The story behind Groundswell

Anna is the CEO of Energy Leadership Australia, an author and campaigner who has worked for over two decades to help Australia make progress on climate change. She is a Board member for Farmers for Climate Action, a Governor of WWF-Australia, author of the book Madlands: A Journey to Change the Mind of a Climate Sceptic and co-star of the ABC documentary I Can Change Your Mind on Climate Change. Anna is a Churchill Fellow, a former Myer Foundation Innovation Fellow, an Associate at Melbourne University Sustainable Society Institute and a Visiting Fellow at the ANU Climate Change Centre. She is an advisory board member of the University of Queensland's Global Change Institute and The Australian Geographic Society, and a former Director of Solar Citizens, Green Music Australia and the Aussie Farmers Foundation. She is a former Australian Geographic Society Conservationist of the Year, was a finalist in the Australian of the Year Awards, and is the recipient of the Sierra Club's Earthcare Award for International Environmental Protection. Anna co-founded the Australian Youth Climate Coalition and was head of Earth Hour for WWF-Australia.

Clare is a connector, community builder, and co-founder of Groundswell. With a unique viewpoint as both a funder and fundraiser Clare is focusing all her energies on addressing climate change. She enjoys convening people for meaningful conversations, catalytic change, and describes herself as a 'collector of good eggs'. Prior to Groundswell, she founded the annual Heron Island Fellowship with Anna Rose, in partnership with the Climate Council. Clare has over 15 years experience in philanthropy and promotes the idea that 'giving' comes in many currencies, with unique power and purpose. Previously, she was Next Generation Development Manager for the Art Gallery of NSW where she founded the Atelier philanthropy program. Clare is now a Director of the Art Gallery of NSW Foundation, as well as a Director of of the Board Trust for NSW National Parks. She is a member of the Australian Environmental Grantmakers Network and the global Climate Reality Leadership Corps. She was a founding member of New Gen at Philanthropy Australia, and a delegate of the Nexus Global Youth Summit.

Arielle has built and nurtured Groundswell into a nationwide community of people committed to funding strategic climate action for a safer future – from game changing litigation to disruptive shareholder activism to dynamic public campaigns to First Nations land and sea management. 

Arielle is passionate about harnessing the power of collaboration to create meaningful change, and about bringing new people and communities into the climate conversation. Groundswell’s renowned climate fellowship program for philanthropic, business and cultural leaders has catalysed game changing climate action across Australia from philanthropy to investment to film and music.

Prior to Groundswell, Arielle co-founded and curated a group exhibition with some of Australia’s leading contemporary artists, All We Can’t See: Illustrating the Nauru Files. This national exhibition and impact campaign shed light on the unacceptable human cost of offshore detention. In a former career, Arielle was an award winning designer and art director, working between Australia and London. 

Arielle is a Fellow of Australian Progress, a TEDx Sydney 2023 speaker, and a member of Arise Leadership circle, an initiative of ActionAid supporting women-led emergency preparedness and response across the Pacific with a long-term, transformative agenda. 

Bridging management consulting and non-profit leadership, Emma is an operations, strategy and finance leader who builds sustainable, high-impact organisations. Before joining the Groundswell team as General Manager, Emma was a Groundswell board director and volunteer, and General Manager at the Sydney Environment Institute. She previously worked as a management consultant advising government agencies and charities, bringing deep expertise in designing operating models and enabling strategic growth. Emma is a registered Chartered Accountant, a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and currently serves on the board of the Local and Independent News Association.

Thanh Whittam brings diverse experience in administrative and events roles across higher education, property management, retail and hospitality. In her previous role at the Sydney Environment Institute, Thanh served as Finance and Administration Officer, leading day-to-day financial management and supporting program delivery including in events, process management and executive support. Thanh studied a double degree at the University of Sydney in Secondary Education and Psychology. Beyond work and study, Thanh holds a deep personal interest in biodiversity conservation, mitigating the negative impacts of climate change on wildlife and advocating for environmental sustainability for future generations.

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Stephen is a climate donor and impact investor, passionate about expanding climate philanthropy in Australia. He funds strategic advocacy and high-impact solutions to help accelerate the clean energy transition, whilst applying a justice-based approach. Stephen is currently working with Groundswell, developing a Major Giving Circle for new climate action funders. He is also helping to establish an Australian version of Resource Generation, which aims to activate socially progressive young people of privilege to redress traditional power imbalances in philanthropy. Stephen is a founding member of the Climate Capital Forum and a board member of Solar Citizens. Before changing careers to respond to the climate crisis, he worked in education for 12 years as a high school history and English teacher, then later in university student recruitment and enrichment.

Passionate about the power of creativity and the certainty that natural ecosystem regeneration is doable. Started in oceanography, moved into performing arts management, cofounded Artology in 2011 to develop creative potential through experiential learning in the arts. Currently managing director of the Graeme Wood Foundation, Director of Wedgetail Foundation, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and Spring Bay Mill - once home to the world's largest wood chip mill repurposed and rejuvenated as an events space for arts, music, politics and ecology.

Hannah is the Co-Founder of Better Bribe, an Australian startup providing a range of nutritious, functional and fun snacks for kids. Hannah is also an experienced creative producer, with a strong interest in cross-cultural engagement. She has extensive background working in the Australia – Asia cultural field, and is a fluent Mandarin and French language speaker. Hannah founded and led Creative Asia- an agency building cultural partnerships, arts projects, and engagement strategies between arts organisations in Australia and the Asia Pacific. Prior to that she held roles with the Culture and Public Affairs Office at the Australian Embassy, Beijing, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the Walkley Foundation, and the Woollahra festival of Arts and Ideas. In the philanthropic sector, Hannah is actively involved with, and passionate about a range of causes across the creative arts, climate action, and human rights. She is a current Board Director of Groundswell Giving, a committee member of the Atelier, Art Gallery of NSW, and a Director of the Sky Foundation. Hannah currently lives in Sydney with her husband James, and their three young kids.

Drawing on both personal and collective histories, Tony Albert is one of Australia's most celebrated contemporary artists. His multidisciplinary practice considers the ways in which optimism might be utilised to overcome adversity. His work poses crucial questions such as how do we remember, give justice to, and rewrite complex and traumatic histories? Albert's commitment to connecting and collaborating with other Indigenous artists and the wider community within his practice, has made him an integral part of Australia's visual arts sector and the wider Australian community. This commitment was recently acknowledged by Griffith University who awarded him an honorary doctorate for his achievements in the arts. Albert has extensive experience in leading projects of scale, working with communities and teams. His experiences include being the first Indigenous artist on the board of trustees for the Art Gallery of New South Wales, a member of the Art Gallery of New South Wales Indigenous advisory, a board member for the City of Sydney's Public Art Panel and member of the Queensland Children's Hospital Arts in Health committee.

Rachel has over 15 years' experience in sustainable/ESG investing, family office advisory and leadership roles, with a particular focus on the economics and investment dynamics of climate change, biodiversity and ecosystems. She has an entrepreneurial background and a global perspective having worked in the US, UK and Australia, as well as Belize and Cambodia. Rachel joined Crestone in 2019 with a mission to drive the sustainable investment agenda more broadly, having been working with a large impact investment-orientated Australian family. She prides herself on the trusted and enduring relationships that she creates with her clients – from individuals to family offices and not-for-profits, helping them navigate the rapidly-evolving and often complex area of sustainable investment with her characteristic energy, dedication and knowledge. She is a former Board Member of Future Super, Climate Friendly and the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. She currently sits on the Board of the Australian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (an ethical investment and research organisation), is an active mentor of emerging female leadership, and is involved in various climate-change and diversity initiatives. Her views on the intersection of climate change and investment have been published in The Australian Financial Review and she continues to speak widely on these issues at conferences, on podcasts and in interviews. She is a Responsible Investment Association Australasia accredited adviser.

Emma is a legal and governance professional who brings a global perspective and a pragmatic approach to complex challenges across sectors and industries. Having worked on humanitarian emergencies and natural disasters with a large international NGO, she has seen firsthand the impacts of the climate crisis on communities with the least capacity to respond across Australia, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the Pacific. Most recently, Emma's independent consulting work has included supporting a large First Peoples-led fund enabling Traditional Owners to negotiate Treaty in Victoria, as well as advising Médecins Sans Frontières on global strategic governance projects. Previously, she held legal and non-legal roles at National Australia Bank across financial crime, strategic regulatory matters and customer complaints, and practised Australian and international law with Mallesons, Allens, Norton Rose Fulbright and the United Nations.