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Kate leads our work with regional communities to improve access to funding and investment that supports a fair and fast transformation to a climate resilient and inclusive economy. Kate previously worked with institutional investors at the Investor Group on Climate Change, where she led investor masterclasses, research and policy engagement towards a just transition, as well as corporate engagement with large ASX-listed energy companies on their decarbonisation strategies.
Kate draws on diverse community development and advocacy experience from her time working on climate adaptation projects in Fiji, international climate law in Vanuatu, and with feminist organisations working to improve outcomes for women, girls and gender diverse people across the South Pacific. She has a Master of Climate Change from the Australian National University.
Reanna weaves together her diverse experience to support the crafting of solutions and connecting people to build impact. Reanna’s expertise in environmental problem-solving and facilitation is underpinned by her technical background in soil and agricultural science.
Previously, Reanna supported clients across energy, agriculture, manufacturing, retail and rail sectors to develop ESG strategy and reporting. She also advised State Government on a practical implementation of doughnut economics principles and contributed to collaborative thought leadership on the circular economy in Australia. Reanna has worked in land resource assessment, regenerative placemaking, community engagement for disaster risk reduction, and teaching.
Julie is The Next Economy’s office manager and executive assistant to the CEO. She has extensive corporate and not-for-profit experience providing executive support at both the CEO and Board level, as well as in office management and project administration.
Mostly recently working at the Australian Cervical Cancer Foundation and Mimal Land Management, Julie also runs her own business as a registered marriage celebrant. She has organised adventure travel treks in the Himalayas to raise funds to support women in developing countries to undertake women’s health screening.
Olivia advises on government policy and submissions – and provides strategic support and advice across our suite of work streams and projects. With a background working in the Commonwealth Government, Olivia is no stranger to engaging with various stakeholders including government ministers, private sector entities and non-government organisations.
Previously, Olivia worked at the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet’s Net Zero Economy Taskforce where she was responsible for engaging with stakeholders while researching international and domestic examples of energy transition to inform the design of the Net Zero Authority.
Jacqui leads our climate resilience and adaptation work at The Next Economy. An architect by trade, Jacqui has 15+ years’ experience in private, for-purpose and philanthropic sectors in Australia and Southeast Asia. She has worked across the fields of sustainable built environments; community development; social innovation; program and organisational development, training, and facilitation; and climate resilient development.; and disaster resilience.
Previously, Jacqui held leadership and management roles at Harmer Architecture, GHD Design and Engineering, Engineers without Borders Australia, Kindred Spirits Enterprises and the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR). As an independent consultant she has built the capacity of the corporate sector to drive climate resilient infrastructure and solutions, as well as strengthened the resilience and adaptive capacity of regional communities and enterprises.
Amanda is the CEO of The Next Economy. She has spent over two decades working with inspiring people across Australia, Asia and the Pacific to create positive change on issues as diverse as economic development, public health, gender equality and climate adaptation.
The focus of her work at The Next Economy is to support communities, government, industry and others to develop a more resilient, just and regenerative economy. Most of this work involves supporting regional communities in Australia to strengthen their economies by embracing the transition to zero emissions. She is also widely sought after as a presenter and media commentator and has appeared in a number of books and films including the film 2040.
Amanda completed her PhD at the Australian National University on participatory action research approaches to economic development in the Philippines. She is an Adjunct Lecturer at The University of Queensland, an Industry Fellow at the Sydney Policy Lab at the University of Sydney, and a 2020 Churchill Fellow.
Lizzie is Head of Programs at The Next Economy.
Lizzie is a social business leader and entrepreneur. She has 20 years of experience leading start-up organisations and teams in the non-profit and social enterprises sectors across Australia and South-East Asia. Her background in environmental engineering, means that Lizzie brings a practical and systems-based approach to her work, which she combines with a deep commitment to building highly motivated and effective teams.
Lizzie’s core skill set includes: organisational leadership and governance, enterprise design and business model development, strategic planning, partnership brokering, business development and fundraising. During the past two years, a significant portion of Lizzie’s work has been with First Nations entrepreneurs establishing new businesses to create meaningful, on-country employment.
Lizzie has held CEO positions with Kindred Spirits Enterprises and Engineers Without Borders Australia. She also has significant experience as a voluntary director with various social enterprises and non-profit boards including xpand Foundation, FREO2 Foundation, ATEC, Robogals, Co-Design Studio and The Next Economy. Lizzie’s contribution to humanitarian engineering has been recognised as a winner in The Australian Financial Review and Westpac 100 Women of Influence Awards. She is a Churchill Fellow and was named in the Engineers Media Top 100 List of Australia’s Most Influential Engineers in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
Katherine leads our economic systems change work. She is a political economist with roles including writer-at-large at the University of Edinburgh, consultant to the Club of Rome, strategic advisor to the Centre for Policy Development, and 2024 Thinker-In-Residence at the Australian Health Promotion Association.
Katherine co-founded the Wellbeing Economy Alliance and WEAll Scotland, its Scottish hub, and instigated the group of Wellbeing Economy Governments (WEGo). She has published numerous books and articles, most recently as co-author of The wellbeing economy in brief: Understanding the growing agenda and its complications, Centre for Policy Development, February 2024.
Lisa combines her lived regional energy transition experience with her broad skillset to deliver project value for real impact. Lisa brings a background in community and regional development, project and event management, local government, service management, social research and small business ownership.
An Occupational Therapist by trade, Lisa’s career pivoted while serving as a Port Augusta City Councillor during the surprise closure of the South Australian Playford and Northern coal power stations and subsequent rise of the renewables industry. She was a key community leader for the ‘Repower Port Augusta’ campaign calling for a fair and just energy transition and a recipient of the Jill Hudson Award for Environmental Protection. Lisa recently worked with the University of Technology Sydney’s Climate, Society and Environment Research Centre on a transnational decarbonising electricity project.
