Chats for the Goals: Careers within Sustainability
Event description
Are you interested in working in sustainability and curious about the different career paths you could explore? We’ve assembled an exciting panel of UTS graduates now working in areas as diverse as ESG Investment to sustainable infrastructure, consulting and research. Leading the discussion will be UTS Business School academic, Rosemary Sainty, who is the founding Australian Representative to the UN Global Compact – the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative.
About the panel moderator
Dr Rosemary Sainty, Senior Lecturer, UTS Business School
From 2008 Rosemary Sainty established the National Responsible Business Practice Project funded by the Australian Federal Government (through Treasury), based at St James Ethics Centre, building a world first 'HUB' of international initiatives and local resources. These included the Australian focal points for the UN Global Compact, the world's largest corporate citizenship initiative, and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the most widely used sustainability reporting framework.The Project received endorsement from the Federal Treasurer, Business Council of Australia and HRH the Prince of Wales. As the elected Secretariat, Rosemary then grew the UN Global Compact Australian Network to become the strongest corporate citizenship movement in Australia, incorporating leading Australian businesses across banking and finance, extractives, retail and professional services.
Rosemary has recently completed a PhD at UTS Business School. Her doctoral research examined corporate sustainability and responsibility leadership at board level. She is teaching across a number of Business School undergraduate and postgraduate programs. Rosemary has published research articles and resources and spoken widely on corporate responsibility and business ethics, both locally and internationally.
About our panel:
Elaine Leong, Group General Counsel & Group Company Secretary, The Benevolent Society, BA/LLB (Honours)
Elaine has been a lawyer and governance professional for over 20 years. She leads practices and add value through advice, education, collaboration and advocacy.
She provides corporate governance and legal support to The Benevolent Society, upholding ASX-principled governance, and advising on corporate matters, M&A, and impact investing. She champions human rights and privacy initiatives, empowers staff through education programs, and collaborates on law reform and pro bono projects focused on social justice.
Elaine is also actively engaged with various organisations, including The Legal and Governance Network in Australia. This network focuses on reducing modern slavery in the sector by sharing insights and learnings, monitoring reforms, and improving governance. It also provides resources for advancing understanding of law and governance, fostering a proactive and informed sector that better supports charitable purposes.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elaine-leong-1942a684/
Michael Lupi, Principal Social Impact, IAG, B. Communications (Social Inquiry)
Michael is passionate about social innovation and purpose-led business, with a focus on addressing complex social issues.
He began his career in 2015 as a Project Officer at Royal Far West, a children’s charity providing medical and educational services to families in rural NSW. He then held various roles at Vinnies, including Corporate Partnership Officer, Ability Linker, and Social Enterprise Coordinator. At Vinnies, Michael developed and managed the NSW Skilled Volunteer program, working to promote inclusion and accessibility, and helped lead the transformation of an Australian Disability Enterprise into a Social Enterprise.
Currently at IAG, Michael started as a Safer Communities Coordinator, where he focused on building community resilience against climate change and natural disasters. Now, as Principal of Social Impact, he developed and launched NRMA Insurance Help Nation, a program delivering 3,000 community preparedness workshops across Australia over three years.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaellupi/
Nawid Cina, Senior Policy Officer, Australian Human Rights Commission, LLB, BA (International Studies)
Nawid is a human rights lawyer and the Vice President of Mahboba's Promise, an Australian NGO dedicated to orphans and widows in Afghanistan where he is responsible for major humanitarian relief programs.
He recently led the charity’s crisis response to the Taliban takeover and was awarded the 2022 Australian Human Rights Medal for his efforts in leading the evacuation of the largest group of unaccompanied children in Australia’s history.
Nawid also worked as a Program Associate at the Champions of Change Coalition, where he contributed towards institutional gender equality reform in the private sector. Nawid has and continues to provide expert advice on the status of vulnerable women and girls in Afghanistan to various UN experts and working groups.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nawidc/
Naz Jacobs, Policy Advisor, Australian Human Rights Commission, Masters of International Law & International Relations
Naz is dedicated to driving a more equitable and just society for all, with specialised experience in advancing racial justice, disability rights, gender equality; and human rights across business operations and supply chains.
She is currently working as a Policy Advisor, in Race Discrimination for the Australian Human Rights Commission, but previously worked as a Policy Officer, in Disability Strategy (Contract) for the Department of Social Services (DSS).She is also an Advisory Member for the Youth Committee at the Global Institute for Women's Leadership – ANU.
Naz has experience as a consultant in Human Rights and Social Impact in various companies including ERM, KPMG Australia, GetUp, as well as working as a UN Human Rights Council Intern for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naz-j-05a41285/
Gordon Noble, Research Director, UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures, B.Eco.
Gordon is the Research Director at UTS’ Institute for Sustainable Futures, which offers sustainable finance research. He has previously worked as the Head of Policy and Advocacy for the Australian Sustainable Finance Initiative, which launched the Australian Sustainable Finance Roadmap in November 2020 after an eighteen-month process that involved over 130 individuals across more than 80 organisations.
Gordon has also worked at the Committee for Melbourne as Deputy CEO, focusing on infrastructure, social exclusion, international education, and corporate social responsibility. He also served as a Principal Advisor at USYD for the Better Infrastructure Initiative, where he produced a series of reports focused on infrastructure stewardship.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gordon-noble-56a6727/
Alison Tran, Recycling and Circular Economy Project Officer, Northern Beaches Council, B.Sc.(Environmental Science), B.A. (International Studies)
Alison is dedicated to empowering communities to reduce waste, reuse, and recycle through education and engagement. Her work includes piloting the recycling of engineered timber, investigating litter costs for councils, and engaging culturally diverse communities in waste management.
She has volunteered with Conservation Volunteers Australia on bush regeneration projects and interned with the Conflict Islands Conservation Initiative, contributing to turtle conservation in Papua New Guinea. As a bush regenerator with the National Trust of Australia (NSW) and Total Earth Care, Alison managed ecological protection zones and supported endangered species.
At MRA Consulting Group, she conducted waste audits for businesses and households. Previously, as a Waste Education Project Officer at Northern Beaches Council, she analysed litter costs and prevention strategies. Now, she serves as a Recycling and Circular Economy Project Officer.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alison-tran/
Dr Sophie Wood, Program Director: CSARM Short Courses, UTS, B.A. (Natural Science) PhD in Geoological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences
Sophie Wood coordinates the Contaminated Sites Assessment, Remediation, and Management (CSARM) short courses at UTS. With a 30-year career in contaminated land and waste management consultancy, she has been a NSW EPA and Queensland-accredited Site Auditor and a Partner at Environmental Resources Management (ERM) in Sydney.
Sophie has worked on high-profile projects, including Sydney Metro Central Station, Western Sydney Airport, and the remediation of the former Millers Point gasworks at Barangaroo. She specialises in human health risk assessment and was a primary author of key sections of the National Environmental Protection Measure (2013 revision).
Before moving to Australia in 2008, Sophie worked in the UK for firms like URS and Capita and lectured at Huddersfield University. She holds a PhD in geochemistry from the University of Leeds and a BA in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge.
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