John Connor | CEO

John is a lawyer with a diverse background including as a researcher for Dr Peter Macdonald the Independent member for Manly who held the balance of power with the minority NSW Coalition government of the time, as a leader in environment organisations like the Australian Conservation Foundation, and as a co-convenor of the Make Poverty History campaign while working at World Vision.

John has worked on numerous government advisory panels, most recently for the Prime Minister’s Task Group on Energy Efficiency, and is a member of Westpac’s Customer Consultative Council, the Board of the Environment Defenders Office, the Commonwealth Government’s NGO Roundtable on Climate Change, the NSW Government’s Climate Council, and is a “Governator” with the Australian Youth Climate Coalition.  John joined the Institute in March 2007.

Erwin Jackson | Deputy CEO

With nearly 20 years practical experience in climate change policy and research, Erwin has developed and led many national and international programs aimed at reducing greenhouse pollution. This work has been undertaken in Australia, Europe, North and South America, the Pacific and Antarctica. He has represented non-governmental groups and advised government and business in national, regional and international fora, including being a non-governmental expert reviewer of the reports of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He has sat on research advisory committees on low emission technology deployment for the CSIRO and the University of Queensland’s Centre for Low Emission Technology. He is currently a member of the Victorian Premiers Reference Group on Climate Change. Erwin has written, researched and produced many publications on climate change and energy policy including a number of review papers in scientific journals such as the Medical Journal of Australia. He has given lectures at institutions ranging from the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London to local community group meetings in far north Queensland.

Julian Poulter | Business Director

Julian is responsible for The Climate Institute’s projects in the business sector, with several of the initiatives focussed on investment and finance. He is a highly experienced business professional, with his primary experience in strategy and change consulting combined with several CEO and director roles. He has had a successful consulting career with firms like KPMG, Origin Europe,  SAP and Oracle and has managed projects and operations in many diverse industries including investment finance, manufacturing, venture capital, energy, oil and gas, distribution, retail, Information Technology, tourism,  transportation,  commercial property, and media. He is currently a director of several firms, a business lecturer at Sydney University and is passionate about the ability of the free market to accelerate climate change solutions.

Giulia Baggio | Communications Director

Giulia Baggio has 25 years’ experience in media and communications. She worked in TV and radio for 15 years as a senior journalist with ABC News and Current Affairs covering politics and industrial relations, before moving to the ACTU as Media and Campaigns Director. In 2007 Giulia took on the role of ACTU Climate Change Coordinator working extensively with external organisations to develop and promote constructive climate change policies in the media and public arena before bringing her skills to The Climate Institute. She has a politics degree from Melbourne University and lives in Melbourne with her husband and children.

Richard Plumpton | Development Director

Richard initially trained as a Geographer and, after graduating from Durham University, spent 9 years in the UK in advertising/ marketing agencies and as a consultant.  In 2002 he joined Coca-Cola South Pacific where he held a variety of commercial roles before focusing on sustainability & community projects–this included work on The Coca-Cola Australia Foundation and the ‘Live Positively’ global sustainability framework.  He has been involved in working with diverse partners from the business, community, government & NGO sectors throughout his career and has seen first-hand the positive impact such partnerships can have. Most recently he was a key instigator of Project Catalyst - a Banksia Award winning partnership that is still actively finding ways to reduce the impact of farming on the Great Barrier Reef.  Richard joined The Climate Institute in January 2011.

If you’re interested in partnering with The Climate Institute to help drive innovative and effective climate change solutions, please contact Richard via This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or +61 (0)2 8239 6299.

Will McGoldrick | Policy & Research Manager

Will specialises in environmental policy, with a particular interest in international climate change law. Before starting at The Climate Institute in May 2008, Will spent three years in Samoa, as a climate change advisor to the Samoan Government. Will has undergraduate degrees in arts and science and recently completed a Masters Degree in international law.

Corey Watts | Regional Projects Manager

Corey Watts has more than ten years’ experience working at the nexus of farming and sustainability issues. Growing up in the southwest region of Western Australia, he studied biology at Murdoch University and later worked with the WA conservation and agriculture departments on wildlife research in the state’s forests, wheatbelt and pastoral country. Before joining The Climate Institute, Corey spent eight years at the Australian Conservation Foundation working with farmers, agribusiness and the food sector on issues as diverse as farmland stewardship, bioenergy, national natural resource management policy and sustainable food futures. He is a past member of the Australian Landcare Council and a member of Foster’s Wines Expert Reference Group on sustainability. Corey lives in Melbourne where he is enrolled part-time in a Master of Environment programme at the University of Melbourne.

Fiona Skewes | Investment Analyst

Fiona brings a wealth of investment knowledge to The Climate Institute, with over ten years' experience in the superannuation/pension fund industry in Australia and the UK, within both government and private sector organisations. She has broad investment experience in all of the traditional asset classes and strategies and spent the past five years focused more specifically on the design of derivative-based liability-driven investment strategies for pension funds. Fiona has a bachelors degree in mathematics and finance and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Garrett Stringer | Communications Manager

Garrett has joined The Climate Institute with several years of experience in marketing and conservation education in Australia and the United States.  He has also served in a consulting capacity in new media, branding and corporate sustainability.  He completed his Masters of Environmental Management at the University of New South Wales and holds a honours undergraduate degree in Marketing and International Business from New York University's Leonard N. Stern School of Business.

Esther Green | Office Manager

Esther, who has a BSocSci from Waikato University, joined The Climate Institute (TCI) in May 2006, bringing diverse administration experience from NZ, UK and Australia. She has enjoyed being a part of the growth of TCI, starting with just two permanent staff to 11 staff today. She took a year’s maternity leave from April 2008 and then returned to job share with Jenny Recio.

Jennifer Recio | Administrative Officer

Jenny Recio gained her extensive management and administrative experience working for many years with CSIRO, Canberra and in particular the Division of Entomology where she held positions in both the Human Resources and Finance Sections; Finance Office at the Faculties of Agriculture and Veterinary Science, University of Sydney where she also participated on numerous university financial systems and feasibility committees. Jenny then entered the private sector as Office Manager with a Sydney law firm, before joining the Climate Institute in March 2008. Jenny job shares with Esther Green in the role of Office Manager and assistant to the CEO.