Join us for the RBMS Melbourne Seminar – What we’re learning: Healthy Waterway Strategy & Yarra Strategic Plan

Speakers: Rachel Lopes & Grant Fenton, Melbourne Water

Rachel will discuss the highlights and lowlights of refreshing the Healthy Waterway Strategy, focusing on the co-design process and community engagement methods used.

Grant will highlight the work done to date on the Yarra Strategic Plan, including the community vision, engagement and other interesting facts.

Short bios are provided for each of the speakers below.

Rachel Lopes is the Engagement Lead for the Healthy Waterways Strategy

Rachel has 20 years’ of experience across the public and private sector in stakeholder and community engagement. She has a Masters in Environmental Science from Monash where she worked closely with Frank Fisher and discovered systems thinking, social science and became a commuter cyclist. She has written a paper on ‘Connecting the community to waterways through stories’ and believes in the value of storytelling and authentic listening when it comes to stakeholder engagement. Prior to this she had a Bachelor Degree in Travel and Tourism Management, travelled extensively and worked in Chicago for 4 years. She is a mother of two boys and is very grateful for the flexibility and support Melbourne Water provides.

Grant Fenton is the Principal of Communications and Engagement for the Yarra Strategic Plan at Melbourne Water.

His role is to ensure that the community lead the discussion around the future of the Yarra River, and that key stakeholders inform the content of the final Yarra Strategic Plan. 

Grant recently finished a nine year stint in the Northern Territory where he was the CEO of the Australian Industry and Defence Network. Prior to that he was the inaugural CEO of the Northern Territory Farmers Association. He is a former Council Member and Vice President of the of the Automobile Association of the Northern Territory (AANT) and a former Member of the Ministerial Advisory Council for Water Management in the NT.