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EDO names new chair, appoints former judge to board
The Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) has appointed a former Queensland Supreme Court judge to its board and welcomed a new chair.
Jerome Doraisamy
Brent Wallace has been appointed as the new chair of EDO, taking over from Dr Bronwyn Darlington, who is stepping down after 10 years on the board and seven as its chair, to focus on family and business interests.
Wallace has been an EDO board member since 2020 and has previously served as the chair of ASX-listed Blackmores, as well as serving on the board of WWF Australia.
He has, the EDO said in a statement, over four decades of experience in consumer-led advocacy firms, including leading a multinational advertising agency, establishing a brand development and strategy insights business, and co-creating a consulting firm that services blue-chip companies in Australia and south-east Asia.
Elsewhere, the Honourable Alan Wilson, who served on the bench of the Queensland Supreme Court and as president of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal, has joined the EDO board.
The chief executive of EDO, David Morris, said: “Dr Darlington has been a tireless chair and has made an extraordinary contribution to the EDO over a very long period.”
“As the inaugural chair of the merged Australia Pasifika EDO, she has played a pivotal role guiding the organisation through its first five years. We sincerely thank Bronwyn for her service to EDO and look forward to building on the strong foundations she has helped lay at EDO.”
Darlington said: “I thank the board for having given me the opportunity to chair this great organisation. It was an honour to be part of EDO’s coming together as a national body and to see how its impact has grown in Australia and beyond.”
“At a time when private interests dominate the public discourse, often to the detriment of the greater good, EDO’s work has never been more important. Our legal system gives individuals a voice to expose, question, and contest issues, and the EDO provides extraordinarily important access to this forum for all.”
“I look forward to supporting EDO, albeit from outside the boardroom, in its pursuit of a world where nature thrives.”
Wallace said: “It’s an honour to lead the board of EDO as we continue to provide access to justice, empower communities, and drive the systems change necessary to achieve a world where nature thrives.”
“The world needs strong not-for-profit public-interest organisations like the EDO to protect people, nature and our climate through the law.”
EDO now provides legal and advisory services to more than 2,000 clients annually and is the largest public-interest environmental law charity in the Australia-Pacific region.
Jerome Doraisamy
Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly. A former lawyer, he has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. He is also the host of all five shows under The Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network, and has overseen the brand's audio medium growth from 4,000 downloads per month to over 60,000 downloads per month, making The Lawyers Weekly Show the most popular industry-specific podcast in Australia. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of Minds Count.
You can email Jerome at:
