Ruth Adler
President
Dr Ruth Adler is a former senior career officer of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). Ruth held several senior roles in Canberra and overseas, including as Ambassador to Ireland and High Commissioner to Brunei Darussalam. She advised ministers on climate and environment issues and led biodiversity negotiations. Ruth is a director of the Centre for Political and Diplomatic Studies Asia-Pacific Pty Ltd, and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Ruth has doctorates in Latin American history and politics, and in international climate law, focusing on the Green Climate Fund.
Graeme Swift
Treasurer
Over a 46 year career in DFAT with ten postings, the last as head of post and consul-general in Ho Chi Minh City - Graeme has diverse experience across many countries focusing primarily on management, consular, protocol and security. The Mekong was critical to a deeper understanding of the impact of climate change and the necessity for urgent action. Since retirement, Graeme has completed a masters in energy change at ANU with a focus on the economics of the energy transition. Graeme is now looking for opportunities to apply lifetime experience and learning to the critical issue of the energy transition, besides volunteer work at U3A and a community garden.
Kate Mackenzie
Director
Kate Mackenzie is an independent researcher and consultant on climate finance and policy. She was a staff journalist for 17 years, including 10 years at the Financial Times in London and Sydney. She was finance lead at the Climate Institute and finance director at Climate-KIC Australia. She was a stakeholder advisor to the federal National Environmental Science Program Climate Hub from 2016 to 2018 and created the Climate Measurement Standards Initiative in 2018. She writes for Bloomberg Green, Heatmap, Le Grande Continent, and is co-founder of The Polycrisis, a climate and political economy journal published with Jain Family Institute's Phenomenal World in New York. She is a fellow at Centre for Policy Development and adjunct fellow at Macquarie University's School of Social Sciences.
Richard Mathews
Director and founder
Richard’s career with Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade included two postings to Brunei Darussalam; postings as deputy head of mission in Athens and Taipei; and as Australia’s first Consul-General in Makassar, eastern Indonesia. He has also represented Australia at the United Nations on nuclear non-proliferation matters. Following retirement in 2021 he founded Diplomats for Climate Action Now, fulfilling a career-long interest in climate change and the environment. He is committed to doing what he can to make our planet a safer place for his grandchildren’s generation.
Janaline Oh
Director and Public Officer
Over a 30 year career with four postings - in Port Moresby, Brussels, Beijing and Hong Kong - Janaline has represented Australia on issues as diverse as the UN climate and biodiversity negotiations, Pacific regional fisheries, EU agriculture, environment and trade issues, a bilateral film cooperation treaty with China, and air services with Hong Kong. Janaline actively campaigns for climate action, biodiversity conservation and the elimination of plastic waste, and is determined to leave her children a better planet than the one she inherited.
Maria Poulos Conklin
Director
Maria's DFAT career spanned policy roles on China, crisis management, international security and legal issues. Maria was posted to France and Sri Lanka, and as chargé d'affaires in Mauritius. She was a peace monitor in Bougainville after the civil conflict. Maria is founder and convenor of the Save the Bay Coalition that campaigns for biodiversity conservation and heritage protection in Sydney. Maria joined the Australian Conservation Foundation in 2021 as Head of Government Relations.