National Forum

Bernadette O'Leary

Bernadette O'Leary has over eighteen years experience in working in both Commonwealth and ACT governments. The latter providing a mix of State and local government type functions.

Most work has been in the area of natural environment, from both a reserved lands and private land perspective, and including policy and program/project based activities – such as planning for the management of reserved lands, input to Territory planning and land use policy/ proposals, and operational management.

Her tertiary training was in human biology/ecology and the natural environment, and later environmental management. While Bernadette's current work is a mix of policy and projects related to nature conservation on private land, leading a team seeking to support and integrate activities relating to wildlife (e.g.: Bush for Wildlife National Coordination, within Environment Australia), encourage institutional change (e.g.: Revolving Funds), work more strategically (e.g.: with industry), and influence outcomes through processes such as future NHT and the National Action Plan on Salinity and Water Quality.

She is also a landowner in south eastern NSW, managing a partly degraded bush block for conservation - and that's where she'd prefer to be most of the time.