The following speakers will be sharing their experiences with us:

• Linda Brown, Director, Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE
• Dr Paul Campbell, GreenIT Special Interest Group
• Dr John Cole, Executive Director, Sustainability Innovation, Environmental Protection Agency, Queensland Government
• Sue Fergusson, Department of Education, Training and the Arts
• Ian Lawrence, Director of Education, SkillsTech Australia
• Ernie Kretschmer, Green Plumbers, Master Plumbers & Mechanical Services Assoc. of Australia (MPMSAA)
• Dr Garry McDonald, Manager, National Centre for Sustainability, Swinburne University of Technology
• Oona Nielssen, Executive Director, Dusseldorp Skills Forum
• Mike Roberts, Housing Industry Association - Greensmart

Linda Brown, Director, Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE Queensland

Linda is the Director of Queensland’s Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE. The Institute employs 1,000 staff and delivers more than 400 programs to 40,000 clients across 10 campuses, offsite and online. Linda recognises that tailoring product to meet clients’ needs is vital to be able to produce training that is practical, efficient relevant and increasingly environmentally sustainable.

Dr Paul Campbell

Dr Paul Campbell has been a director of technology companies spanning information technology, multimedia and software development for the internet since 1984. Previously he had completed a PhD studying environmental impact methodologies.  Dr Campbell is now the Principal Consultant at Cogentia, a consultancy specialising in sustainable IT strategies, carbon accounting of IT and using information technology to engage and build communities.  He is a Fellow of the Australian Computer Society, the Executive Officer of the Queensland ICT Industry Workgroup and one of the founders of the Green IT Taskforce, the Green IT Special Interest Group, the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association and Software Queensland.

Dr John Cole

Dr John Cole is a leading strategic thinker and advisor in sustainable development.  An early proponent of triple-bottom-line thinking in government and industry, since  the mid 1980s he has been involved in public policy, industry development, environment management and community empowerment - variously as a parliamentary adviser/speech writer, company manager, industry lobbyist, chief executive of an NGO, public servant and occasional university teacher.  John is the Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency's Sustainability Innovation Division. He is also an Adjunct Professor in industry, organisational and community sustainability at three leading Queensland universities.

Sue Fergusson

Sue Fergusson currently leads the VET Policy Development group in the Training Portfolio of the department.  In this role Sue is responsible for:  development, implementation and maintenance of policy frameworks to support the vocational education and training sector;  data analysis and applied research into aspects of the labour and training market to support policy, planning and purchasing decisions; and leading data quality and reporting across the Queensland vocational education and training system.  Sue played a key role in the development of the Queensland  Skills Plan.  Prior to joining the vocational education and training sector, Sue worked in Commonwealth Finance and Queensland Treasury, including leading the preparation of a State Budget and development of the Queensland Government Guidelines for Grant Administration. Sue holds a psychology degree and post graduate management qualifications.

Ian Lawrence, Director - Education and Training, SkillsTech Australia

Ian Lawrence started his career as a spray painting apprentice in 1975 and spent over 10 years working in the trade.  He studied at the University of Queensland where he majored in literature and history. At Griffith University, Ian completed a Diploma of Vocational Education and an MBA at QUT.  Working with TAFE Queensland in the 1990s, Ian taught engineering and business subjects before moving into Education management and project roles. He worked in the Automotive Curriculum Consortia on various state and national curriculum and resource development projects and became the TEAM Consortium Manager. He was Director of Education at Moreton Institute in 1999 and then Director of Education, Yeronga Institute.

Ian joined the SkillsTech Australia team at Acacia Ridge in November 2005. He is currently the Director, Business Performance. His current roles include the development and implementation of STA’s innovative Education Model and the organisation’s sustainability initiatives.

Dr Garry McDonald

Dr Garry McDonald is the Manager, National Centre for Sustainability (NCS) at Swinburne University. Garry has managed the strategic and business operations of NCS-Swinburne for about 12 months.  The NCS is a collaboration of several tertiary institutes aimed at providing educational programs in sustainability through partnership with industry, government and community. Garry is currently focussed on an initiative to embed sustainability into every aspect of Swinburne University operations, most prominently, into the education and training curricula and courses of the University. In his previous recent roles with the Department of Primary Industries, Garry was Research Director, Sustainable Landscape Systems and Institute Director, Rutherglen Research Institute.

Michael Roberts

Michael Roberts has over 20 years experience as a Town Planner working within Local Government and industry sectors in Queensland. Following 16 years in the Local Government arena, Michael joined the Housing Industry Association (HIA) in 2004 to take up the position of Assistant Director, Planning and Environment Queensland. In his role Michael has carriage of the HIA’s GreenSmart Program in Queensland. The HIA GreenSmart program is a national program aimed at educating participants in the building industry of a better more sustainable approach to home construction.