Our Team

Our Directors

David Coogan – Chairman

David is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and New Zealand and a senior partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers. He has specialised in the superannuation and funds management industry ...

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Craig Copeland

Craig is the CEO and founder of OzFish Unlimited. He has been leading the protection and restoring fish habitat throughout Australia for 30 years. He has led ground-breaking work in fish passage restoration, wetland ...

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Matt Hansen – Director

Matt started fishing as soon as he could walk! He’s a passionate angler and is the founder and President of the Lake Burrendong Classic catch and release fishing competition. His ability to spread the message that ...

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Miranda Bain – Director

Miranda lives in regional Victoria and has worked in international public relations- clients included Mars Incorporated, in feature film and documentary filmmaking, in journalism and in online education.  Since 2003 ...

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Dr Kate Brooks – Director

Based in Melbourne, Kate is a social scientist, passionate about increasing collaboration, and subsequent benefits, between community, industry and government in the area of fisheries and natural resource ...

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Diane Lanyon – Director

Diane is the General Manager of Ecosure, one of Australia’s largest fully certified environmental consultancies. Diane has in-depth experience managing community engagement programs, marine park planning and ...

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Dr Martin Mallen-Cooper – Director

Dr Mallen-Cooper is an internationally recognised expert in fish ecology and fish passage with over 35 years’ experience in researching and delivering improved outcomes for fish. His research on the ecology of fish ...

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Paul Tully – Director

As the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of McInnes Lawyers and a Fellow of the Institute of Company Directors, Paul has a strong interest in litigation, dispute resolution and a commitment to uphold professional ...

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John Burgess – Director

Since 2012, John has held the role as Director of the Australian Recreational Fishing Foundation. He serves on various fishery management and scientific committees as a vocal advocate to address issues which impact ...

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Our Staff

Cassie Price – Director of Habitat Programs

Cassie is driven by a passion for sustainable resources, a love of fishing and her farming background. Her career spans more than 15 years in aquatic habitat restoration and sustainable agriculture projects, ...

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Renee Ferenc – Director of Engagement and Culture

Renee has an extensive 20-year background in corporate communications and management working across major brands in NFP, education, employment and tourism sectors. She is passionate about storytelling, digital ...

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Elsa Lillford – Manager Volunteer Operations

Elsa grew up on a farm situated along the Kalang River in Bellingen where her passion for fishing and the outdoors really flourished. She has experience as an ecologist and field staff coordinator as well as two ...

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Michael (Harry) Davey – Project Officer – Northern Basin

Harry has over 20 years’ experience working in community engagement programs and restoration works. Growing up fishing saltwater, Harry made the tree change to Tenterfield in the early 2000s where he caught his ...

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Janet Gray – Accounts and Administration Manager

Janet has worked both nationally and internationally in various administrative and financial roles. She has experience in local government, Non-For-Profits and private enterprise. Growing up in the Northern Rivers ...

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Dr Michael Sierp – Senior Program Manager SA

Michael is an expert in aquatic ecology, water chemistry, aquatic epidemiology and pest species. He is currently the Managing Director of the private consulting company Aquatic Biosecurity Pty Ltd and the S.A. State ...

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Andrew Matthews – Senior Program Manager WA

Andrew is a passionate fisher with an in-depth understanding in the complexities of sustainable recreational fisheries management, whilst recognising the social and economic importance that recreational fishing ...

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Ben Cleveland – Senior Program Manager Victoria/Tasmania

Ben has grown up fishing the waters of Port Phillip Bay and Victoria’s coast, completing a Marine Biology degree at Deakin University in Warrnambool with an honours degree in aquaculture nutrition. He has a passion ...

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Dr Geoff Collins – Senior Project Officer – North Queensland

Based in Townsville, North Queensland, Geoff is a keen recreational fisher and is passionate about improving fish habitat in the tropics. Geoff is an adjunct Research Fellow with JCU and his primary research ...

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Braeden Lampard – Program Manager – Murray Darling Basin

Braeden Lampard has over 7 years’ experience working in local stakeholder engagement, communications and fish ecology. In his early career, he spent a large amount of time working on large scale monitoring and ...

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Daniela ‘Dani’ Wilken-Jones – Project Officer – North Coast NSW

Dani is a wetland ecologist who has been researching Gold Coast seagrass habitats over the past ten years with the local community. Dani has a strong background in community education, engagement and capacity ...

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Robbie Porter – Project Officer – South East Queensland

Local Wynnum man, chef, filmmaker, fisher, environmental educator and practitioner and a passionate advocate for restoring Moreton Bay’s fish habitat. Robbie’s experience a President of OzFish’s Moreton Bay Chapter ...

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Angus Fanning – Project Manager – Coastal NSW

Angus thrives off being involved in projects that deliver positive outcomes for the coastal environment and working with the communities that live in and around it. Growing up in Newcastle and idolising his ...

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David “Harro” Harris – River Repair Bus Coordinator

Harro has voluntarily undertaking river repair works, fundraising for these activities and promoting the role of habitat for fish for over 10 years in Central West NSW. For the last 3 years has been been the ...

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Ellie Sales – Project Officer – Townsville

Ellie is passionate about Australian ecosystems, with a keen interest in aquatic environments and native fish. Ellie’s passion for habitat restoration and wildlife conservation has heavily influenced her study and ...

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Dr Ben Diggles – Contractor

Dr Diggles has worked with many clients in government, aquaculture, recreational fisheries, and commercial fisheries throughout New Zealand, Australia, Asia and the Pacific Islands. His core business areas include ...

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Kate Ward – Project Officer – Tasmania

Kate values the importance of reconnecting people with nature, especially aquatic ecosystems. She has been fortunate to be part of many groups doing just that, and is thrilled to be at OzFish connecting with the ...

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