Spokespeople

The Australian Conservation Foundation is Australia's national environment organisation. We are proudly independent, non-partisan and funded by donations from our community.

We have media spokespeople who can comment on climate change and energy, nuclear issues, nature protection, wildlife, environment law, sustainable finance and more.

Kelly O’Shanassy, Chief Executive Officer. Subjects: climate change, the clean energy transition, nature protection, people power to protect the environment. A leader with a record of transformative outcomes on climate, water and business sustainability, Kelly has been ACF’s CEO since 2014. She has advised business leaders and represented ACF at the historic Paris climate talks, but it’s the power of people to advocate for a better future that she is most passionate about.

Paul Sinclair, Campaigns Director. Subjects: ACF’s campaigns, renewable energy and protecting nature, how climate change is affecting sport in Australia, fossil fuel sponsorship of sport. Paul has led campaigns that have put water back into rivers, saved and regenerated habitats and wildlife, stopped climate pollution, created renewable energy and drawn public attention to the impact global warming is having on sport. He is the author of The Murray: A river and its people.

Basha Stasak, Nature Program Manager. Subjects: Australia’s extinction crisis, threatened species, environment law reform. Basha is passionate about influencing system change to create positive social and environmental outcomes. Before joining ACF, she worked in state and federal politics, social enterprises, and grassroots organisations.

Gavan McFadzean, Climate & Energy Program Manager. Subjects: climate change, coal and gas mining and exports, renewable energy, the net zero transition. Gavan has been a social justice and environmental activist for 25 years. He has had high-profile roles in national climate and forests campaigns and worked on Jabiluka, the Great Barrier Reef, the Daintree, Cape York, the Kimberley and more. He has been a recipient of Wild Magazine’s Australian Conservationist of the Year Award.

Jaclyn McCosker, Gladstone-based Energy Transition Campaigner. Subjects: the clean energy transition, especially as it applies to regions that have traditionally relied on fossil fuel industries. Jaclyn is a Gladstone local whose primary aim is to support the central Queensland community through the energy transition. By bringing communities together and amplifying local voices, Jaclyn works to create a community-led transition that favours real, lasting climate solutions.

Dave Sweeney, Nuclear Free Campaigner. Subjects: uranium mining and mine rehabilitation, nuclear reactors and energy, nuclear weapons, nuclear waste. Dave has been active on mining, resource and nuclear issues for three decades through his work in the media, trade unions and environment groups. He is a founding member of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017.

Josie Alec, First Nations Lead. Subjects: First Nations action to protect Country, Songlines, water, air, rock art and connection to place. Josie is a teacher, artist and singer-songwriter. She is a Traditional Owner of Murujuga on the Burrup Peninsula and a co-founder of Save Our Songlines, which works to pass on lore and culture and protect Murujuga from industries that will damage Songlines, rock art, health and the climate.

Jess Abrahams, National Nature Campaigner. Subjects: threatened species, wildlife, ecosystems, environment law, the Platy-project, protected areas, World Heritage Areas, logging, land clearing. Jess is a former Ranger with more than 20 years’ experience campaigning for the protection of forests, rivers, wildlife and marine environments. Jess has worked with local communities and Traditional Owners to create new national parks, stop dangerous mines and restore degraded bushland.

Peta Bulling, Nature Campaigner. Subjects: threatened species, wildlife, ecosystems, environment law, the Platy-project. Peta is an experienced and confident campaigner, based in ACF’s Canberra office. Motivated to work for nature protection through a deep personal connection with the environment, Peta has a background in biodiversity campaigning, advocacy and community-led law reform. 

Nathaniel Pelle, Business & Nature Campaigner. Subjects: land clearing, deforestation, beef industry, carbon border adjustment schemes, nature risks, TNFD (Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures). Nat leads ACF’s work pushing business to better measure and manage its impact on biodiversity. He knows about marine issues from his previous job leading Greenpeace Australia Pacific’s Oceans and Oil campaigns. Nat is an Honorary Associate of the Sydney Environment Institute.

Annica Schoo, Lead Environmental Investigator. Subjects: ACF’s investigations, integrity of carbon offsets, methane emissions, government transparency, Freedom of Information. Before joining ACF Annica was a former public servant in the federal Environment Department. She and her team investigate unethical, illegal, polluting and damaging behaviour, and advocate for policy change.

Brendan Sydes, National Biodiversity Policy Officer. Subjects: nature policy, threatened species, wildlife, ecosystems, environment law, protected areas, World Heritage Areas, logging, land clearing. Brendan is an environmental lawyer with a background in not-for-profit management, policy advocacy and law reform. He was a principal lawyer and founding CEO of Environmental Justice Australia, a non-profit legal practice dedicated to environmental protection.

Audrey van Herwaarden, Corporate Environmental Performance Analyst. Subjects: sustainable finance, banks, superannuation funds, climate risk, greenwashing. Audrey is an experienced professional with a passion for the nexus between business and the environment. With a background in environmental economics, Audrey previously worked in financial risk management and sustainable finance providing second-party opinions for a variety of green, social, and sustainable bond frameworks, as well as sustainability-linked loans. 

Jonathan Moylan, Corporate Campaigner. Subjects: sustainable finance, banks, superannuation funds, climate risk, nature risk. Jonathan has been involved in environmental campaigning for more than 15 years. He is dedicated to promoting solutions to tackle the climate and nature crises. As a resident of the Hunter Valley, he has worked with communities to protect ecosystems and people from the impacts of coal and gas expansion. He previously worked at Greenpeace Australia Pacific on campaigns to shift bank policies on forests and fossil fuels, and corporate campaigns to accelerate the transition of big emitters. He has also led research on the health benefits of the energy transition.

Elizabeth Sullivan, Exports Campaigner. Subjects: replacing Australia’s coal and gas exports with clean exports.

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