About Us

---

Keely is an Aboriginal Australian woman and the Executive Officer of the Climate Justice Programme. 

Keely has been working in climate litigation since 2007. Keely was admitted to practice as a solicitor in NSW in 2006. Keely has a PhD from the University of Wollongong on 'Exposure to Legal Risk for Climate Change Damage under the UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol and LOSC: A Case Study of Tuvalu and Australia'. Keely his an Honorary Fellow at the University of Wollongong and a Research Associate at the Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney.

Stephen is the President of the Climate Justice Programme.

Stephen is a qualified lawyer and International climate change law and policy  expert. Stephen has provided strategic advice and policy and legal  analyses on UNFCCC climate law and policy, including on social and  environmental aspects of climate change, to UN agencies,  intergovernmental organisations, civil society, indigenous people’s,  and legal and research centres across the globe.  

Leslie is the Treasurer of the Climate Justice Programme.

Leslie began her career as a chartered accountant tax consultant. She admitted as a practising lawyer in NSW and has since worked as an in-house lawyer for a variety of industries. She was previously the contract legal and compliance manager of the container refund scheme coordinator in NSW. Leslie is passionate about defending the legally vulnerable. She continues her pro bono work for worthy causes. 

George Newhouse is a Committee Member of the Climate Justice Programme.

George is the principal solicitor of the National Justice Project  and an Adjunct Professor of Law at Macquarie University. He is well  known for his work in fighting for justice for the mentally ill,  LGBTI Australians, immigrants, prisoners, asylum seekers, youth  detainees, and Aboriginal Australians. He has also acted for the Muckaty  Aboriginal Community to defeat the Commonwealth Government’s plans to  build a Nuclear Waste Dump on their land. 

Christoph is a Committee Member of the Climate Justice Programme.

Christoph Schwarte is a qualified German lawyer based in London with  almost 20 years of practical experience in different arenas of  international environmental law. He is the executive director of Legal  Response International (LRI) – a UK charity that provides free legal  advice to poor and climate vulnerable developing countries and NGOs. He  is a co-author of the International Law Association’s legal principles  related to climate change (adopted in 2014). Before joining LRI he  worked at the Foundation for International Environmental Law and  Development (FIELD) and the International Institute for Environment and  Development (IIED). Between 1998 and 2004 he was an Associate Officer  (P-2) at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg.  He holds an LLM from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS)  and qualified to practice at the bar in November 1997 in Dresden (State  of Saxony). 

Aleta is a Committee Member of the Climate Justice Programme. 

Aleta is an artist, working in figurative art, wildlife illustrations and sustainability/futures art. She is the founder of Animals and Botanicals, a collection of Australian bush creatures, as part of a collaborative  art and story-telling project, which aims to nurture meaningful  connections amongst children with nature. Aleta previously worked at the Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney. Aleta holds a law degree and has taught environmental law at the University of Newcastle. 

Bernadinus Steni is a Committee Member of the Climate Justice Programme. 

Bernadinus Steni is a lawyer with a degree from  Gadjah Mada University. He has extensive experience providing legal  assistance for indigenous peoples and local communities, especially in  relation to natural resources. For example, he is part of a legal team  filing forestry law to the Indonesian Constitutional Court. He has  published several articles on indigenous peoples and human rights,  covering topics including free prior and informed consent (2005), the  legal framework of indigenous peoples’ rights in Indonesia (2008), the  legal and political debate related to indigenous peoples’ rights in  Indonesia (2008), and using human rights indicators to monitor REDD+  (2011). For the last five years he has been involved in climate change  issues, with special foci on tenure, safeguards, and REDD+ in Indonesia.  Drafter of National REDD+ safeguards, namely PRISAI (2012)