Meet the Team
Our dynamic team, based in our Hobart office, is a group of knowledgeable and passionate people with skills across a range of areas, including conservation, land management, marine sciences, administration and project management. Want to be part of the team? Keep an eye on our careers page for opportunities as they arise.
MANAGEMENT TEAM
Nepelle Crane
CEO
Nepelle has been working in the natural resource management field in Tasmania for over 15 years, working in Local and State Government, at the University of Tasmania, and across the farming, seafood and forestry sectors. She has a passion for finding connections and commonality between people, and has demonstrated that it is possible to have business success and improved environmental outcomes. Nepelle loves spending time with her family – camping, bushwalking, fishing, snorkeling, landcaring, cooking and painting.
todd nation
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR STRATEGY AND BUSINESS
Todd is an experienced business manager with a demonstrated history of developing and delivering key initiatives across the environmental, agricultural, and higher education sectors. He has LEAN certification and is passionate about process improvement, knowledge transfer and joining dots to develop new opportunities and create partnerships. As a graduate of the Tasmanian Leader’s Program and with extensive experience in strategic HR, Todd enjoys building high-performing teams, positive culture and effective people processes. Todd oversees NRM South’s corporate services, operations, and business development function.
Kate Malcolm
FINANCE MANAGER
Kate brings diverse experience to the NRM South team. Her academic background is in law, corporate finance and financial accounting, and she has completed the Chartered Accountants program. She has worked in professional services firms and not-for-profit organisations, and has experience with a wide range of sectors including government, education and the private sector. Kate has a passion for improving how data and information is captured and presented, so it is meaningful to the audience and assists decision-making. New to Tasmania, Kate is spending her spare time exploring the outdoors and hiking the beautiful trails. She is a lover of gardening, cooking and fresh produce, and is in the planning stages of transforming her plain suburban backyard into a productive, permaculture inspired kitchen garden.
dr cindy hull
PROGRAM MANAGER – BIODIVERSITY AND RLP
Cindy has spent the past 20 years working in the environmental management sector, with a particular focus on bird conservation. With a PhD in avian ecology, her work has taken her to Victoria, Macquarie Island, Antarctica and Canada. Cindy manages NRM South’s biodiversity projects and oversees the Wedge-tailed Eagle offset fund and Orange-bellied Parrot project. She is also involved in a variety of other projects ranging from weeds to penguin monitoring in the Derwent. Cindy is passionate about Tasmania and can often be found exploring its parks and reserves, or enjoying all that the state has to offer.
jennifer hemer
Program Manager – Water and Marine
Jennifer has more than 20 years’ experience working in natural resource management, STEM education and community engagement. She loves to develop collaborative and diverse partnerships to achieve impact. Her research background is in fisheries biology, and she has experience working across different levels of government, research organisations, not for profits and the private sector. Jen is happiest by the sea and can often be found exploring the great outdoors by foot, bike, or paddle. She’ll usually have a set of knitting needles stowed somewhere in her bags.
james stronach
Program Manager – Agriculture and Carbon
James has a diverse career leading change in multiple sectors. He developed an interest in sustainable food systems during his time as Deputy Director for the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture. At TIA, he led programs that brought together government, community, academic, philanthropic and commercial interests and now continues this work with NRM South. James is passionate about Tasmania’s natural landscape and when he is not photographing it, he is often found at one of Tasmania’s world-class mountain bike parks.
Jill Jones
Strategic Programs Manager
Jill has over 20 years experience working in environmental management in South Australia and Tasmania, in local and state government, and NRM organisations where she has led and supported government and multi-partner NRM projects and programs. She is passionate about bringing different stakeholders together to design and progress purposeful solutions to natural resources management problems and believes that meaningful relationships are critical to achieving practical outcomes. Originally from South Australia, Jill relocated to Tasmania in 2009, falling in love with Tasmania’s wild landscapes, outdoor lifestyle and nature loving community. Jill enjoys spending time with friends and family camping, hiking, walking a beach, gardening or undertaking creative pursuits inspired by nature.
CORPORATE TEAM
Nathalie Laurence
Communications Coordinator
Nathalie has been working in the NRM field for over a decade, and draws on her environmental management background to help with project administration and developing communications content. She has worked internationally on global conservation projects and spent many years in Australia’s tropical north studying Top End wildlife and ecosystems before moving to Tasmania in 2015. Nathalie is an advocate for strengthening local food networks and can usually be found pottering around her food and flower garden with her dogs on her own plot of rural paradise in the Huon Valley.
TBC
Finance Officer
This role is in recruitment
Maudie Brown
Business Development Officer
Maudie transitioned from the resources industry to the NRM sector in 2017, bringing a raft of transferable skills and a passion for protecting Tasmania’s unique and wonderful flora and flora. Maudie spent several years managing threatened species conservation projects for the organisation before taking an extended period of leave. Since returning, she has taken on a business development role and is embracing the opportunities to broaden her skillset that this new role offers. Maudie enjoys bushwalking, camping, yoga, live music, dancing, cooking and gardening. A firm believer in distributed urban food systems, Maudie is researching and planning the development of a food forest on her suburban property.
Monique Maclaine
Aboriginal NRM Project Officer
Monique has joined the NRM South team in a partnership position with the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, alongside completing her BSc with a focus on microbiology, botany, and ecology. Her work and study align with many of her passions, particularly her dedication to caring for and protecting land and sea Country on our beautiful island Lutruwita. Monique is an associate with the Firesticks Mentoring Program, which supports Pakana mob to learn and practice cultural fire across varying Country types on mainland Lutruwita and Tayaritja. She also volunteers with the State Emergency Service in the Derwent Valley & General Response Units. During her free time, Monique enjoys traveling, playing guitar and piano, reading, hiking, and camping.
Alexandra Nolan
Executive Assistant
Alexandra’s corporate experience ranges from Pharma to Animal Health, Construction and Financial Services. Originally from Sydney, Alex has incorporated her passion for nature and animals through her volunteering work with animal welfare and community projects and is a big believer in conservation and protecting our wildlife. She has seamlessly transitioned from the corporate world to the not-for profit sector since moving to Tasmania and spends her time caring for her small menagerie of dog, cats and chickens, van life’ing with her husband, reading, going to gigs, the gym and the beach and exploring everything Tasmania has to offer.
LAND TEAM
tim ackroyd
Land Program Coordinator
Tim helps to deliver on-ground agricultural projects across our region. He works with farmers, industry and community to share information on sustainable agricultural practices and support NRM South’s Agricultural Program. Tim has been with the NRM South team since 2012 and during this time has worked tirelessly to provide landholders with the necessary skills and knowledge through workshops, field days and on-ground trial work to assist them in building on their land management practices. Originally from the UK, he previously helped to manage public reserves in his role as a Countryside Ranger – work which included using cattle as a management tool to improve native pastures and rare heathlands (a popular practice in the UK and Europe).
yolanda hanusch
Senior Project Officer – Land
Yolanda has a keen interest in supporting sustainable land management in agricultural landscapes, focusing on the conservation and enhancement of ecosystem and biodiversity functions. Her academic background is in entomology and agroecology. Originally from Germany, she completed her undergraduate studies in Tasmania, with her Honours project focusing on ecological direct-seeding and native tree-planting in the Midlands. She completed her PhD in 2023 through the University of Sydney, focusing on floral usage of beneficial flower-feeding insects (pollinators, natural pest enemies) in orchards and small-scale diverse cropping systems in Tasmania and NSW. Yolanda is excited to be working, living, and exploring the beautiful island of lutruwita – Tasmania, and she is always more than happy to talk and learn more about conservation projects, agricultural production, gardening, compositing, and the beautiful world of insects.
belinda nielsen
Regional Soils Coordinator
Belinda’s background is in agricultural science, specialising in soils and horticulture, and is the Regional Soils Co-ordinator for Tasmania. In this role, she enjoys being out and about across the state, getting to know anyone and everyone involved with Tasmanian soils. As a part of Australia’s National Soils Strategy, Belinda’s role looks to identify and support regional priorities for soil management, as well as investigating broader linkages into other state and national activities. When she’s not out chatting soils, Belinda can be found making the most of Tasmania’s natural landscapes and fresh produce.
Jacinta Leys
Graduate Project Officer
Jacinta works across several projects on our Land Program team. As part of her Honours thesis for her Bachelor of Agricultural Science at the University of Tasmania, Jacinta investigated the different patterns of seed dormancy breakdown for a novel legume species, known as serradellas, and the practical outcomes for different farming systems. Jacinta developed a strong interest in sustainable agriculture and the importance of natural resource management while working on her family farm in northern Tasmania. She is interested in drought resilience, pasture biodiversity, and connecting with the local community. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking through the beautiful landscape of Tasmania, going to the gym, horse riding on her family farm, and playing squash at her local sports centre.
BIODIVERSITY TEAM
dr cat young
Biodiversity Program Coodinator
Catherine has a research background and extensive experience working with Tasmania’s threatened fauna. She has a broad interest in conservation and ecology with a particular focus on birds and their breeding habits. Her research has enabled her to work on a variety of taxa and environments around Australia, South Africa and the UK. When not in the office or watching birds, Catherine likes to bake and try her hand at new crafts like felting, cyanotype or crochet.
Dr Adam Cisterne
Senior Project Officer – Biodiversity
Adam has broad experience in ecology and biosciences, as a researcher and consultant working on threatened and invasive fauna, both in Tasmania and other parts of Australia. Most recently, Adam’s work has focused on Tasmanian raptors, the masked owl and wedge-tailed eagle. Adam has a particular interest in the application of genetics to conservation and ecology and will be leading NRM South’s Ammonite snail project. When Adam is not at work, you might find him out on his bike or down by the river fishing.
WATER TEAM
laurel mcGinnity
Water Program Coordinator
Prior to transitioning to the NRM sector, Laurel spent nine years working in the resource industry in Queensland and New South Wales on various projects including site revegetation, coordination of water extraction and discharges and monitoring and management of biodiversity offsets and nature reserves. She is working on an NRM South-led project to improve the ecological character of the Moulting Lagoon and Apsley Marshes Ramsar sites. She enjoys going to the gym, walking her dogs, hiking and exploring the great outdoors in Tasmania.
zak wheaton
Senior Project Officer – Water
Zak leads NRM South’s Swan Galaxias project and is also working on our Moulting Lagoon project. Zak has a Marine Ecology background with a particular interest in exploring novel techniques and technologies for the purpose of environmental restoration. His Honours project explored how soundscape manipulation could be used for oyster reef restoration. Zak enjoys contributing to the conservation and protection of the diverse and unique ecosystems our island has to offer, and likes to get out into the Tassie outdoors where he hikes and surfs.
Paige Green
Senior Project Officer – Biodiversity & Water
Paige has a diverse background in ecology ranging from research and environmental consultancy and field biology across terrestrial, marine and island ecosystems. Originally from South Africa, Paige has worked from there to the Subantarctic region, and is now loving her new wild home of Tasmania. Paige loves nature and organization and being able to work at NRM South with a combination of both of those makes her very happy. When she’s not at work, she enjoys walking (getting those kilometres in for her virtual challenges), archery, fly fishing, travelling around Tassie and reading.
Amelia Jensen
Graduate Project Officer – Water
Amelia has a diverse background in consulting and natural resource management. She has worked across a variety of primary industries including resources and wild catch fisheries. Amelia supports our longspined sea urchin project and is currently completing her honours, looking at the population structure of the Tiger Flathead in the Southern and Eastern Scalefish and Shark Fishery. Amelia loves working and living in Tasmania and in her spare time, she can be found surfing, running and eating the amazing food that Tasmania has to offer.