Board & Management
Our Patron
Reverend Vicky Cullen
The Reverend Vicky Cullen is Patron of the Peter Cullen Water and Environment Trust. Vicky has been an outstanding advocate for Peter’s work, a regular speaker at Trust Programs and a generous donor, offering Indigenous Scholarships on our flagship programs.
Our Board
The Hon. Karlene Maywald (chair)
The Hon. Karlene Maywald holds a broad portfolio of Board positions, in addition her role as Chair of the Peter Cullen Trust, Karlene is the Chair WaterAid Australia, Chair of the CSIRO Land and Water Advisory Panel and Director of the Australian Water Association. She is the Managing Director of Maywald Consultants Pty Ltd, providing water policy and government relations advisory services. Karlene was the Chair of the National Water Commission from 2012 to 2015 and served as Director on the SA Water Board for five years. Karlene was the representative for the seat of Chaffey in the South Australian House of Assembly from October 1997 to March 2010. During her tenure, from 2004 until 2010, she was South Australia’s Minister for Water Security and the River Murray during one of the worst drought periods in living memory. She has a proven, long-standing track record in water management and is passionate about water reform and leadership.
Susie Williams
Susie Williams is the Kimberley manager for the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation based in Kununurra, a remote northern town in one of the most rugged and beautiful parts of the country. Not only has Susie extensive and expert knowledge of resource management in northern Australia and how the region is placed, socio-economically and geopolitically, she is committed to its sustainable development. She has contributed to nationally significant public policy about indigenous rights to water, northern development, water allocation and ecological flow regimes in the Kimberley. She has diverse experience and unique insights into the future challenges and opportunities facing a remote and rural water sector. Susie was one of the founding members of the National PCT Fellows Committee and as Chair, she effectively transformed a work program that was un-strategic and thinly spread, to one which was aligned, clear, and communicated to all stakeholders. She now continues this work as a Board Director for collaborative impact towards sustainable water management and NRM in Australia.
Dr Katherine Daniell
Dr Katherine Daniell, BEng(Civil)(Hons)/BA (Adel.), PhD (ANU/AgroParisTech, France), MIEAust, is a Senior Lecturer in the Fenner School of Environment and Society at the Australian National University. Her research and practice focusses on collaborative approaches to policy and action for sustainable development. Her recent work in Europe and the Asia-Pacific includes projects on water governance, risk management, sustainable urban development, climate change adaptation and international science and technology cooperation. Katherine is the author of the Cambridge University Press book “Co-engineering and participatory water management: organisational challenges for water governance”, published in the UNESCO International Hydrology Series, and over 80 other academic publications including papers, book chapters, reports and edited collections. Katherine has received many awards and honours for her work including a John Monash Scholarship and graduating as a Fellow of the Peter Cullen Water and Environment Trust (2010). She has served on the ACT (2009-2011, 2015-2016) and National (2013-2014) Selection Panels for the John Monash Scholarships. Katherine is currently President of the Australian-French Association for Research and Innovation (AFRAN) Inc., member of the National Committee on Water Engineering (Engineers Australia), member of the Initiatives of the Future of Great Rivers and Editor of the Australasian Journal of Water Resources.
Chris Arnott
Chris Arnott has over 21 years of experience in public policy, extensive networks and a proven ability to lead teams of high-performing problem solvers. He has worked extensively for a range of state, federal departments and their associated agencies, particularly in the area of performance management, monitoring, evaluation and reporting (MER). Chris is regularly engaged across investment programs to help establish effective performance frameworks, including the use of investment logic models, as well as ex-post evaluations. Chris led Aither’s systematic review of evaluations conducted by the Victorian Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources over the last 2 years. Spanning a diverse range of investments from transport to Creative Victoria, Chris and the Aither team identified factors that are critical to successful performance.
Our Staff & Volunteers
Darryl Day, Chief Executive Officer
Darryl Day, Chief Executive Officer, joined the Peter Cullen Trust in 2021. Darryl has held senior executive roles in the water industry for over twenty years and has held non-executive Board roles in water research and industry associations. Darryl served President of the Australian Water Association (2005 – 2007) which coincided with increased community and political interest in water reform during the millennium drought and was awarded the Australian Water Association – Water Professional of the Year in 2019. Darryl was appointed as an International Water Association Distinguished Fellow in 2018
Dr Bek Christensen, Programs Director
Dr Bek Christensen, Programs Director, joined the Peter Cullen Trust in 2021. Bek has shaped her career around enabling impact from science, facilitating collaborations, and capacity-building. She has worked in ecosystem research, policy and communication across university, NGO, and government sectors, including leadership of major national initiatives in collaborative research infrastructure. Bek is passionate about developing people, and building bridges between groups of people to enable collective impact. Alongside her work with the Trust Bek is current President of the Ecological Society of Australia, serves on the STEM Sector Policy Committee of Science and Technology Australia, and is member of several advisory boards to national ecosystem research infrastructure.
Lesley Ryall, Fellows Network Coordinator
Lesley Ryall joined the Trust in 2022, in the new role of Fellows Network Coordinator. Lesley’s professional journey includes senior roles in marketing, communications, community development, events and professional development across NGO, government and community sectors. But it is her year of living dangerously with the Williamson Community Leadership Program, and her subsequent life as a Fellow, that has shaped and transformed her values and her passion. Lesley has lead her own consulting business, The Good Work Group, for the past 20+ years, applying her skills and intent to her professional aspiration to do work that’s worth doing and do it well.
Linda Cumming, Executive Officer
Linda Cumming, Executive Officer, joined the Trust in 2019 after working as a full-time parent and living in New Zealand for several years. Her background is in the Museum and Heritage Sector, having worked as a Curator at Old Parliament House (now the Museum of Australian Democracy) and the National Museum of Australia. Linda has a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the Australian National University, majoring in History and Classics.
