The Australian Food Network
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People

As a food systems network, People are the heart of our work.

Our Board Members

Kelly Donati

Chair

Lecturer, William Angliss Institute

Dr Kelly Donati developed and lectures in Australia’s first Bachelor of Food Studies and Master of Food Systems and Gastronomy in the Faculty of Higher Education at William Angliss Institute. Her doctoral research developed the concept of multispecies gastronomy which explores the convivial and lively co-productive collaborations between humans and nonhumans in small-scale farming practice. She has published widely in the areas of multispecies gastronomy, community gardens, farmers markets, t...

Lynn Richardson

Treasurer

Lecturer, William Angliss Institute / Chairperson, The Environmental Group Limited

Lynn Richardson brings a wealth of food industry experience, academic research and business acumen to help realise the Sustain mission. A lecturer in Finance, Strategy, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Lynn is deeply committed to progressing fair food systems. Lynn’s contribution as Treasurer blends a 20-year hospitality career with extensive business management expertise. A graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Lynn holds an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of E...

Annemaree Docking

Director

Director, PlanIt Rural

Annemaree is an Agricultural Scientist, Permaculture Designer, Farmer and advocate for the natural environment. Annemaree started her career in the private agricultural sector working in a range of enterprises including beef cattle, merino fine wool production, dairy, Thoroughbred breeding and viticulture. She spent three years with the Department of Primary Industries (Biosecurity Victoria and the Meat and Wool Team) before moving to local government on the peri-urban fringe of Melbourne, where...

Tom Gyorffy QC

Director

Queen's Counsel, Victorian Bar / Proprietor, Tarrangower Estate Winery

Tom has nearly 30 years’ experience as a barrister at the Victorian Bar. In 1984 he was appointed Assistant Director of Policy and Research for the Victorian Attorney General. In September 1989 he was appointed a Crown Prosecutor, and in that role prosecuted major criminal trials and appeared in about 1800 appeals in the Court of Appeal and about 60 in the High Court. He took Silk in 2011. His areas of practice include Appeals, criminal trials, OH&S, Confiscations, Administrative Law, Cont...

Jono Leschinski

Director

Co-owner, Edigrocer

Jono works with local families and farmers towards a sustainable and fair suburban food future in his home town of Edithvale, Melbourne. Always starting from the ground up, Jono is committed to creating viable community businesses that are regenerative and impactful. In 2016, Jono co-founded @EDIGROCER a suburban greengrocer / micro-food-hub. With an inspiring team, their core work is to source veggies directly from local & organic growers on the Mornington Peninsula and Koo-wee-rup to make u...

Izo Lourival

Director

Director, Australia-Brazil Chamber of Commerce

Izo Lourival is an accomplished professional with extensive experience in business development, stakeholder and relationship management, industry and business engagement with the Victorian Government and large higher education institutions. In his most recent role as Investment Manager at the Victorian Government, Izo led business engagement activities and facilitated private sector investments in several of Victoria’s key sectors including food and fibre, renewable energy, international educa...

Tom Sorrell

Director

Strategy Consultant, PwC

Tom is a strategy consultant with PwC, who supports businesses to build operations that support sustainable growth. His work has covered a broad range of sectors, including leading food processing, distribution and retail organisations in Australia and abroad. He is a Certified Supply Chain Professional with the APICS Institute of Operations Management, a Chartered Accountant with CA-ANZ and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from UNSW. Tom is passionate about building supply chains that are sustainab...

Our Staff

Nick Rose

Executive Director, Sustain

Nick has been the Executive Director of Sustain since its establishment in January 2016. With a background In law and community development, Nick brings more than a decade of working at the grassroots and institutional level in several Australian states in food sovereignty and sustainable food systems. He is the editor of "Fair Food: Stories From a Movement Changing The World (2015)" and the co-editor of "Reclaiming The Urban Commons: The Past, Present and Future of Food Growing in Australian T...

Max Godber

Community Engagement Coordinator, Cardinia Food Circles

Max draws from 15 years of work and volunteering experience in many aspects of the food cycle, from commercial production, transformation (cooking, baking & fermentation), waste reclamation and local community-based economies . These experiences allow him to appreciate the complimentary roles of good governance and efficient management in a context of limited resources. His collaborations with various cooperatives and social enterprises in spaces such as food security, urban agriculture and ...

Georgia Karavis

Communications, Events & Projects Coordinator, Sustain & Melbourne Food Hub

Georgia works with Nichole Foster and Nick Rose to manage the Melbourne Food Hub Grow Source Eat and Urban Farm Food Justice programs. She also manages the delivery of the Food Business Boost program (supported by Moonee Valley City Council) as well as the Food in Common / Cooking with Seniors program (funded by the Arcare Foundation).

Julia Pecoraro

Event Coordinator, Urban Agriculture Forum

Julia Pecoraro has a background in local-level adaptation and response to climate change, specifically through building resilient food systems. Julia has experience working with non-profits providing program and administration support, with expertise in engaging diverse communities to achieve inclusive, community led climate change preparation, and community-based resilience building. Julia joined Sustain in 2020 as Urban Agriculture Forum and Month Coordinator.

Nichole Foster

Food Distribution Coordinator, Melbourne Food Hub

Nichole is a driven and knowledgable champion of food justice. Having joined Sustain from Austin, Texas, where she coordinated numerous hunger relief events, she has overseen the Grow/ Source / Eat food distribution program as well as food relief efforts at the Melbourne Food Hub as Project Manager. Since her involvement, Grow / Source / Eat has grown from 9 subscribers to around 100, distributing over 300 kilos of locally sourced, sustainable produce to households in Melbourne each week.

Arianna Lim

Communications & Strategy Support Officer, Sustain

Arianna recently completed the Master of Environment at the University of Melbourne, where she focused her studies on sustainable food systems and policy. Prior to this she worked as an intern for Harlem Grown, a New York-based non-profit striving to improve nutritious food access and literacy among children. She is originally from the Philippines, and has spent much of her time in Australia working to vegetarianise Filipino cuisine.