About Us

Jane has worked in a range of rural veterinary practices, enabling her to gain a thorough understanding of the challenges facing small to medium businesses. She served for two years on the Veterinary Surgeons Board of SA (which regulates and oversees professional standards) and 8 years as a member of the PIRSA Animal Ethics Committee, both of which roles demanded probity and diligence. On her own farm, she embraces sustainable practices to support the environment whilst still producing food. She has an in-depth appreciation of the effects of increasing global temperatures, having in 2016, completed a PhD investigating the influence of environmental temperature on athletic dogs. She believes widespread action to reduce global warming is essential, to avert catastrophic environmental changes.

Phil has chaired the Board Designate during the pre-formation stage of the organisation. He has agreed to remain and act as an advisor to the board in its initial stages post-formation.

Phil gained extensive business experience working in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth in a broad range of public, private and community sector organisations, both at senior management and at board level. He returned to the Barossa Valley in 2007 to take up the role of Chief Executive Officer of aged care provider Barossa Village Inc. and retired from that role in April 2017. With a twenty year history of involvement in the community services sector, Phil has held Board positions with the Mental Health Law Centre WA Inc, Greening Australia Ltd, Aged & Community Services SA/NT Inc and the Public Health Association of Australia Inc. Phil was a member of the Barossa Co-op board from April 2011 through August 2019, and served as Chairman of Directors from November 2013 till August 2018.

For the past ten years, Rachel has managed her own energy consulting business, Tandem Energy, in partnership with her husband Tom. She holds a Master of Sustainability and is also a Certified Measurement and Verification Professional (CMVP),
Rachel is currently on the steering committee for Transition Gawler and has previously served as chair and secretary for her children’s school and child care governing councils.
Rachel has been passionate about creating change since she was a teenaged check-out chick educating her customers about the risks of using CFC-powered aerosols! With energy as her professional area of expertise, becoming involved in a community energy co-operative was a natural progression.

He has always maintained a keen interest in the environment and sustainable practices and was a fairly early adopter of solar hot water and photovoltaic panels to help to reduce his carbon footprint.

Brian, throughout his working life and beyond, has been involved in local community groups and enterprises in Australia and in the UK. He served as a Director on the Boards of Uniting

Communities (Finance and Policy Committees) and Foundation Barossa (Secretary) for a total of 16 years. He has had an interest in the science of climate change, its human impacts and alternative energy systems for many years. Since retiring, he has completed an MSc in Climate Change and Sustainable Development. He believes a community energy cooperative presents an opportunity to build community resilience and directly benefit community organisations and small and medium size businesses by mobilising local capital to return benefits to local people.

Dan has worked in the for-purpose/not-for-profit sector for 15 years in various executive, governance, customer relationship, and information systems roles. In completing his Master of Business Administration he pursued electives in sustainability, and venture capital, developing an appreciation for complex systems. Always a keen gardener he left paid employment at the beginning of 2020 to develop a sustainable and holistic household for his family and community, and is developing a shared permaculture garden with a neighbour. He believes activism at a local level will achieve long term change and that co-operative energy investment is an essential part of this.