ZEN welcomes new board members

The new board of ZEN. Supplied.

ZEN welcomed three new board members at its recent annual general meeting with several returning members to continue its innovative and groundbreaking work.

Re-elected chair Anne Kennedy said: “Melanie Dixon, Mark Purcell, and John Hare joined the board, bringing valuable skills and professional experience to complement our returning ZEN board members.

“Melanie Dixon, a Noosa local, is an environmental manager leading planning, implementation and compliance for power, renewables and transmission line projects across Australia. Passionate about business sustainability and reducing her carbon footprint, her business is certified carbon neutral.

“Mark Purcell, an electrical engineer and Noosa resident, is a passionate advocate of sustainable energy, having ‘electrified’ his own Noosa residence, and being an EV owner. Mark has adopted eco-friendly energy practices and energy-efficient technologies to minimise his household’s expenses and ecological footprint.

“John Hare, ZEN’s secretary, and public officer, is a Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia. He brings a wealth of public and private sector experience in government relations and public affairs and is a strong proponent of community participation to achieve net zero emissions.

“Returning board member Brian Hoepper is deputy chair, Joe Shlegeris is treasurer, Thorsten Kels chairs ZEN E (electricity projects) working group, Dr Carina Anderson chairs ZENTAG, (Transport projects) working group, Gabriele Sartori chairs the Governance and Operations committee, with Mat Colefax an EV Expo working group member.”

Ms Kennedy thanked retiring board members Lyn Allen, Roshan Dharmasena, Angie Cooney and Jannina Sourander for their valued contributions to ZEN’s work over the last 12 months.

ZEN looks forward to working with the Noosa Shire community towards net zero GHG by 2026. Join ZEN to support its work, or help out with projects at zeroemissionsnoosa.com.au