Brendan has experience across many different agricultural domains, from working at Hort Innovation to the NSW Farmers Association. At NSW Farmers he led the association’s advocacy on competition issues, which included media appearances, submissions to Government, consultation with farmer members, and meetings with Ministers and other key stakeholders. This resulted in farmer’s voices being heard and supported by a robust evidence base in the cost-of-living policy debate. He is a persuasive writer, having won the John Ralph Essay competition on two occasions, and writes in his spare time for the adventure publication We Are Explorers. He is also halfway through learning all of Chopin’s Nocturnes on piano! Based in Melbourne, Brendan has a Bachelor of Resource Economics and a Graduate Diploma of Agriculture Economics.

Johanna is an experienced Economist with advanced analytical skills and the ability to distill complex information into key insights. She has worked with businesses and government agencies on commercial, policy and regulatory projects across multiple industries, including energy and agriculture. Her recent project experience includes conducting feasibility studies on production and use cases for green hydrogen and on renewable energy applications in an agricultural context; assessing the impacts on the electricity grid of large scale uptake of EVs; modelling potential revenue streams for large scale batteries and forecasting the price of electricity, gas and renewable energy certificates. Johanna has previously worked as a Commercial Advisor with Alinta Energy and as a Senior Economist with the Competition Economist Group (CEG). Johanna holds a Bachelor of Economics & Business Studies and a Master of Economics (UWA and Uppsala University), and is certified in Climate and Renewable Energy Finance.

Maria is highly experienced in agricultural extension, spatial modelling, and socio-economic and climate research. She is an advocate for data-driven solutions, leveraging open-source tools such as Linux, Python, and R for econometric modelling and spatial analysis. Her research and teaching contributions have been featured at leading national and international conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals, covering topics such as remote sensing applications, policy development, and artificial intelligence in agriculture. Maria has a particular interest in Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) models, which she uses to address agricultural and climate challenges. These models support agriculture by simulating weather patterns, predicting evapotranspiration, and analysing the impacts of climate variability on crop systems. Maria holds a PhD in Agricultural Economics from The University of Western Australia, a Master’s degree in Environmental Earth Science from James Cook University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Farming Sciences from the Army University of Ecuador. Based in Far North Queensland, Maria balances her professional work with her love for music and ocean activities.