WAGA’s governance structure ensures accountability, objective decision making and effective communications and information exchange throughout the WAGA network.
WAGA Chairperson – Mike McIntosh, Director Planning and Environment Services, Maribyrnong City Council
Brimbank City Council – Michelle Van Gerrevink, Manager Climate Emergency and Environment
Hobsons Bay City Council – Hector Gaston, Director Sustainable Communities; Lisa Paton, Coordinator Environment and Sustainability
Maribyrnong City Council – Callan Riley, Manager City Sustainability
Melton City Council – Rowena Cairns, Coordinator Sustainability and Climate Change
Moonee Valley City Council – Sarah Wigley, Coordinator Sustainability
Moorabool Shire Council – Caitlin Findley, Acting Coordinator Sustainable Environment
Wyndham City Council – Melissa Falkenberg, Manager Transport & Sustainability; Simon Crawford, Coordinator Climate and Resilience
Karen Gardham will start as the WAGA Executive officer in July 2026.
Fran leads the Victorian Climate Resilient Councils (VCRC) program, having established VCRC when she was WAGA Executive Officer. She was in the Executive Officer role for 14 years from 2012 to 2026 and handed over the role to a new Executive Officer in order to focus on VCRC. Before joining WAGA, Fran worked in the community environment sector, for Monash University’s Centre for Environmental Management and in private environmental consulting and editing. She was one of the inaugural members of the Victorian Recycling and Litter Advisory Board, back in 1990.
As WAGA project Officer, Cara supports the implementation of WAGA’s strategic plan and associated work plans, projects and activities, including the organisation of WAGA Operational Committee meetings. She has over 20 years of experience in local government, not-for-profit and tertiary education sectors, including the City of Whittlesea for over a decade, ICLEI Oceania, ECO-Buy, CERES Environment Park and Swinburne University. Cara is adept at developing and maintaining cooperative stakeholder relationships and drawing on these relationships to facilitate effective delivery of collaborative, multidisciplinary sustainability projects aligned to strategic directions.
The Western Alliance for Greenhouse Action (WAGA) respectfully acknowledges and recognises the Woiwurrung, Bunurong, Wadawurrung and Dja Dja Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work and we pay respect to their Elders, past, present and future.