Meet the Team

 

Queensland Koala Crusaders are very lucky to have a passionate team driving the organisations vision forward. We cannot thank enough the efforts from everyone involved since its inception in 2010. Over time they created and developed the solid foundation of a well established not-for-profit organisation which proudly continues to be a voice for the koala. And it goes without saying that without the support of our volunteers, members, supporters and donors QKC would not be able to achieve what we have done, and continue to do. 

President:

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Linda Barnes

Linda is an IT and Communications Consultant, and Nature and Conservation Photographer with a long history of documenting wildlife conservation stories in North America and Australia.

Since moving to Australia, Linda has become a passionate advocate for koalas and preserving and expanding the vital habitat on which they depend.

 

Vice President:

 

Terri Harvey

Terri is a natural leader. Drawing upon her experience leading koala rescue organizations for several years and bringing her professional experience in managing a successful company, Terri joined QKC in 2021.

She brings a passion for the environment, for the sustainability of the koala as a species, and her ability to lead to QKC.

She’s helped us foster great relationships with all kinds of stakeholders, including governments and other like-minded organizations.

Terri has been instrumental in kicking the planting program into high gear in 2021 and late in that year, she agreed to assume the role of Vice President, where she’ll continue coordinating our planting program.

Secretary:

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Angie Fairweather

Ange came to the koala world as a keen horticulturist with a view to learning more about fodder eucalypts for koalas and revegetating depleted koala habitats near her home in Samford Valley.

Ange has been a member of Native Plants Queensland for a number of years and an enthusiastic propagator of native species.

Ange brings leadership, management and analyst skills from her previous career as an Army intelligence officer.  Although retired, Ange keeps busy with various volunteer work including koala ambulance driver, platypus surveyor and Justice of the Peace.

 

Treasurer:

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David Mackenzie

David is a Nature and Conservation Photographer, Communications Consultant, and advocate for wild places with focus on the creation of habitat for wildlife, especially our koalas.

David has worked in corporate management, as well as being a small business owner, beef cattle producer and spent a lifetime crawling around the bush taking photos.

General Committee:

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Stefanie Fishel

Stefanie Fishel is a Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, a visiting fellow and member of the Environment and Governance Research Group at UNSW Canberra, and a Fellow of the Earth System Governance Project.

Stef was educated at the University of Victoria, British Columbia where she received her Master of Arts in International Relations, and earned her PhD at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland in International Relations and Political Theory.

Her book, The Microbial State: Global Thriving and The Body Politic, was published by the University of Minnesota Press in 2017.

 

Ambassador:

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Meghan Halverson

Meghan is a co-founder and past President of Queensland Koala Crusaders. Sometimes called "that koala lady" she is well known throughout the Australian conservation world for her passion and collaborative efforts on behalf of koalas and the wildlife that live under them.

As the driving force behind QKC since its founding she has established strong relationships with a wide variety of stakeholder groups urging a more coordinated and effective alliance and her dream of establishing koala sanctuaries.

General Committee:

 

 

Kurt Jones

At 18 years old from North Brisbane, he has long been dedicated to preserving the wild places and the wildlife which inhabit them.

A natural leader, he is also passionate about young people and the place they have in protecting wildlife for future generations.

Kurt has been involved in conservation for several years and has been served in many different ambassador, leadership and animal care roles. QKC is so fortunate to have him in his role to assist in raMuzza ising awareness and taking action for our koalas, working to make our goals a reality.

Webmaster:

 

 

Murray (Muzza) Munro

Muzza has been with the QKC Team for nearly a decade, operating mostly in the background with all things online. Always at the ready for what ever tasks may present themselves, he keeps the wheels turning on the website and all things related.

For more than two decades Muzza has worked in both in-situ and ex-situ conservation. His work with icons of the environmental movement has shaped his thinking and earnt him the respect of the conservation community. Muzza’s formative experience managing Jane Goodall’s chimpanzee sanctuary in remote Uganda taught him the critical importance of working closely with local communities to create sustainable wildlife conservation solutions.

Returning to the urban jungle, first to Auckland Zoo, then to manage the internationally-renowned Wildlife Warriors at Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo, he learned first-hand how public awareness translates into support for conservation.

He and a small team later used this knowledge to launch a fundraising and media campaign to rescue a critically malnourished, orphaned Sumatran elephant named Bona. Bona’s plight caused a media frenzy (including an episode on ABC television’s Australian Story), that eventually went global.