
Fiona McKay
She has worked for both the public and private sector on both large and small linear and other infrastructure projects, through all stages of development including feasibility and options, environmental impact assessment and construction and/or operation, with an aim of delivering projects with good, practical environmental outcomes.
She has worked on a range of projects including renewables, road and rail infrastructure, water and port infrastructure and lubricant blending plants, with a focus on linear infrastructure. Fiona joined the HEI committee in 2018 and is looking to provide further education and networking opportunities for environmental professionals in the Hunter.

Tegann Kelly
Tegann holds a Bachelor of Social Science, Bachelor of Laws and a Master of Business Administration with distinction from the University of Newcastle.
Outside of the workplace, Tegann is committed to the Hunter community having served on the HunterNet Future Leaders Committee and volunteering as the Hunter and Northern Leadership Coordinator for Canteen Australia.

Roshni Sharma
Roshni has an interdisciplinary background in both research and industry in environmental science and management and spatial information. She studied at the University of Newcastle before undertaking further studies and work in Sydney. Roshni brings a strong background in governance and process to HEI, and is passionate about the local and regional environmental management and the many opportunities these bring to showcase leadership and excellence in these spaces.

Alina Tipper
Alina is a Senior Environmental Consultant at EPS skilled in the management and environmental assessment of local, regional and state significant projects throughout Australia. Prior to EPS, Alina worked professionally both in the public sector and for private tier-one international consulting firms.
During her seven years at EPS, Alina has developed her project management and technical capabilities by working on complex multi-disciplinary renewable energy, ecotourism and infrastructure projects.

Shifaan Hussain
Having previously conducted research on many coral reefs – most notably at Vanuatu and Norfolk Island – for research alongside the University of Newcastle, Shifaan has come to develop an obsessive interest towards coral reefs and a passion for animals and marine ecosystems.

Troy Gaston
A/Prof Gaston has over 20 years experience in estuarine ecology and investigating ecosystem functioning. Degraded ecosystems are a global issue and targeting on-ground works for habitat and ecosystem repair will be paramount to ensure recovery of estuarine and coastal systems. As such, much of A/Prof Gaston’s work has been the use novel chemical tracers to determine the relative importance of different nutrient sources and habitats to ecosystem functioning. He has worked with a wide range of entities including local councils, state and commonwealth government, industry and NGO’s across NSW, Tasmania and Queensland.

Alex Callen
Alex’s research in biodiversity conservation also extends to understanding the role of community science and science art communication in improving biodiversity protection and the human experience. In 2020, Alex co-curated Biomes, an annual community outreach art science exhibition showcasing recent biodiversity conservation research. Inspired by the response of the community to the role of art in science communication, Alex co-founded Stream – Community for Knowledge Exchange (https://streamcommunity.com.au/) which increases accessibility of science to the community by collaboratively developing and supporting experiential exhibitions and workshops.
Alex has experience in general flora and fauna surveys, surveys of threatened amphibians, citizen science programs, bioacoustics analysis, amphibian micro-chipping, habitat preference analysis, qPCR analysis (disease/infection analysis), water quality monitoring and analysis, statistical analysis and modelling, project management, impact assessment and industry liaison. She worked as an environmental scientist and ecologist in a variety of government and industry positions for sixteen years before returning to Newcastle University to pursue her research and teaching career in 2013.

Clare Butterfield

Lachlan Welsman
Lachlan recently moved to Newcastle from Sydney and is very interested in broadening his involvement in the Environment sector in the Hunter Region.

Samantha Burke
