Board Members

Oonagh Kilpatrick – Chair
Oonagh was born & lived in Northern Ireland until 2006.  She boasts a 20 year career in taxation and trusts planning for individuals and small to medium enterprises, and from 2006 – 2011 lived and work as consultant with Saudi Arabia British Bank in Riyadh, specialising in project management, and training staff in customer service skills.  In 2011 she moved with her husband to run a dairy farm in the Great South Coast.  Oonagh is a United Dairyfarmers Victoria Policy Councillor for Wannon and Ireland Genetics Australian Manager.
Martin Clark – Deputy Chair

Martin Clark is Operations Manager for Australian Bluegum Plantations (ABP), his responsibilities include managing ABP in the Green Triangle along with stakeholder engagement. His objective is to plant, tend and harvest a sustainable, viable and renewable resource of plantations integrated within the region.

Martin grew up locally on a mixed enterprise farm west of Hamilton, where his interest in integrating strategic tree plantings within a working farm developed. He graduated with an honours degree in Agricultural Science, and, following his passion, became involved in primary production within the region. He believes that innovation, integration, engaging, educating and promoting the benefits and sustainability of our diverse primary production industries in the region is the route to a successful and sustainable future.

Jamie Pepper – Deputy Chair

Drawing on a century-long family legacy of farming cattle and sheep in Victoria’s Western District, Jamie is a beef and sheep farmer and passionate advocate for quality and sustainable local agricultural production in the region. Jamie has worked on his family farm, Pepper Partnership, since 2015 where he drives forward gentle animal husbandry for Hereford and Angus Cattle, Poll Dorset stud and Merino ewes. Jamie is a proud LGBTIQA member and committed to attracting and retaining a talented young workforce in regional communities.

Rhonda Henry – Treasurer

Rhonda Henry has a wealth of experience in the banking and the agricultural sector. Rhonda is currently a Senior Relationship Manager at Westpac for the Agribusiness sector across Victoria and Tasmania,. She has been in this role for 3 years . Prior to that she held the role of Head of Dairy–South West Victoria at the Commonwealth Bank for 45 years.  Rhonda’s board experience includes current roles as Deputy Chair of Leadership Great South Coast and Treasurer of WestVic Dairy. She is passionate about empowering people to succeed in achieving their agribusiness dreams and supporting them on their journey through all stages of their business and life goals. She loves the region in which she lives and works and is very regional and community focused. She is married and has 3 adult sons and  3 grandchildren.

Brett Davis

A Senior Executive with over 27 years’ experience in public policy, government,  project management, urban and regional planning, property, engagement, development management and facilitation.  Brett was appointed CEO of Moyne Shire in June 2022 having previously served as a Director at the Shire. Prior to this, Brett was Executive Director for Regional Victoria with the Victorian Planning Authority.  He is passionate about rural and regional areas, and this has been his primary focus for the past 15 years. Brett was elevated to Fellow with the Planning Institute of Australia in 2017.

Brett has been a Senior Member at Planning Panels Victoria, and has served on the Building Appeals Board. He has held a number of senior planning and leadership roles in the public and private sectors as well as extensive experience in Local Government and private industry as a senior consultant and project manager.  Brett sits on the South West Victorian Alliance as a board member and is its representative for FFGSC.

Ralph Cotter

Ralph is the Regional Leader for Barwon South West with Agriculture Victoria. He works collaboratively with regional stakeholders to promote agriculture, uphold biosecurity and stimulate economic development.

Ralph grew up in Canada and studied Biology at the University of Calgary. He has a strong interest in ecology and natural systems. When he arrived in Australia he was impressed with the Landcare movement and began working for the Victorian Government on a large river revegetation project, in partnership with Landcare. Working with farmers on their revegetation projects stimulated his interest in agriculture and food production. This interest has only grown over the past 20 years and Ralph believes that the opportunities for agriculture in Victoria’s south west are limitless.

Tristan M Monti

Tristan is an Agribusiness Manager with NAB which has allowed him to travel in his role and experience what Victoria and Southern NSW agriculture has to offer. During his time with NAB Tristan has lived and worked in Wagga, Griffith, Horsham and now Hamilton. This has given Tristan a wider perspective on a diverse range of agriculture including cropping, livestock, cotton, rice, viticulture, and horticulture. Growing up with a farm in Shepparton, Tristan has always had a passion for agriculture and trade. Tristan studied a Bachelor of International Business before moving to China for 12 months to study mandarin and business in Asia. Upon his return Tristan completed his master’s degree and spent 5 years working in international logistics before his passion for Agri pushed him to join NAB and relocate regionally.

Tristan is enthusiastic about helping others into the Agri industry and is currently a RMIT career mentor. This sees him leading career panels and mentoring students into regional and agribusiness roles. After being part of the inaugural Food and Fibre Career Tasting Trail, Tristan is excited to bring his passion and experience to this role.

 

Aaron Moyne

Aaron is a planning manager in local government with extensive experience working in south-west Victoria over the past 13 years. He has strong interests in leadership, strategy and organisational and people development, with experience working in areas including policy analysis and development, strategic planning, renewable energy, development investment and sustainability.

Aaron is passionate and committed to the opportunities and future in regional Australia, including promotion of agricultural needs to meet long-term food security and sustainability requirements.

Aaron holds a Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning, both from the University of South Australia, and is a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is a proud father and in his spare time, he enjoys helping out and changing the nature of work on his family’s dairy and beef farm.

Jessica Loughland

Jessica Loughland is the Livestock Supply Chain Manager for Australian beef processor, Greenham, who operate three export beef plants across Victoria and Tasmania. In her role, Jessica is responsible for overseeing the company’s natural beef programs, digital feedback systems, supply chain sustainability initiatives, and engagement with producers. Since joining the team in December 2020, she has successfully developed and delivered two new programs, including the Greenham Beef Sustainability Standard (GBSS) and the Dairy Beef Program.

Jessica studied agricultural science at Charles Sturt University and, prior to joining Greenham, gained valuable experience working for Teys Australia in various roles across livestock, commercial analytics, and project management, and at MLA, where she led the MSA Business Development team to help drive adoption and commercialisation of the Meat Standards Australia (MSA) program.

Jessica is a passionate advocate for Australian agriculture and is actively engaged in many industry initiatives including, the Australian Beef Sustainability Framework Sustainability Steering Group and the advisory group for the ‘Environmental Credentials for Australian Beef’ project. Jessica is also a non-Executive Director for the Future Farmers Network (FFN) where she hopes to engage and inspire the next generation of industry leaders.

 

Kirsten Diprose

Kirsten Diprose is a communications specialist, podcaster and farmer based on a sheep and cropping property near Caramut, in south-west Victoria.

Kirsten founded the Rural Podcasting Co, a podcast coaching and agency service, specifically for people in rural areas. She has experience in media, marketing and knowledge-brokering in agriculture, agtech and agricultural science, previously working for Deakin University and agrifood venture capital firm, Tenacious Ventures. Kirsten also founded and co-hosts a podcast specifically for rural woman, called ‘Ducks on the Pond.’

Prior to this, Kirsten worked as a TV and radio journalist for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in both regional and metropolitan newsrooms. You can still hear her as a regular co-host on ABC Radio Melbourne’s The Conversation Hour and as a guest on ABC News Breakfast.

Kirsten is also the Deputy Chair of South West TAFE, A Board member of Food and Fibre Great South Coast and a PhD candidate at Deakin University, studying podcasting and local news sustainability.

Ella Credlin

Ella and her husband Jed own and operate farms in Ecklin South, milking approximately 1,500 cows. In addition to the family business, Ella is employed as a Senior Agribusiness Manager with ANZ in South West Victoria. Ella holds a Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of Melbourne and is a recent graduate of the Australian Rural Leadership Program. Ella is also a board member of WestVic Dairy and on the steering committee for the Australia Dairy Conference.

Ella is passionate about agribusiness and particularly about educating the next generations on career pathways and opportunities for equity growth and ownership. Ella brings both a strategic and operational perspective to the board as well as 15 years’ experience in the financial sector.