sailing, paddling and golf.

David Bell has been the President of Bushwalking NSW Inc since 2022. Bushwalking NSW represents over 70 bushwalking clubs in NSW and the ACT. Collectively, they comprise around 11,000 members.

David Bell has been bushwalking most of his adult life. He loves the outdoors, in particular long-distance walks. There are places that are remote and wild and it is a privilege to be able to visit them.  He has recently decided to write more about these places. Hopefully, to encourage others to also visit them or, if not, to at least enjoy reading about these places. He recently completed a project to walk from Tweed Heads to Hawks Nest along what is simply a stunning coastline. More people should do it.

Scintillate is the fusion of my life’s work. It incorporates a career in education, as a teacher, school leader and industry consultant. It leverages my skills and expertise as an experienced and professionally certified executive coach. It encompasses the lessons I have learnt from my own life: the challenges I have faced, the successes I have celebrated and the failures I have felt. It includes learning from my most challenging and rewarding job of all: being a father to two beautiful daughters.

Clare is the Director of Risk Resolve (www.riskresolve.net) and has a PhD in Human Factors (Accident Prediction), an MSc. in Risk, Crisis and Disaster Management, and a Graduate Certificate in Transformational Leadership in Education.

She has over twenty-five years of professional experience in outdoor education/recreation – across multiple organisational hierarchies – from group leader, coordinator, organisational risk manager, executive director, and Board member. Clare has led and delivered multiple complex risk and crisis management enhancement projects throughout Australia, and internationally. She has a deep understanding of the practical and operational realities of organisations and their teams who design, plan, and deliver meaningful outdoor experiences. Clare’s expertise is unique in that she is also a practicing academic in risk and crisis management as an adjunct industry research fellow within the Centre for Human Factors and Sociotechnical Systems at The University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. This ensures her approach is both practical and contemporary.

She was the first recipient outside of North America to receive the Reb Gregg Wilderness Risk Management Award for leadership, innovation, and service to outdoor risk management. Clare lives in Melbourne, Victoria.

Nick Hannan is the Executive General Manager of Government Strategy at AusCycling, the national sporting organisation for all forms of cycling in Australia. Nick, who trained as a lawyer, joined AusCycling after performing senior roles in the federal government and in the private sector, where he specialised in ministerial advice and advocacy across a range of areas including financial services, regional infrastructure and the needs of regional and remote communities.

Among other things, Nick is responsible for AusCycling’s infrastructure policy which seeks to ensure every Australian community has access to great and safe places to ride. Nick lives in Canberra and is an active member of his local MTB club where he aspires to be fast enough to win a C grade race one day.​​​​​

Georgia's team looks after tour operators, events, filming, property leasing, camping and accommodation, marketing, research and web development, amongst other things. Prior to joining NPWS, Georgia primarily worked in the cultural sector, as marketing director and producer for major arts companies.

Kit Marshall was an Officer in the Australian Army for nearly 15 years. He spent much of his Army career in the training sector, particularly conducting Adventurous Training (AT) activities and instructing AT Leaders. His last role in Army was as the Training Manager for all Army training. 

Since leaving the Army in 2005 he has been working in private enterprise. He is the Managing Director and Chief Executive of Group 314, a Registered Training Organisation he established in 2007. 

Kit has been responsible for providing adventure experiences to tens of thousands of people over his many years of experience. He is passionate about the outdoors and, in particular, how the outdoor experience can be used to develop the skills, knowledge and attitudes required to work effectively in other high risk operational environments. 

Kit’s current challenge is to manage the transition of Group 314 from a small to medium enterprise in a labour-constrained market.

Janelle’s team engages in the tourism sector in partnership with Crown land managers, which includes councils, volunteers, corporations, Aboriginal groups and Reflections our largest professional board with the management of 36 holiday parks on Crown land across NSW.

Since 2008, Janelle has worked in several roles within Crown Lands, covering public land management, aboriginal land rights, native title with a specific focus on developing strong connections with stakeholders and communities to deliver NSW Crown Land 2031 priorities.

Dr Amanda Lloyd has experience as a teacher, researcher, professional development facilitator, in management and leadership roles. She has worked making cubby houses and advocating for others to make them too. Amanda is currently the Nature Play Development Manager for Greater Sydney Parklands. 

Amanda completed a PhD focused on the advantages of outdoor learning for Primary School students and has written for a wide variety of publications. She has since been a presenter at a wide variety of conferences and in the media. Her primary interests are in the development of wellbeing, resilience, curriculum, nature connection and physical literacy in the outdoors. 

You will most often find Amanda outside, playing at the beach or bushwalking with her 3-year-old, immersed in nature play and mud. 

Mark has over 25 years experience in the Outdoor industry. Over this time, he has been an Instructor of several outdoor activities including not only paddling but climbing, bush,diving etc He has now been the Education and Training Manager for Paddle Australia since 2014. Mark is a Paddle Australia qualified Advanced Sea Instructor. Flatwater Canoeist and Assessor. Prior to his time at Paddler Australia Mark was the lead for Paddle Education in Queensland working for the State Association, Paddle Queensland. 

His role for Paddle Australia  is to manage and develop the Paddle Australia Qualification Scheme to help ensure it is meeting current industry requirements and maintaining consistent standards across the country.

Melinda is the General Manager of SkillsIQ. She has over 25 years of experience working across a variety of industry sectors, including Tourism, Travel, Hospitality and Retail, as well as a number of years of direct involvement in the Vocational Education and Training sector.

A highly experienced project manager, Melinda's extensive experience in stakeholder engagement has seen her work on many consultancy projects both within Australia and internationally. She has in-depth knowledge relating to Vocational Education and Training sector policy, as well as skills and workforce development, including the development and maintenance of skills and occupational standards.

Melinda holds a number of vocational qualifications in business and in training and assessment, as well as a degree in Tourism Management from the University of Technology Sydney. She is the current President of Disabled Wintersport Australia, a National Sporting Organisation that delivers adaptive on-snow experiences for people with disabilities. She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, President of Skal International Sydney, Associate Fellow of the Institute of Managers and Leaders and a member of the Women Chiefs of Enterprises International.

Bio to come

Cam is the current owner and manager of Equipped Outdoors; a direct to industry equipment supplier and also All Aid Supplies.

Outdoor equipment retail paid the bills whilst at Uni and set up the Guiding career to follow. I was lucky to work in a business with a camp and shops for 10+  years, and later started Equipped.

Gear Supply and First Aid are Career options after Outdoor Ed.

Paula Martin is an Executive Director NSW Tourism Industry Council and Executive Director Regional NSW and Visitor Economy. Paula’s focus is to drive positive tourism and regional economic outcomes for business including skill development, jobs and reduction of red tape through the initiation, and delivery of initiatives that help business grow through collaboration with government, industry and business. Paula has extensive experience in innovation and commercialisation and built the multi-award winning, progressive and technologically driven, multi-disciplinary consulting business, Australian Business Consulting & Solutions.

Arthur Pera, 28, started slacklining 10 years ago and is the current president of the Australian Slackline Association.

Passionate about being outdoors, today his drive is to represent his community and advocate for slackline access across Australia, making sure to engage safe practices, environmental stewardship and promote the benefits of the sport.

Slacklining is quite a young sport where practitioners balance across a thin piece of flat webbing between two points. Some of the key benefits are improvement of focus and balance, core strengthening and attention to the present moment.

Louise currently leads an enthusiastic team managing nature-based visitor experiences in NSW State forests. Partnerships, engagement, forest tourism & events are their bread and butter. Louise’s role involves reputation & social license building, social media strategy & marketing, content creation, tourism policy & strategy, grant acquisition and visitor experience development. Having worked across a range of management roles in local and state government including health, air quality, resource management and sustainability, Louise has been involved in forest stewardship and public land management for over 16 years.

Tiffany Stodart is the Manager Destination, Communication and Customer Experience at Tweed Shire Council. 

It’s a long role description but the most recent and exciting addition to this team has been opening the 24km Tweed section of the Northern Rivers Rail Trail as the ‘must do’ experience in the Northern Rivers.

She will share Rail Trail wins and challenges as the Tweed starts to enjoy the rewards of a more active, healthy and connected community.

Jen Parke has worked alongside young people and as a senior manager in a wide range of settings, including Juvenile Justice, youth homelessness, counseling, and youth development and leadership. She has a Social Science degree and graduate diplomas in Counselling and Mediation as well as a bush regeneration and horticulture background and knows the power of reconnecting with nature to reconnect with yourself.

Jen is passionate about supporting young people to be heard, and to have meaningful, genuine opportunities for participation in systems and decisions that affect their lives.

Bio to come

Graeme started within the sector in the early 1990’s as Program Co-ordinator (moving to Program Director) for one of Sydney’s largest campsites. He commenced their outdoor education program in 1992 at a time when the industry was in its infancy. Over the next decade, under his leadership, the outdoor education program grew to encompass both hardtop and journey-based programs, with the journey-based programs providing a range of services from Duke of Edinburgh Award treks to multi-day journey experiences for those going through addiction recovery programs. 

Graeme served on the board of Outdoors NSW and ACT in the 1990’s and early 2000’s and was elected to the inaugural Board of the Australian Camps Association in 2005. Since 2016 he has been CEO of the Christian Venues Association, which represents over 150 camps and conference centres in Australia with members in every state and territory.

Since May 2023, he has assumed the role of Chair of the Outdoor Council of Australia. Beyond this, Graeme has been on the reference group for various outdoor recreation related to Australian Standards and has previously been a member of Sport and Recreation Industry Reference Committee that oversaw the review of the Outdoor Leadership Training Package.

Most importantly he is married to Janine and together they share 3 adult children.

Dom Courtney has been Executive Officer of Outdoors Queensland since September 2015. Dom is passionate about connecting people to the outdoors and celebrating the important roles the outdoors plays in the lives of all people. Dom has been a board member of the Outdoor Council of Australia since 2016, including as President of OCA from 2020 to 2023. Dom is a director of Active Queenslanders Industry Alliance, which supports Queensland’s sport, fitness and recreation sector workforces. Dom has worked for private enterprise, local government, state government and non-profit organisations, in paid and volunteer roles.

Peter Kent is the President and Chair of Outdoor Education Australia – the national peak body for Outdoor Education.  His day job is as Principal of Birrigai Outdoor School in the Australian Capital Territory.   

Within the ACT, Peter leads the cross-sectoral team that oversees the operations of the Outdoor Leadership and Mentoring Program (OLMP) through which most Outdoor Ed teachers in Canberra obtain the Certificate III and IV qualifications in Outdoor Leadership.  Peter has a long history of leading successful innovative teacher capacity building programs and in 2021 was awarded the National Excellence in Teaching Award - Founders’ Principals Award for Leadership.  Peter has held leadership positions in primary and secondary schools, as well as had experience in Education policy roles within ACT Government.  Peter’s passion is embedding First Nations stories and cultures within a place based experiential learning programs. 

Jeffrey is Principal of the Scouts Australia Institute of Training. He enjoys broad engagement with the vocational education sector as the Chair of the Sport and Recreation Industry Reference Committee and as a member of cross-sector working groups for projects conducted by the Australian Industry Skills Council.

Jeffrey is committee member of the NSW Sport and Recreation Industry Advisory Committee that provides feedback to the NSW Skills Minister regarding VET training needs in the outdoor sector.

Jeff Baierlein (he/him) is the director of the consultancy Viristar, providing safety, curriculum, and strategy services to outdoor, adventure, travel, and experiential programs world-wide. Jeff has over 35 years’ experience as an outdoor professional.  He has more than 1000 field days leading mountaineering, sailing, whitewater and flatwater canoeing, backpacking, whitewater and sea kayaking, rock climbing, canyoning and caving expeditions up to three months in length. Jeff is the former Executive Director of Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound School and the Boojum Institute for Experiential Education. He has worked as an EMT and on Search and Rescue teams, leading rescues in North America and Asia. 
Jeff is the author of the textbook Risk Management for Outdoor Programs. He has provided risk management reviews, expert witness services, incident reviews, and safety training for organizations in over 50 countries. Jeff lives on the traditional lands of the Coast Salish people in Seattle, Washington, USA.

Becky is a long-time advocate for nature connection as a foundation for education, mental health and wellbeing. Her background spans formal studies in psychology and primary teaching and 14 years working in outdoor and environmental education. She is a past chair of the Australian Association for Bush Adventure Therapy (AABAT; becoming Outdoor Health Australia). She also works with the Outdoor Education Group as wellbeing, diversity and inclusion officer, and in support of the Outdoor Education Innovation Hub (OEIH) project. Becky grew up on Djabugay country in Far North Queensland and now lives on Dharawal country near Wollongong. She is passionate about increasing diversity and inclusion in outdoor access and sector leadership.

Bio to come

Robyn Fox is an Associate Lecturer in the Bachelor of Education (Secondary) / Bachelor of Recreation and Outdoor Environmental Studies, and the Bachelor of Recreation and Outdoor Environmental Studies. The primary focus of Robyn’s teaching has been on foundational knowledge and experience for new students in outdoor and environmental studies. She also has a major component of her fieldwork linked to the teaching of paddling as a method of engagement in outdoor education activities. Robyn is passionate about the environment and doing all things sustainable. 

Robyn is looking to undertake a PhD focused on the embedding of ecological literacy and sustainable practices in Outdoor Education. 

Previously, Robyn worked for ten years as a freelance outdoor educator, followed by fifteen years of teaching Physical Education and Outdoor Education in International Schools in Angola, Dubai, Sudan, and Thailand.

Jon is a Child Safety and Safeguarding, Investigative and Training Specialist who has been providing services to these areas for over 20 years. Jon was an investigator and lawyer with the Australian Federal Police for many years prior to entering the workplace misconduct, policy development and safeguarding fields.

Jon and his business provided specialist safeguarding consultancy services to local government, educational institutions and out of home care services. In 2022, to assist child related organisations, Jon established the website Child Safety Network which enables members to access key resources linked to each Child Safe Standard, including, useful templates.

Jon also has particular expertise in the safeguarding, risk management and emergency management aspects related to outdoor activities in an educational environment.

David Gregory has been an outdoor educator for over 22 years and has worked throughout Australia and internationally as an instructor, teacher, operations manager and program director. David's developed and run long-stay residential outdoor programs for secondary schools and consulted on operational and risk management practices over many years. David’s work has been strongly influenced by the need to provide meaningful educational opportunities for students to develop and grow and at the same time, effectively manage all of the various activity risks.

David now runs Xcursion Risk Services, which is a training, software and consultancy company helping schools and outdoor providers upskill their staff and build long-lasting cultures of risk management within their organisations.

David’s interests include snow skiing, hiking, kayaking and mountain biking.

With more than 7 years under his belt working with the NSW Office of the Children’s Guardian under the Child Safe Organisations Directorate, Mark Lorenti has amassed expertise in assisting organisations across the state in meeting their legislative responsibilities. This work has previously included guiding over a thousand sport and recreation organisations to implement the Working with Children Check requirements, although currently Mark works with the Sport and Recreation sector to build capacity and understanding of the Child Safe Standards. He is passionate about engaging all types of organisations on this journey to develop a sector rich in child safe practices.

Mark also has experience in designing and delivering audit and training programs to better understand the challenges organisations face in meeting their legal responsibilities, and then developing responsive learning opportunities to teach and promote best practise.

Andrew Watts is a  Senior Manager Outdoor Education Professional Development at OEG.

He is a 25-year Outdoor Education professional spending time with private providers, schools and Tertiary level education.  A passion for snow sports and white water.  My primary focus is to enable the best possible opportunity for the next generation of outdoor educators to learn and develop to enhance the sector into the future.  With considerable experience in advocacy, policy and curriculum development.

Innes has been active in the outdoors from an early age, hiking and climbing in Australasia, Europe, UK, and Nepal including expeditions to Mera Peak and Ama Dablam. In 2016 Innes was jointly awarded the Australian Search and Rescue award with his Father John Larkin, due to their combined efforts in helping rescue approximately 700 people off Mt Barney and surrounding mountains.

A teacher with a Masters in Outdoor Education, Innes has taught in London, and QLD.  In 2006 Innes and Tracey Larkin purchased Mt Barney Lodge which holds Advanced Ecotourism Accreditation with Ecotourism Australia.

From 2010 to 2012 Innes spearheaded a campaign to “Keep the Scenic Rim Scenic”. This was in response to Coal and Coal Seam Gas mining moving into the Ecotourism hotspot. A legacy of this campaign is that the Scenic Rim is now Coal and Gas Free.

Twice a member of the Community Advisory Committee for the Gondwanan Rainforests of Australia World Heritage property, as well as Deputy Chair of Ecotourism Australia and a director with Lock the Gate, Innes spends his spare time working towards a society that values the planet inherently not just because we can get something from it.

When he is not working you will find Innes enjoying the land and sea scapes of our beautiful world.

Juliette Myers – Ground Swell Project Manager, Take 3 for the Sea, Juliette has an extensive background in tourism and also a big affiliation with the ocean and underwater adventures.

Head of Customer Success and Partnerships - ActiveXchange

Being in the industry for over 20 year Ricki has enjoyed a vast range of experiences as an independent business owner, consulting on major facilities rebuild projects as well as a change manager during times of health & safety reform.

Over the span of his career Ricki has led change projects and navigated business recovery during and post periods of major disruption including the Global Financial Crisis, Christchurch Earthquakes and now Covid. Ricki is known for thinking differently and operationalising strategic change and as an early adopter of ActiveXchange's SportEye platform, Ricki understands and truly believes in the value and power of data lead decision making.

Dr Natasha Montesalvo is a Principal Consultant – Destinations, Strategy and Insight, at EarthCheck the leading scientific benchmarking, certification and advisory group for travel and tourism. EarthCheck helps tourism businesses and destinations become more sustainable through certification, consulting, training and software solutions. Natasha works with governments, regional tourism bodies, not-for-profits and businesses across the visitor economy to support a sustainable resilient industry through strategy, insight, training and risk management.

Leela Siva is a year 12 student and Take 3 Youth Ambassador. Leela won a Take 3 and Hawaii Tourism competition last year. Entrants had to come up with an idea that could be used to encourage regenerative tourism and help address the litter problem on Hawaiian Beaches.    Hawaii Tourism took 6 youth winners from around the Globe to Hawaii for a week to see and learn about the problem first hand, participate in cleanup events, present to school and community groups and think about the their role in solving these issues for future generations. 

Arin Monahan is a fourth-year university student who has worked alongside Outdoors NSW and ACT as part of Macquarie Universities PACE placement program, based in the Blue Mountains, Arin has always been exposed to the outdoors and the opportunities and experiences the industry has to offer. Such experiences have led Arin to have a particular interest in the industry and he can't wait to share what he has learned throughout his PACE placement program.