2024 Speakers included

Dominic Adams is the General Manager, Networks at Energy Networks Australia.

Dominic is responsible for crucial areas of policy to support the rapid transformation of Australia’s energy sector. In his role, Dominic leads advocacy strategies and a program of work for the development and transformation of our transmission, distribution, and gas networks.

Dominic has over a decade of experience working across the energy supply chain, with particular emphasis on policy and regulatory engagement with market bodies.

Dominic has a combined bachelor’s degrees in Law and Arts from the University of Newcastle with a focus on climate and environmental law.

Helen Barbour-Bourne has been newly appointed as Australian Hydropower Leader with GHD. She brings extensive expertise in guiding clients through complex project milestones and de-risking strategies. Outside of GHD, she plays a pivotal role in the International Hydropower Association’s Global Working Group. She previously has worked with AECOM as the Geotechnical lead and Atkins for the London Olympics in 2012.

Stephanie Bashir is on the board of the Smart Energy Council and the founder and CEO of Nexa Advisory, a ‘for purpose’ advisory firm with an unwavering focus on accelerating the clean energy transition in a way that provides secure, reliable, and affordable power for consumers of all types.

Stephanie has more than two decades of experience as a board level executive and transformation leader in Australian energy sector. She is a specialist in energy market, policy and regulation design, stakeholder engagement, and advocacy. In particular, she played an important part in establishing the national policy agenda for virtual power plants, and competition reforms and network regulation relating to new energy technologies and services.

Caroline is the General Manager of Future Energy at APA and is responsible for leading and delivering APA’s Future Energy strategy to deliver an organisational response to the growing hydrogen and clean molecules industry for the benefit of APA’s future growth platform. She is spearheading the APA Pathfinder Program which will help APA unlock the innovation, technology and new energy opportunities that will make APA truly world class in energy solutions, with an initial focus on clean molecules.

Prior to APA, Caroline is a seasoned energy industry leader spanning more than 25 years with in-depth experience in hydrogen, renewables, strategy and commercial and has a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry.

Joanne Bergamin is the Communications and Sustainability Director of QEM Limited, a Queensland-based critical minerals ASX listed company. She is the Co-Founder and Chair of WISER (Women In Sustainable Energy & Resources) Inc. and the former head of the Women In Mining And Resources Queensland (WIMARQ) Chapter on the Gold Coast. Joanne is on the Board of Directors of Sports Gold Coast. Joanne lived and worked in Rome and the Vatican from 2007-2020, in various journalistic and marketing roles, including for the Pope’s newspaper. Prior to moving to Rome, Joanne worked in marketing and PR in the mining and energy sector in Australia and Thailand. She holds Bachelors of Arts and Commerce, and an MBA, all awarded by the University of Queensland where she also completed a Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Energy in 2022.

Johanna Bowyer is the Lead Analyst for Australian Electricity at IEEFA. Her research is focused on trends in the National Electricity Market, energy policy and decarbonisation.

Prior to joining IEEFA, Johanna researched distribution networks at CSIRO, worked as an engineer at Solar Analytics and Suntech and worked as a management consultant at Kearney.

Johanna has a first-class Honours Degree in Photovoltaics and Solar Energy Engineering from UNSW Australia. While at UNSW she received the Co-op Scholarship, No Carbon Women in Solar Prize and Photovoltaics Thesis Prize.

Lucy Burke is a Manager in Hydrogen & Clean Fuels Development at ATCO Australia, where she leads the development of large-scale renewable hydrogen project opportunities across the East Coast. Lucy is an experienced Project Manager and Chartered Mechanical Engineer with over 10 years’ experience across the Oil & Gas and Renewable Energy sectors in engineering, commercial and management roles. She is currently seconded to the role of Project Engineering Manager for the ATCO-BOC consortium delivering the South Australian Government’s Hydrogen Jobs Plan Project in Whyalla.

Jill is a climate scientist with 30 years of experience and has also advocated for electricity storage and electricity transmission and distribution networks. Jill’s intimate understanding of both climate change science and electricity regulations, policy, assets and technology give her a unique ability to facilitate cross-sector collaborations that deliver resilient approaches to climate change and energy.

As a local councillor and emergency response coordinator, Jill supported her community to prepare for and manage severe weather events. And as a trusted advisor to governments, market bodies, regulators, system operators and electricity networks, Jill influences policy and market design.

Jill is a qualified and inspirational educator and can creatively communicate complex technical issues in a way that facilitates understanding and empowers people of any age or background to act on climate change.

Using her practical experiences, knowledge and engaging communication style, Jill collaborates with communities, businesses and policy makers to develop agreed approaches that are resilient to the changing climate.

Jill is passionate about enabling people to create an energy future that is centred on their needs, with local, decentralised and equitable options, recognising the vital role that energy plays in living and working safely and reliably, whether the sun is shining or not.

Vida is a versatile, creative and strategic senior communications professional with a track record of delivering award winning results for large Australian and multinational organisations.

As a trusted and skilled advisor for C-level executives, she has over 20 years' experience working across the broad spectrum of corporate affairs including media relations, government relations and analyst relations; internal communications; issues management; reputation management; social media; stakeholder relations; and community engagement.

Lisa Chiba was appointed managing director of Momentum Energy in January 2022, having spent her career in a variety of leadership roles across retail utilities and financial services in Australia and the UK.

Lisa’s professional passions are promoting diversity and inclusion in the workforce; and helping businesses and households participate in Australia’s transition to a clean energy future. Lisa holds a Bachelor of Laws with honours and a Bachelor of Arts (Media and Communications) from the University of Melbourne. Lisa was a panellist at the 2022 AFR Climate Summit and she is a mentor in the Clean Energy Council’s Women in Renewables mentoring program.

Lisa is a Member of the Champions of Change Energy Group. The Group brings together representatives from the energy sector including energy generation and production, distribution, retail and resources businesses across Australia.

Erin Coldham is the Chief Development Officer at Southerly Ten – a dedicated offshore wind company leading some of Australia’s most advanced projects.

Erin brings decades of experience in major project planning and delivery and currently oversees Southerly Ten’s planning and development activities, working with industry, regulators, policymakers, and local communities to bring offshore wind to regional Australia.

Erin is part of a global team of offshore wind specialists representing 30 nationalities across the world, delivering for one of the world’s largest green energy fund managers, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.

Included in A Word About Wind’s Top 100 Women’s Power List and a Founding Director of Women of Offshore Wind, Erin is a champion for diversity in the energy industry and is driven by the positive opportunities offshore wind represents for Australia.

Anna Collyer is a leading energy expert and the Chair of the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) and Energy Advisory Panel (EAP). She has more than two decades of public and private sector experience in energy and has worked extensively on industry reform with energy ministers.

Anna has a passion for leadership and change and is a big believer in a learning culture, where experimentation is a necessary part of creating something new. In 2022, she became one of Australia’s inaugural ambassadors for the global Energy Equality Initiative, supporting the urgent task of improving female representation in the energy sector.

As a partner of Allens law firm from 2001 to 2020, Anna focused on the energy sector throughout its evolution, advised a broad range of clients in the public and private sectors on major projects, and fostered innovation at all levels of the firm, not only in technological developments but also in new ways of working and addressing disruption.

Anna has a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne.

Jo De Silva is the General Manager Retail Policy at the Australian Energy Council. Jo was most recently a senior leader at the Australian Energy Market Operator (ISP Consumer Panel) and Energy & Water Ombudsman SA, experienced in representing the long-term interests of different cohorts of energy consumers in regulatory and technical processes. Jo has served as a member of the Energy Security Board Stakeholder Steering Group and the National Customer Code Council for Comparators and Moving Services.

Jo was a member of the Australian Energy Regulator Consumer Reference Group, all four Energy Security Board National Energy Guarantee Technical Working Groups and the Australian Energy Market Commission System Security Technical Working Group. Heading up energy policy at the South Australian Council of Social Service for around a decade, Jo convened the National Consumer Roundtable on Energy and was an inaugural member of the AER’s Consumer Challenge Panel. Jo is a former Judge of the South Australian Premier’s Mining and Energy Awards.

Phaedra Deckart is the CEO of the Solstice Energy Group, including Tas Gas Networks, and is leading its successful transformation into a diversified energy business. She has previously served as a senior executive at AGL and Santos.

With more than 25 years’ experience in domestic and global markets, Phaedra is one of Australia’s strongest advocates for the role gas continues to play in the energy transition to diversified and renewable energy in Australia. She began her career in law, before moving into the business side of the energy industry.

At AGL, Phaedra managed the sourcing and origination of gas, power and coal deals while navigating the transition to firmed renewables. She played a lead role in the company’s LNG import project. During her years at Santos, she held commercial, corporate, gas and LNG marketing positions.

Phaedra is the first female CEO of Solstice Energy and is a vocal advocate for women in leadership. At Solstice Energy, Phaedra has introduced gender-neutral parental leave supports that help remove the onus on women to drop out of the workplace for parental responsibilities for extended periods and reduce the impact this can have on career progression. Solstice Energy also pays superannuation for the first 12 months of parental leave, whether paid or unpaid, helping build gender equity in superannuation balances and improve women’s economic security in retirement.

Solstice Energy is an electricity retailer and the gas network distributor and largest gas retailer in Tasmania. It is also pursuing new projects, such as bio-fuels and renewable gases, as part of the state’s future energy mix, further cementing it as a diversified energy company.

Nicola leads diverse and inclusive teams, applies systems thinking to problem solving, and provides critical thought leadership to help navigate the energy transition to net zero emissions.

In her current role as Group Manager, Victorian Planning & Connections, Nicola leads a multi-disciplinary team enabling the energy transition in Victoria by planning and determining investment in major transmission projects, network and non-network services and managing the connections process for new generators and loads.

A key element of this role is to liaise with Victorian Government, regional communities, consumer groups, network service providers and developers to create a shared vision of the future power system that allows renewable generation to be harnessed to provide Victorians with reliable, secure, affordable and sustainable electricity.

Joining AEMO in 2014, Nicola has more than 20 years’ experience in the energy and environment sectors in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Africa and North America. She is also one of Australia’s Equality Initiative Ambassadors as was nominated for the role due to her international experience and her dedication to gender diversity in the sector.

Renae has over 20 years’ experience working in roles that reimagine how business and urban places can deliver impactful outcomes in sustainability.

Renae has held senior leadership roles at purpose-led companies like JLL, Horizon Power, Synergy, RACV & Medibank leading influential programs such as Project Symphony, community battery rollouts, EV strategy and creating the WA State Government Schools Virtual Power Plant.

Before joining EnergyAustralia, Renae was JLL’s Head of Sustainability Consulting, where she worked with Australia’s largest built environment energy users, in reducing emissions and leveraging solar, battery and electric vehicles.

Renae joined EnergyAustralia in 2023, where she leads the Customer Assets team, by making it easier and more accessible for customers to play a role in the energy transition, through providing behind-the-meter solutions, like batteries and solar, orchestrated in EnergyAustralia’s virtual power plant.

Sabiene Heindl is the CEO of the Energy Charter - a unique coalition of like-minded energy organisations with a shared purpose and passion for customers and communities. Previously in the CEO Office at Energy Consumers Australia, Sabiene has held a range of senior leadership roles across the energy, telecommunications, media and legal sectors focused on transformational change. With a background as a corporate lawyer, she holds an Executive MBA from Brown University (USA) and IE Business School (Spain), BA Laws (First Class Honours) and BA Int Business. She is passionate about inspiring human-centred decision making and outcomes in the energy transition.

LinkedIn: Sabiene Heindl

Chloe Hicks is the Executive Director of Strategy and Policy at the Energy Corporation of NSW (EnergyCo). She is responsible for driving EnergyCo’s regulatory processes, strategic policy advice, and business strategy.

With extensive experience in energy policy and government processes, Chloe has been instrumental in delivering major energy, climate change, and economic reforms, including the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap, Renewable Energy Zones (REZs), and enabling legislation.

She is passionate about ensuring energy infrastructure is developed in a way that benefits consumers and regional communities. As a Churchill Fellowship recipient, Chloe will travel to the US, Canada, UK, and Europe later in 2023 to study global best practices to inform the implementation of REZs in NSW.

Catherine firmly believes that every leader has a powerful contribution to make to the world. But they can’t do it alone. They need to connect with and influence their team, customers, suppliers, investors and networks to support them on the journey. And this requires effective leadership communication.

In fact, as the world leverages the power of technology, digital and social media, virtual reality, automation and AI, the power of - and need for - effective interpersonal communication skills grows stronger, especially for leaders.

It’s with this in mind, that Catherine’s mission is to equip both current and future leaders and with the knowledge, skills, resources and confidence to communicate in a way that connects more meaningfully with their stakeholders and increases their ability to influence others so they can achieve their goals and make a positive impact.

For over 20 years, through her individual coaching, group workshops and strategic consultancy, Catherine has empowered leaders at Fortune 500 organisations, some of Australia’s leading corporates and small-to-medium businesses, as well as entrepreneurs as they launch and scale their start-ups to realise their full potential.

She hopes she can do the same for you.

With over 15 years in development new infrastructure projects Renee has recently left the water industry to join Transgrid and pursue her passion leading the transition to a clean energy future. Renee works alongside, and partners with agencies to deliver sustainable commercial outcomes that support the energy transition and meet government and investor objectives. With proven influencing skills and significant experience in stakeholder engagement and commercial negotiation Renee brings a proven track record of working collaboratively across boundaries and breaking down silos to deliver large scale infrastructure projects.

Renee holds a Bachelor of Laws and is registered with the Australian Institute of Chartered Secretaries. Renee works as a professional mentor to young leaders and as an avid cyclist, volunteers for Tour de Cure raising money for cancer research.

Alida has 15 years’ experience within energy networks in Australia and the UK and enjoys engaging with a wide range of stakeholders and embedding change into complex organisations and systems. At Ausgrid, Alida is leading the transformation of the business into a Distribution System Operator (DSO) to support the transition to a decentralised, decarbonised, and digitalised energy system. Her team is focused on unlocking the most value for and from customer owned energy resources and developing new network services, such arrangements for virtual power plants in Project Edith and maturing network service provided Community Battery models. Alida has a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from the University of South Australia and a Master of Science in Public Policy from University College London.

Marghanita Johnson has been the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Aluminium Council since 2019. She has over 25 years’ experience in the Australian mining and manufacturing sectors, predominantly within the aluminium industry. Prior to joining the Council she led government engagement and advocacy on behalf of Rio Tinto’s Pacific Aluminium assets and prior to that held key climate and sustainability roles at Rio Tinto.

Marghanita has Environmental Engineering and Chemistry degrees from the University of Western Australia. She is currently a Chair of the Australian Industry Greenhouse Network and a Non-Executive Director of Alpha HPA Limited and the Energy Users Association of Australia. She has previously been a non-executive director on the boards of the New Zealand Aluminium Smelter and the Tomago Aluminium Company.

Jessica Kite is the NSW Development Director at Southerly Ten, a specialist offshore wind energy developer and the most advanced offshore wind proponent in Australia. Jess draws on her 16 years of experience in complex planning and infrastructure across both public and private sectors to deliver project development activities for Destiny Wind, Southerly Ten’s proposed Hunter offshore wind project. She is focussed on building trusted relationships with community, government and industry to advance the offshore wind sector in NSW, and applying the approach and learnings gained from Star of the South in Gippsland. Jess also co-chairs a Women’s Leadership committee and enjoys contributing to discussion in industry and community domains.

Vedran is the Executive General Manager, Commercial at Hydro Tasmania.

Vedran has been with Hydro Tasmania for 20 years, mostly in Physical Trading, Generation Control and Forecasting functions. Hydro Tasmania operates 30 power stations, across 52 storages and is the largest manager of water in Australia and largest producer of renewable energy. In these roles, predictions and correlations of rainfall, wind intensity and temperature are a key input in success both in short and long term.

With almost 20 years in the resources industry in both mining and downstream oil and gas, Sandra has worked across five Australian states and two continents. She has lead Viva Energy’s work in the Alternative Fuels area since 2018, and is the project owner for their hydrogen mobility focused, Geelong New Energies Service Station. Currently Head of Hydrogen and EVs, she focuses on zero emission strategies and pilots for the transportation sector. Previously, she has been on the Board of the Australian Hydrogen Council and has undergraduate degrees in Engineering, Commerce, and an Executive MBA.

Emily Marschke is a Chartered Engineer with a diverse background in government, research, and higher education. With a solid foundation in operations, project, and research management, Emily is currently the Program and Operations Manager at the Australia Power Institute (API), where she oversees comprehensive professional program and operational management. Her responsibilities include managing the Powerful Women’s Program within API’s suite of professional programs.

Emily's academic credentials include a Bachelor of Engineering and a Master’s degree in Engineering Science, with a specialisation in Process Management and Implementation. This academic foundation has underpinned her successful career, marked by significant contributions to various sectors.

A passion for stakeholder engagement and change management has been a driving force in Emily's career. Her expertise in these areas has led her to impactful roles in business development, where she has established enduring professional relationships across industry, government, and academia. These connections have propelled her to board positions and advisory roles, leveraging her extensive managerial experience in engineering and her deep understanding of the engineering industry, universities, and government sectors.

Beyond her technical and managerial expertise, Emily is dedicated to continuous learning and professional growth, consistently staying at the forefront of industry advancements. Her commitment not only enhances her capabilities but also contributes significantly to the growth and success of the organisations she serves.

Since joining Bioenergy Australia in 2017 Shahana has led the creation of important industry alliances including the Sustainable Aviation Fuels Alliance of Australia and New Zealand, the Renewable Gas Alliance and the Cleaner Fuels Alliance.  She has successfully advocated for Australia’s first Bioenergy Roadmap released by the former Energy and Climate Change Minister Angus Taylor and more recently the creation of a Jet Zero Council for Australia announced by Minister King. Shahana is the creator of the Renewable Gas Challenge charged with replacing 20% of Australia’s domestic gas with renewable sources by 2030.  Bioenergy Australia has increased membership by 400% under her tenure and now includes leading domestic and global brands.

Shahana has a reputation for building strong collaborative relationships within industry and government. She previously sat on the ASBEC Cities and Infrastructure taskforces, was a co-convener of the Living Cities Alliance, a member of the Parliamentary Friendship Group for Better Cities, and was invited to sit on the Federal Government’s Cities Reference Group Chaired by the Minister for Cities, Angus Taylor. Listed in The Australian – Black Book of Green People, Shahana founded public campaigns including the Living Cities Alliance, The International Festival of Landscape Architecture, My Park Rules, Parks Changing Australia and KIDSCAPE.

Elizabeth Molyneux is the Deputy Secretary, Energy and commenced in the role in October 2022. With 25 years of experience in energy markets and policy reform, including as a senior executive at AGL Energy, Elizabeth has demonstrated significant expertise in energy wholesale and retail markets, network regulation, new energy technologies and consumer protection frameworks.

Elizabeth brings a strong focus on consumer outcomes in a dynamic period of change and transition in Victorian and national energy systems. With her background, Elizabeth is well placed to support the Victorian Government’s leadership in energy policy and programs, new energy supply chain investments, regional economic development opportunities and the decarbonisation of gas, transport and industrial systems in Victoria.

Elizabeth holds a Bachelor of Science and post graduate qualifications in Economics and Applied Finance and Investment.

Jess has over 15 years’ experience in the energy industry, applying her strategic communications, community building and stakeholder engagement skills, to deeply understand customer perspectives on energy. Prior to joining the industry, Jess worked in diverse fields in both private and government sectors. She is passionate about working collaboratively with stakeholders across the supply chain to enable a renewable energy transition that improves outcomes for all customers. Jess has a BA (Hons) and a Graduate Diploma in Communications.

Janine Rayner is the Program Director at the Centre for New Energy Technologies, with a focus on the Enhanced System Plan. Janine is responsible for the coordination and delivery of the collaborative work between Australian university researchers and distribution network service providers with the goal of establishing a coordinated future-based solution for energy networks in the energy transition.

With almost 20 years experience in the energy sector, Janine’s knowledge sits across industry, policy and regulatory environments with a particular insight into consumer experiences. She draws on this to bring a system-based approach to her work in considering the current energy market and how it transitions to the benefit of the Australian community. Janine holds a Masters of Environmental Management from UNSW.

Clea Smith joined Tradeswomen Australia as CEO in January 2024. Clea was formally an Australian cricketer, General Manager at the Australian Cricketers' Association and is currently a Director on the board of Cricket Australia. Clea has advocated for gender equality in each of these roles and has seen transformational change for female athletes on and off the field.

Clea looks forward to transferring her skills and experience in sport in her role at Tradeswomen Australia to increase the number of women succeeding in male dominated trades.

Clea has held previous leadership roles as CEO at The Mind Room and Social Enterprise Network Victoria (SENVIC). She has an MBA (2019) and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Sport Coaching and Administration (1999).

Renate is General Manager of Regulation for CitiPower, Powercor and United Energy. She is an experienced executive with over 20 years’ experience in electricity infrastructure, including working for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Australian Energy Regulator, AusNet Services and CitiPower, Powercor and United Energy.

Renate’s remit includes revenue and market regulation, electricity innovation, developing commercial non-regulated business streams, customer engagement and development of corporate plans. 

Renate’s experience includes government, regulatory, customer and shareholder relations. Renate is a strong advocate for customer outcomes and has been directly involved in cultural transformation of customer engagement and aligning business and customer objectives.

Renate has also actively participated in the development of CitiPower’s, Powercor’s and United Energy’s energy transformation strategy and the design and implementation of innovative and cost-effective solutions for the electrification of Victoria.

Renate has a Bachelor Commerce (degree with honours) and Bachelor of Arts degree from Melbourne University and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Directors.

Suzanne is GM of Land, Property & Approvals at Transgrid, and is an enthusiastic, passionate leader with over 20 years’ experience in the energy and utilities sectors, specialising in property, land & approvals, workplace accommodation, and real estate strategy. A recognised expert in energy, planning, and environmental law, Suzanne has led teams across a range of property-based disciplines, with responsibility for delivering land access and acquisition strategies, environmental approvals, biodiversity strategies, workplace projects, facilities services and real estate strategies across gas, solar, wind, power station and transmission sectors.