Contact
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NISBN Steering Committee
TAFE NSW - New England Institute
Tamworth Campus
Steering Committee
Tim Cotter, AusIndustry
John Michael, TAFE NSW - New England Institute
Darren Keegan, Industry & Investment NSW
Valerie Insall, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water
Bob Martin, Primary Industries Innovation Centre
Tim Cotter is the Regional Manager for AusIndustry – the Australian Governments principal business program delivery division in the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research. Based in Tamworth, Tim covers the New England North West, Orana and Central NSW regions covering some 300,000 sq km.Tim began working with AusIndustry in 2002 and has worked in Canberra, Melbourne and Newcastle. Covering a large part of inland NSW often sees Tim out and about meeting with the many innovative and entrepreneurial businesses scattered throughout his region.
Assistant Director - Trades and Primary Industries
TAFE NSW - New England Institute
Business Development Manager
Industry & Investment NSW
Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water
Professor Bob Martin has been Director of the Primary Industries Innovation Centre (PIIC) since 2007. PIIC is a joint venture partnership between the University of New England and the NSW Department of Primary Industries. Bob was Director of NSW DPI’s Tamworth Agricultural Institute from 1997 and Research Leader Northern Farming Systems from 2004. Bob was also Program Leader Agricultural Systems with NSW DPI at Orange from 1993 to 1997. He has a research background in weed science and was head of the Weed Science Branch of the WA Department of Agriculture from 1989 to 1993.
NISBN Project Team
Lauren Zell, Project Officer
Donna Graham, Project Support Officer
Lauren's upbringing and career start was in the agricultural, small scale earthmoving and irrigation, until she attended the University of New England, where she undertook a Bachelor of Social Science, majoring in Sociology with a strong focus also in Psychology and Marketing.
Whilst studying her second degree, a Bachelor of Teaching, Lauren was employed in the Employment Services and Training field, where she worked for 8 years in Training (Both accredited and non accredited), Projects Management and Human Services. In this time, Lauren has undertaken a Cert IV in Employment Services, Cert II in Accounting, a Cert IV in Workplace Assessment and Training, a Cert IV in Training and Assessment, and Lauren is currently completing a Diploma of Project Management.
Until building her ow home 7 years ago, Lauren was very unaware of how simple behavioural changes or building modifications can effect energy consumption and building comfort, as well as what products were available for residential purposes for creating or reducing energy. Lauren and her husband became so interested and passionate about these areas that he became a Regional Energy Advisor for a National Solar Photovoltaic provider, and Lauren's responsibilities were for the marketing, training and office management of the partnership.
Lauren enjoys working in the domestic energy area and helping people not only understand about solar, but also about where their power consumption was in the home. Lauren then sought a more holistic and diverse training base in this area. The Department Of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts offered to train individuals across Australia to deliver Home Sustainability Assessments to households, which Lauren undertook and enjoyed every minute of.
Since then Lauren have audited over 200 homes and helped a large percentage of these households save not only money, but more importantly carbon and water. In this time Lauren has also been receiving ongoing training in both Residential and Commercial Energy applications.. Lauren feels that Commercial Energy reduction or modification is where the most change can be made.
"Regardless of the belief in climate change, resource and business sustainability is what will see individuals and business stand out from the pack."
Project Suport Officer for NISBN
TAFE NSW - New England Institute
