Rural R&D Council Membership

Dr Kate Fairley-Grenot is an Independent Advisor. Previous board appointments include the Grape and Wine Research & Development Corporation (Chair, Audit Committee), Industry Research & Development Board (Biological Committee) and Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust (Chair, Finance Audit & Risk Management Committee). Kate has a background in plant physiology and science policy (Sydney, Harvard, Sussex) and is a former Associate Director of Coopers & Lybrand (Government Services).

 Professor Rob Clark AM established the Tasmanian Institute of Agricultural Research and was its director for 10 years. He is currently Emeritus Professor and Visiting Research Professor at the University of Tasmania. He is proprietor and managing partner of a 500ha intensive agricultural property in Tasmania. He was awarded an Order of Australia for service to agricultural science in 2008. He is a non executive Director and Deputy Chair of Horticulture Australia Ltd and a non executive Director of the Geoffrey Gardiner Dairy Foundation.

Ms Cathy McGowan AO is an independent rural community consultant. She is a member of the Charles Sturt University Institute of Land Water and Society Advisory Board and a past national president of Australian Women in Agriculture. Over the past 10 years she has consulted to the Australian sugar, dairy, meat, wool and horticultural R&D Corporations as well as farmer organisations in Ireland and PNG.

Mr Mark McHenry is a 4th generation farmer in WA. He was the 2007 winner of Land and Water Australia’s Science and Innovation awards for young people in agriculture, fisheries and forestry. His professional and research interests include renewable resources, climate change policy, regional development and clean energy technology.

Professor Jim Pratley is currently Research Professor of Agriculture at Charles Sturt University and Secretary of the Australian Council of Deans of Agriculture. He is a member of the Research Advisory Committee of the Australian Farm Institute and a member of the NSW Primary Industries Minister’s Science Council. He is a former president of the Australian Society of Agronomy.

Dr Robert Rose has over 30 years national and international experience in fisheries/aquaculture research, development and commercialisation and is a qualified marine biologist. He is managing director of Tropical Aquaculture Australia and Pearl Oyster Propagators. He is currently a project developer for indigenous aquaculture enterprises in the Northern Territory.

Dr Frances Shapter is an Associate Research Fellow at the Centre for Plant Conservation Genetics at Southern Cross University, and a beef cattle producer. In conjunction with the Grain Foods CRC, Dr Shapter has helped to develop and presents workshops on IP and project management to early career researchers.

Mrs Anne Stünzner is Chief Executive Officer of the Central Queensland Forest Association. She has been a cattle board director for Agforce and a committee member of the Central Queensland Beef Research Committee. She is a director and shareholder of a beef cattle production business. In 2001 Mrs Stünzner was a Churchill Fellow.

Professor Beth Woods OAM is Chief Scientific Officer, at the Department of Employment, Economic Development & Innovation, Queensland. She is Professor of Agribusiness at the University of Queensland (currently on leave). She has been a CSIRO board member and served on governance bodies of several research and development corporations. She currently chairs the Board of Trustees of the International Rice Research Institute, headquartered in the Philippines.

The Chief Scientist for Australia is an ex officio member of the Rural R&D Council. Professor Ian Chubb AC currently holds this position.  Professor Chubb is a former Vice-Chancellor of the Australian National University where he served from January 2001 to February 2011.