It has been an exciting month at the Hunter JO with four new staff members joining our Policy & Programs team to deliver a range of grant funded projects!
Janine Chandler joins the team as Project Officer with a focus on our Transport Resilience project and connectivity business case grants. Janine’s experience includes project and event coordination, strategic planning, and campaign management, most recently working in the events team at Maitland City Council.
Kerri Watson joins the team as Project Coordinator – Problem Waste with a focus on our Regional Illegal Dumping program and Waste Strategy Group coordination. Kerri has recently relocated to the Hunter from Victoria, where she worked with the Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) in the role of Senior Policy Officer, High Risk Waste. Kerri’s career primarily includes working as a Principal / Senior Policy Officer in the Victorian State government.
Lexi Crouch joins the team as Net Zero Coordinator delivering the Joint Organisation Net Zero Acceleration program, helping councils in the transition to net zero. Lexi is an Environmental professional experienced in leading and supporting both businesses and local government on net zero initiatives. Lexi joins us from two part time roles shared between Singleton Council as an Environmental Projects Officer and the NSW Government’s Sustainability Advantage Program as a Senior Project Officer.
Stephanie Reilly joins the team as Project Officer – Circular Economy with a focus on circular economy projects and coordinating our regional community recycling centres project. Stephanie was previously a high school science teacher with a Bachelor of Science and has prior experience as a Project Officer with the University of Newcastle developing and implementing a STEM outreach program for high schools. Stephanie is currently completing a Graduate Certificate in Environmental Science.
It is great to welcome these amazing team members and operators to our team. We’re looking forward to sharing more about their projects in the months ahead.