Ms Middleton manages a rural community development consultancy which provides facilitation, project development and planning services to regional communities and groups.

Ms Middleton has been actively involved in many leadership roles across industry, leadership, agriculture and rural community development. Current roles include the Chair of the National Landcare Advisory Committee, Chair of the Western Australian Regional Development Trust and Commissioner on the Agriculture Produce Commission for Western Australia. Past roles include the Chair of the West Midlands Group (Grower Group), National Rural Advisory Council, National Regional Women’s Advisory Council, the Australian Research Council, Regional Solutions Board, COAG Reform Council and Chair of the Institute of Agrifood Security at Curtin University. Sue has worked across all levels of government and community decision making to work for better outcomes for people in rural communities and industry.

For her work Ms Middleton was awarded the Centenary Medal for Service to Regional Australia in 2002 and the 2010 RIRDC Rural Woman of the Year for Australia and Western Australia.

A cotton and grains producer on the Liverpool Plains, NSW and a Chartered Accountant, Ms Hamparsum has 16 years experience in agriculture, accounting and finance. She has been involved in policy development and advocacy for water and natural resource management. Ms Hamparsum is Deputy Chair of the National Landcare Advisory Committee, Chairman of the Cotton Innovation Network, Acting Chair of the Great Artesian Basin Coordinating Committee and a non-executive Director of CSD Ltd.

Ms Hamparsum has been extensively involved with the water reform process for groundwater across the Namoi Valley and the State, and provided input into policy development of the groundwater structural adjustment program and the National Water Initiative.

Ms Hamparsum is also highly regarded in the Gunnedah district following her past involvement as Secretary of the Upper Namoi Water Users Association. Some of her past roles in natural resource management include Deputy Chair and Board member of the Namoi Catchment Management Authority, a board member of the Cotton Research & Development Corporation and a community representative on the Watermark Coal Project Community Consultative Committee. Ms Hamparsum is a current member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and a Fellow of the Peter Cullen Trust.

Mr Ricky Archer is a Djungan man from the Western Tablelands region of North Qld. Mr Archer works as the Project Coordinator for the North Australian Indigenous Land & Sea Management Alliance (NAILSMA). He is an appointed member of the Indigenous Advisory Committee and the Co-Chair of the Northern Australia Future Generations Panel which provides a youth perspective and strategic contribution towards the North Australian Indigenous Experts Forum on sustainable economic development in North Australia.

Mr Archer has been employed in the NRM sector for over ten years with a background in GIS, Traditional Knowledge and database management. He has previously worked with regional bodies in the Qld Gulf and Western NSW regions. Ricky is passionate about empowering Indigenous people in NRM initiatives and has a strong personal focus on promoting youth participation.

Dr Edwards has extensive board experience in the fisheries, the resources and not-for-profit sectors, including previous appointments on the Pacific Area Working Group for the Marine Stewardship Council, the Not-for-Profit Sector Reform Council and the Seafood Trade and Market Access Forum. He is the co-founder of the Graham (Polly) Farmer Foundation for Indigenous youth and serves on the boards of the Perth Mint, the Anglican Schools Commission and the Potato Marketing Corporation.

Dr Edwards’ career has also included strategic project work, academic, research and media communications roles, and he served as the Federal Member for Stirling in Western Australia between 1983 and 1993.

Ms Jakszewicz is the Chief Executive Officer at Landcare Australia Ltd. She has a broad range of experience in multiple sectors, including previous roles as the deputy CEO with the Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre in Tasmania, and as a General Manager with Telstra.

Ms Jakszewicz also currently holds the position of Non-Executive Director of the Board at Hydro Tasmania, Australia’s leading renewable energy business.

Mr McKee is the Director Northern Transformation, University of Tasmania. He is also Chairman at Tourism Northern Tasmania, and at the Launceston Airport Community Aviation Consultative Group.

Mr McKee is a former Director of Northern Cities Major Development Initiative within the Tasmanian Government Office of the Coordinator-General, and Chief Executive Officer and Operations Manager of NRM North, one of three regional NRM bodies in Tasmania. Mr McKee has also previously worked in the Queensland Murray Darling Basin in regional NRM planning and investment planning, monitoring and evaluation, project management and reporting. He comes from a farming background in broad acre and intensive agriculture and has undertaken formal studies in agricultural science and management.

Mr O’Neil has a Bachelor of applied science in animal studies at the University of Queensland. He worked for the former Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries before taking on roles within community run natural resource management organisations across regional Queensland.

He is also a councillor on the Maranoa Regional Council in South Western Queensland.

Ms Phelps has a Bachelor of Science (Hons) majoring in Animal Science and a Masters in Sustainable Agriculture from the University of Sydney. She also has a Graduate Diploma in Education from the University of New England. Ms Phelps is currently Dairy Australia’s Natural Resource Management Program Manager. She has worked with Dairy Australia since November 2004.

Mr Walker is the current Deputy Chair of the New South Wales Landcare Network and former Chair of the National Landcare Network. Mr Walker is currently employed as Executive Officer of Liverpool Plains Land Management. He has a Bachelor of Rural Science (Hons) and a Diploma in Agricultural Economics. He is currently studying for a Masters in Environmental Science & Management.

Mr Williams has a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Law, majoring in Soil Science, Anatomy, International Law and Roman Law from the University of Sydney.

Mr Williams was the Executive Officer at the Australian Cotton Growers Research Association from 1995 to 2006. A major focus during this time was leading the development of the Australian cotton industry’s environmental management programme – now myBMP.

Mr Williams then became the Programme Manager/ Senior Agronomic Advisor at Better Cotton Initiative from 2006 to 2012 where he worked to establish a global definition for more sustainable cotton in consultation with a diverse range of stakeholders, including cotton farmers, NGOs, researchers, governments, international organisations and the brand and retail end of the cotton supply chain. Countries and regions he worked with included India, Pakistan, Brazil, West Africa and China.

Mr Williams is currently and R&D Manager at the Cotton Research & Development Corporation, and chairs the International Cotton Advisory Committee’s Expert Panel on the Social, Economic and Environmental impacts of cotton.