Our People and Our Supporters

Food Ladder Projects Changing the way asutralia eats

It all starts with people

Alex Shead

Chairman and Co-Founder, Director, Board Member

Alex has been a passionate entrepreneurial business leader for more than 35 years. It’s his passion to create lasting social change which led him to establish ‘Fair Business’ in 2008 which evolved into Food Ladder in 2012. The vision was to tackle inequality, food security and environmental issues on a global scale.

Alex has also been a founder of numerous insurance businesses and is the current Chairman of Ocean Underwriting as well as Director of Pacific Green Group, a renewable energy company.

Kelly McJannett

CEO and Co-Founder, Director Board Member

In Nov 2016, the AFR named Kelly as one of Australia’s 100 Most Influential Women. It’s even more fitting today. As the Founding CEO of Food Ladder, Kelly has driven our growth throughout Australia’s Indigenous communities. Building on that success, Kelly is now helping us replicate our systems across in some of the most remote communities on Earth. How? By galvanising the power of organisations, individuals, and governments.

Jane Clifford

Director Board Member

Jane has worked in public education for more than 20-years. Her commitment to social justice and philanthropy has already helped multiple not-for-profit organisations – including Room To Read, Australian Wildlife Conservancy and The Bright Spots Schools Connection. As a Director of the JAAM Foundation since June 2012, Jane has helped support organisations in the arts, education, health, domestic violence, and the environment. We were so pleased she joined the Board of Food Ladder in July 2019.

Darren Milne

Director Board Member

Darren is a specialist in writing strategic direction, growth planning and complex implementation. His extensive business contacts and considerable expertise is drawn mainly from the insurance industry. In a 40-year career, he completed eight broker acquisitions – managed integrating processes and driving ongoing business success. His entrepreneurial approach has helped Food Ladder adapt to our challenge of straddling both education and corporate environments.

Sudeep Gohil

Director Board Member

Sudeep is a strategy, marketing and branding specialist with over 25 years of global experience. Having started out in Australia, Sudeep’s career has seen him work in Singapore, Japan, England, the USA and India. He has worked with brands such as Nike, Adidas, CUB, Coca Cola, Qantas, Telstra, Tiger Beer, Levi’s and Instagram, and with agencies including BBH, W+K, Droga5, and Publicis.

Currently, Sudeep is a partner at KPMG, where he leads the Creative, Reputation and Insights practices in the Customer Advisory part of the Consulting Division. He joined the Board of Food Ladder in 2024 to throw his branding smarts behind a vision he believes in.

Mike Abbott

Director Board Member

Mike Abbott is currently a Partner at Antler. He is a finance guy turned start-up junkier. He joined Uber pre-Australia launch and loved every minute of the next 6 years building the company Across Australia and NZ. He co-founded Kaddy – a B2B marketplace platform for the beverages industry (at least initially). Mike is passionate about using tech to revolutionise real world operations, scaling businesses, hiring and developing the very best talent and team culture. He joined the board of Food Ladder in 2024 as the NGO sets its course for scale.

Lucy Payne

Head of Partnerships

Unusual among investment experts, Lucy has a passion for food, nutrition, and sustainability. Before joining Food Ladder, she was Head of Clients at an Australian trading platform. It’s the perfect grounding for engaging with our invaluable partners and donors. Lucy has been critical to the success of our School Rollout Program –an important focus for Food Ladder in the year ahead. Lucy believes Food Ladder is a positive catalyst for helping school children understand the importance of fresh produce, good nutrition, and healthy eating.

Michelle Brownstein

Head of Philanthropy

Michelle is a strong believer in the power of philanthropy to create change. She is passionate about improving Australia’s health landscape and believes Food Ladder’s approach to addressing food insecurity will generate real results for vulnerable communities. Michelle has built a strong reputation as a highly effective leader by combining integrity with strategic ability. She has unique blend of nutritional knowledge, management experience, and communication skills. Michelle is determined to ensure everyone has access to healthy and nutritious food.

Nigel McLean

Project Manager

It is hard to imagine anyone with a broader understanding of modern agriculture than Nigel. He began his career in aquaculture in NSW then Tasmania. After 10 years managing farms in Macquarie Harbour, he then transferred his knowledge to the Tasmanian berry industry. Nigel combines his knowledge of sustainable food production with his passion for educating the emerging generations and food insecurity both here in Australia and overseas.

Veronica O'Keefe

Project Co-ordinator

Veronica understands remote communities – she began her career in the NW Western Australia and Northern Territory in human and animal health and as Veterinary Practice Manager. It was here she noticed the ever-widening gap in food sustainability. She recognised the quality of food in remote communities was insufficient. Veronica began as a Food Ladder volunteer with 7 installations and now has become an employee due to her contagious passion for sustainability, education, nutrition, and indigenous values.

Graeme Smith

Greenhouse Technical Advisor

With over 25 years of experience in soil-less hydroponics, Graeme brings best-in-class knowledge and acumen to Food Ladder’s ambitious goal: to make its technology available to the most disadvantaged communities in the world.

From his roots as a vegetable grower in Victoria, Graeme long-held the position of Foundation Secretary at the Hydroponic Farmers Federation, before becoming the President of the Australia Hydroponic and Greenhouse Association, and most recently completing a tenure of five years as the Chairman of Protected Cropping Australia Ltd. Today Graeme consults on commercial projects internationally and facilitates quarterly training programs across Europe, North America and Asia.

Graeme’s expert insight and counsel is driving technical innovation at Food Ladder and ensuring maximum productivity across its systems in Australia and abroad. In a further commitment to see Food Ladder become ubiquitous worldwide, Graeme has integrated his unique mobile phone application for remote disease diagnostics, meaning communities with Food Ladder systems can identify and treat issues in the greenhouses before they threaten the system’s ecosystem.

Meaghan Ferguson

Industrial Design and Mechanical Engineering honours student at RMIT

Meaghan is a final year Industrial Design and Mechanical Engineering honours student at RMIT. Having grown up in regional Victoria, Meaghan is passionate about the importance of community and local food systems.

Meaghan’s study of design and engineering is driven by a desire to develop complex problem-solving skills to help address the challenges of climate change and the regeneration of our natural environment.

With experience in product-service system design, complex prototyping, and fabrication on projects in both Melbourne and Eindhoven, Netherlands, Meaghan is excited to be supporting Food Ladder in the development of the organisation’s hydroponic greenhouse systems.

The project represents a fantastic opportunity to help support Food Ladder’s mission whilst getting to know a network of enthusiastic growers, technologists and food system advocates.