Project Management

Project Directors

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• Charlie Welker BSC (Hons)

  Managing Director, Senior Principal

  Charlie founded Strategen in 1994. Prior to this he worked at a senior level in environmental agencies in both WA and Victoria. Charlie has extensive experience in environmental management and impact assessment of a variety of mining, mineral processing, water supply and infrastructure proposals in Western Australia. He has managed a number of major environmental projects involving sub-contractor management and has considerable experience of water resource management issues and policy development.

  Charlie has conducted major reviews of environmental practices and procedures, the most recent being a strategic review of the WA licensing system. He was a full time Deputy Chairman of the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority and a senior staff member of the (then) Department of Conservation and Environment and the (then) Western Australian Planning Commission. Charlie is also a Certified Lead Environmental Auditor with RABQSA International.

• Harry Ventriss BE (Civil)

  Senior Principal

  Harry is a civil engineer with more than 30 years of experience in the water industry at a State and national level, involving water resource engineering, planning and management.  Since joining Strategen in 2001, Harry has been engaged as a Principal in a variety of projects extending across a range of industry sectors, including water management and planning, energy projects, land development and mining.  Major projects have involved environmental impact assessment and approvals, water source yield assessments, determination of environmental water requirements, legislative reviews, policy development, and project management.

  Harry has extensive experience in water resources engineering, planning and management, particularly in the groundwater field, as well as experience in senior management and policy formulation.  He has an extensive knowledge and experience of the environmental approval process and administration of water licensing.  He also has considerable knowledge of geology, hydrology, and hydrogeology.  Harry’s prior experience was gained through a career in the WA Public Service in which he attained the position of Director, Regional Services in the Water and Rivers Commission.

• Roger Banks Cert FFW and Timber Tech

  Principal

  Roger joined Strategen in 2007 manages our office in Bunbury.  He is an experienced operational land manager, with a wide range of environmental and natural resource land management skills. Roger has demonstrated skills in forest management standards and ISO 14001 compliance; threatened species management; natural resource risk management; wild fire planning and suppression; and, industrial plantation development and management on both private and government land.

  Prior to joining Strategen, Roger has worked for Integrated Tree Cropping Limited and the Forests Department/Department of Conservation and Land Management (now DEC).  Roger is experienced with the CALM Act 2000 and its regulations and procedures, the Wildlife Conservation Act 1950, and the requirements of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 and its regulations and required approvals.

  Roger has delivered presentations and prepared numerous government and private company reports ranging from Management Plans, Development Proposals, Safety and Compliance reports, Board reports, Gap analysis and Strategic Planning documents.

• Lisa Adams BEnvSc (Hons)

  Principal

  Lisa is Strategen's lead consultant for marine and land developments.  Since joining Strategen in 2004, Lisa has gained extensive experience in the project management and preparation of environmental impact assessments for a range of mining, land and coastal development projects.  Lisa is experienced in developing approvals strategies; preparing and managing scopes of work for relevant specialist consultants; reviewing the adequacy of baseline environmental investigations; agency and stakeholder liaison; and, the project management of environmental investigations and monitoring programs required for environmental impact assessments.

  Lisa has been the lead environmental consultant on a number of major land and coastal development projects which has given her a detailed understanding of planning processes, land and coastal development issues, environmental management and policy.  Lisa has a particular interest in environmental policy and legislation which have enabled her to provide strategic approvals advice relating to a range of State and Federal environmental approvals processes, including the Browse LNG Strategic Assessment and the Mineralogy Expansion Project.

  Lisa previously worked as a hydrologist with the Department of Agriculture which involved researching, monitoring and providing information on hydrogeology and salinity issues on the south coast of Western Australia.

• Dale Newsome BSc

  Principal

  Dale is Strategen's lead consultant for land developments.  He joined Strategen in 2011, having held senior positions with AECOM and ENV Australia, and has 12 years of experience in the environment field working in both the public and private sector. Dale typically manages multi-disciplinary teams to deliver environmental assessments and achieve required approvals. He has a focus on aligning project objectives and timelines with environmental outcomes and regulatory requirements. Dale’s regulatory knowledge and technical environmental knowledge enable the provision of proactive, strategic advice. He specialises in EIS, Environmental Planning, policy and regulatory advice, strategic environmental assessments, stakeholder communication and project management.

  Prior to joining Strategen, Dale was an Associate Director with AECOM managing the Impact Assessment and Permitting Team and prior to this was a Principal and Director of environmental consultancy ENV Australia Pty Ltd.

  Dale has broad experience at all levels of government working on environmental matters. He was previously the Environment Policy Manager for the WA Local Government Association, where he primarily liaised with government agencies and Ministers as an advocate for local government on state and commonwealth legislation and policies.  Prior to this Dale worked for the Commonwealth Government where he worked on many large infrastructure projects, assessing their performance against commonwealth environment legislation. Dale also worked in the development of commonwealth policy for surface water management and sustainable industries.

Project Managers

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• Linda Kirchner BSc (Geology) (Hons); Grad Dip Env Sci

  Associate

  Linda is Strategen's lead consultant for the mining sector.  She is an Environmental Science Graduate of Murdoch University and an honours graduate in Geology from Monash University.  She has experience in environmental project management including environmental impact assessment, rehabilitation and revegetation, environmental and construction management, fire and risk management, mining proposals and closure planning, and community consultation.

  Linda has a detailed understanding of environmental management processes, ecology and bushland management as well as State and Federal requirements relating to mining approvals, mine operation and closure.  She has wide experience liaising and working with Government agency representatives, mining companies and community groups.  Prior to joining Strategen in March 2008, Linda worked in the gold mining industry and with various local governments in the Perth Metropolitan Region.

• Jeremy Mitchell BSc (Cons Biol); BA (Sus Dev)

  Associate

  Jeremy is Strategen's lead consultant for ecological services.  He graduated from Murdoch University with degrees in Conservation Biology and Sustainable Development.  Since joining Strategen in 2006, Jeremy has consulted on number of projects, ranging from mining ventures and large infrastructure projects to land subdivisions.  In this time Jeremy has gained experience in environmental impact assessment, preparation of environmental management plans, environmental constraints assessment, Environmental Protection Act 1986 (Parts IV and V) and Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 approvals and rehabilitation.  Jeremy is a provisional Auditor with RABQSA International in the Environmental Auditor scheme.

  Prior to tertiary study Jeremy had several years experience working in the areas of rural land and catchment management and conservation, assisting landholders assess and manage key issues such as salinity and biodiversity loss. 

• Paul McLeod BA (English) (Hons)

  Associate

  Paul leads Strategen's social consulting business.  He joined Strategen in 2009 and has 18 years professional experience, 11 of which have been at senior levels in environmental consultancies and agencies in Western Australia.  He studied linguistics and discourse analysis, and specialises in designing and facilitating public participation processes, risk communication, contentious issues management and social risk analysis.  He has extensive experience supporting companies and technical specialists undertaking Environmental and Social Impact Assessments and implementing Environmental Management Plans.

  For the past six years Paul has held senior positions in environmental and engineering consultancies based in Western Australia providing outrage interventions, risk analysis and management, and strategic advice.  He has worked across several sectors including mining, energy, government, natural resource management and waste management. 

  Prior to his consulting career, Paul spent five years as media relations manager and public affairs manager at former incarnations of the Western Australian Department of Environment and Conservation.  Paul has also worked in the health, vocational education and training, finance, youth work and disabilities service sectors.

• Bart Downe BSc (Development Studies)(Hons)

  Senior Consultant

  Bart has an honours degree in Development Studies from the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England.  Bart joined Strategen in 2009 and since then has been involved in preparing environmental impact assessment documentation, environmental management plans and related secondary approvals under the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (WA) and Mining Act 1978 (WA). 

  Bart’s prior experience included Environmental Officer at Esperance Port (2007 - 2009) where he was responsible for implementing the Port’s operating licence issued under the EP Act and facilitating improvements to environmental management at the Port following lead pollution events in 2006. 

  Bart is a Provisional Auditor with RABQSA International in the Environmental Auditor scheme.  Bart has held industry management and licensing roles within the Western Australian Water and Rivers Commission, Department of Environment and Department of Water.

• Catherine Rea BSc (Hons)

  Senior Consultant

  Catherine joined Strategen in 2011 with a background in environmental approvals (land development) at other Perth-based environmental consultancies and with State Government. Catherine originally graduated from the University of Western Australia in 2002 with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) majoring in Land and Water Management and Physical Geography.

  Catherine has six years experience, working predominantly in environmental impact assessment and statutory approvals of land development and resource projects. Catherine has had experience in project management, preparation of environmental assessment reports and management plans, environmental risk assessments, environmental approvals strategies and EIA documentation.

• Michelle Cumbers B Sc (Env Mgnt) (Hons)

  Associate

  Michelle completed her degree in Environmental Management at Edith Cowan University, majoring in Applied Aquatic Processes.  Since joining Strategen in May 2006, Michelle has been involved in a range of projects including preparation of environmental impact assessment documents, environmental management plans, environmental constraints assessments and environmental audits.  Michelle is a certified Auditor with RABQSA International in the Environmental Auditor scheme. 

  Prior to joining Strategen, Michelle worked for three years in the field of rehabilitation and management of natural and conservation areas.  This includes the on-ground practice of weed control, erosion control and revegetation as well as experience in site assessment and reporting.

  Throughout the course of her employment, Michelle has developed considerable expertise in sub-contract and project management, and has demonstrated excellent communication skills.

• Kelly Usher BSc (Botany) (Hons); PhD

  Senior Consultant

  Kelly joined Strategen in August 2010 following 10 years consulting experience in environmental assessment and management in South Australia. Her areas of expertise include project management, environmental impact assessment, ecological assessment, and soil and groundwater assessment.

  Kelly was part of the core team engaged by BHP Billiton to undertake the Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Olympic Dam Expansion Project. Kelly held the position of Physical Environment Workstream Manager with the primary responsibility being to deliver the groundwater, surface water, soil, and climate studies for the EIS and to write the corresponding chapters and appendices for the EIS document.

• Neil Dixon BSc (Chemistry)

  Associate

  Neil is an experienced environmental scientist with established skills in environmental management and environmental impact assessment.  Neil has a successful and wide-ranging background in the approval, management and monitoring of mining, industrial and infrastructure projects and has a thorough knowledge of the State and Commonwealth legislation, its regulations, policies and procedures. 

• Margaret Dunlop BEng (Hons); BSc

  Senior Consultant

  Margaret joined Strategen in 2010 and has degrees in Environmental Engineering (with first class honours) and Soil Science.  Margaret brings to Strategen nine years of practical experience working in the field of environment and water resources.

  A significant part of Margaret’s experience involves the development, approvals and implementation of major urban developments, as well as infrastructure projects.  Margaret also has a detailed understanding of planning and environmental processes in Western Australia.  She has the ability to convey complex environmental and technical issues in a manner suitable for regulators, laypeople and technical experts.

• Nicole Zago BE (Chemical)

  Senior Consultant

  Nicole joined Strategen in 2007 and since then, has gained experience in assessment processes under the EP Act and EPBC Act for both mining and industrial projects.  Nicole has prepared referrals, environmental impact assessment documentation (such as PERs and ERMPs) and project specific environmental management plans.

  In 2008/2009, Nicole was seconded to the environmental team for the Woodside Pluto LNG Project assisting in review and evaluation of contractor documentation, tender evaluation, preparing, maintaining and reviewing Environmental Compliance, Conditions and Commitment Registers, preparation of documentation for approval by various regulatory bodies, conducting Hazard Identification Workshops and providing advice on environmental incidents.

  Prior to joining Strategen, Nicole was in the Mining and Industrial Branch of EPA Service Unit.  In her role as an Environmental Officer at the Office of the Environmental Protection Authority, she was involved in investigating, assessing, advising and reporting on the environmental impacts of industrial, mining and petroleum and infrastructure development proposals under Part IV of the Environmental Protection Act 1986.  Her role also included assessing industrial projects such as power stations, wastewater treatment plants and other heavy industries as well as mining proposals.

• Tina Said BSc (Earth Science)

  Senior Consultant

  Tina has a degree in Earth Science from UWA, with majors in Geography and Land and Water Management.  Tina joined Strategen in 2010 and has been involved in preparing environmental impact assessment documentation, environmental management plans and related approvals under the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (WA), for a variety of projects. 

  Tina’s experience includes undertaking environmental impact assessments, environmental planning and management, water planning and mining water management.  Her experience has included projects in the regional areas of Western Australia, which include the Mid-West, Gascoyne, Pilbara and Kimberley regions.   

• Mat Brook BSc (Hons); M.Int.Pol.

  Senior Consultant

  Mat has an Honours degree in Geography majoring in environmental geology and geography as well as a Masters degree in International Politics.  Mat joined Strategen in 2008 and has experience in the preparation of environmental impact assessment documentation and approvals under the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (WA) and Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. 

  Mat previously worked in China for the Greater Mekong Subregion Study Centre on a variety of natural resource management, water quality and development projects as well as delivering training to Post-graduate students on environmental sustainability.