The Noosa Biosphere Reserve Foundation (NBRF) appointed three new directors at their annual general meeting held on 2 December.
Chair Fiona Berkin was delighted to welcome Dr John Glaister, Dr Richard Brown and Bill Allan, to the NBRF board, joining current directors, Cr Tom Wegener, Dr Jan Green, Linda Venables and Jennifer Black.
John Glaister has held senior leadership roles as director general national parks, where he worked with the federal department and GBRMPA in managing the Great Barrier Reef Field Management Program. He has a long association with natural resources economics and the use of market solutions for asset allocation.
Richard Brown is currently honorary Associate Professor in Economics, in the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law, and, in the Institute for Social Sciences Research, University of Queensland.
He has extensive advisory experience as an applied project and policy analyst in Australia and internationally, including project appraisals of industrial, infrastructural, educational projects and environmental projects and policies.
Bill Allan is the current CFO for Destiny Rescue and comes with over 50 years of governance, IT and financial expertise. He holds professional memberships with Institute of Public Accountants, Taxation Institute of Australia, Governance Institute of Australia, Australian Institute of Management and Fundraising Institute of Australia
NBRF also welcomed new board advisor Sonia Shillington former Tourism Noosa head of marketing and events who was instrumental in launching the highly successful Enter the Biosphere campaign in 2020.
“I would like to thank outgoing directors Duncan Thompson, Prof Rod Smith and Jady Smith for their considerable time and commitment to NBRF over the three-year term as directors,” Ms Berkin said.
Highlights during their tenure include the launch of the Noosa Biosphere Gala and Awards, Glossy Black-Cockatoo and Marine Species protection symposiums, launch of the Koalas on the Move campaign, strengthening links to the University of the Sunshine Coast’s Work Integrated Learning Student program and PhD Top-up Scholarships, winning the UNESCO Michel Batisse award, and launch of the Grow for Noosa fund, among many others.
The full range of activities over the past financial year have been published in the NBRF’s annual report which can be found on their website at noosabiosphere.org.au under governance.
NBRF also undertook a comprehensive strategic review during 2022, lead by directors Linda Venables and Jennifer Black, which has seen the development of a new vision and mission, and proposed committee structure for the organisation.
“This important work is ongoing and I look forward to working with our new directors to develop the strategic plan and our priorities further throughout 2023,” Ms Berkin said.
“Looking to the future, NBRF will host a Sustainability Forum in February 2023 which aims to bring together social, economic and environmental sectors to tackle key regional issues by leveraging funding and shared resources. This will further assist us in finalising our strategic plan for the calendar year 2023-24.
“The Noosa Biosphere Reserve Foundation prides itself on the work it does in our region and recognises that it takes the entire community to embrace the Biosphere to have it live on for all future generation.“
