Meet the Team
Click on the names to learn more about our team members
Joel Lazar, CEO
Joel is a powerful storyteller, voracious inquirer, thoughtful collaborator, strategic decision-maker and passionate mentor. Joel's skills and experience are diverse, spanning commercial law, educational program design, Jewish youth leadership, facilitation and scriptwriting.
Joel's passion for Judaism runs deep. He was born and raised in the Melbourne Jewish community and has held various leadership positions in Jewish youth movements and synagogues. Joel's commitment to social justice in a Jewish context culminated in him receiving the Ron Castan Young Humanitarian Award in 2019.
Above all, Joel firmly believes that the Australian Jewish community has a key role to play in addressing the impacts of climate change that are now unfolding, while also enjoying the social and economic benefits now flowing to those who are taking swift and effective action.
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/joel-lazar/
Mitch Burnie, Head of NSW
Mitch is an experienced and passionate community developer, innovator and educator. He has been applying his trade in community leadership for the past 10 years around the world at different environmental grassroots organisations. He is particularly passionate about the intersection of environmentalism, Jewish wisdom and community.He is excited to bring the amazing work of the JCN to Sydney and to be a trusted resource to help the Jewish community become leaders in the greatest challenge of our time.
Ash Densham, Public Programs Coordinator
Ash is an engaging communicator and practised community builder, with over 10 years of experience in the facilitation and education space. Holding degrees in environmental science and botany, Ash is passionate about climate solutions and gets way too excited about emerging clean technologies.
He believes that the Jewish tradition is a toolkit for living a better life as more resilient, giving and connected people. He can also make a mean cup of coffee!
Meet the Advisory Board
Click on the names to learn more about our advisory members
Dr Leeora Black, Advisor
Leeora is a pioneer of the Australian sustainability sector. She has more than 20 years’ experience in sustainability, as an advisor to senior management teams and boards on social licence, stakeholder relations and ESG impact and performance in a wide range of industries.
Leeora is an independent director of the not-for-profit organisation, ResponsibleSteel™, the steel industry’s first global multi-stakeholder sustainability standard and certification initiative, where she chairs the Membership and Governance Committee.
Leeora built one of Australia’s most eminent boutique sustainability advisory and training firms, ACCSR (the Australian Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility) over 14 years, before it was acwuired by Deloitte in 2017.
Leeora authored the management handbook 'The Social License to Operate: Your Management Framework for Complex Times' (Do Sustainability Shorts, 2013).
She earned her doctorate in corporate responsibility management from Monash University in 2004.
Daniel Zelcer, Advisor
Daniel is an expert in renewable energy and sustainability with over 10 years' experience providing investors, philanthropists, industry and governments with energy market research, renewable energy policy development support, and solutions for transitioning to net zero emissions. He is the Founder and Director of sustainability consultancy Acacia Sustainability and acting Policy Director at the Clean Energy Investor Group (CEIG). Daniel holds a Masters in Energy Systems from the University of Melbourne and a Bachelor of Business (Management & Psychology) from Swinburne University.
His work across the energy sector is helping to accelerate the transition to decarbonise the energy system and make Australia a renewable export superpower. Daniel previously lived and worked in Israel for an organisation that focuses on developing utility-scale renewable energy projects in developing countries with the aim of accelerating decarbonisation and reducing energy poverty.
Shevy Moss Feiglin, Advisor
With nine years of experience in the Renewable Energy Industry, Shevy is Development Manager at Octopus Australia, a specialist renewable energy developer and fund manager harnessing capital and expertise to accelerate the energy transition. Her extensive background includes expertise in wholesale electricity market design and leadership of large-scale renewable energy projects in Victoria and New South Wales.
Shevy previously devloped large scale project at Neoen - which develops, finances, builds and operates solar plants, wind farms and storage facilities across Australia, and was a wholesale energy market analyst for AGL.
Shevy holds several degrees from UNSW, specifically a Bachelor of Engineering (First Class Honours), Renewable Energy (Honours), as well as a Bachelor of Science, Mathematics.
David Imber, Advisor
David is an experienced public and corporate affairs professional. For almost 25 years, he has advised leaders across the public, corporate and not for profit sectors, on communications, strategy and advocacy.
David has held senior leadership roles in communications and public relations including advising clients on climate change communications and enjoys finding ways to deliver complex messaging simply. He was external communications counsel to the Climate Change Authority from 2021- 2023 and advised management and Board on all aspects of external relations - helping them to communicate their work in a way that was accessible, engaging and inspired action. For Climateworks Centre, David has provided external affairs strategies and implemented the media relations, for the release of significant reports into emissions reduction pathways and climate scenarios. He's also supported the Australian Sustainable Finance Institute with communications strategy, training and media relations.
David’s governance experience includes director roles with social justice and advocacy organisations and professional bodies. He is currently a Director of the Holmesglen Institute of TAFE and sits on its FInance, Audit and Risk Management Committee. He's also Victorian Pride Centre and Immediate Past President of the Victorian chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators. David previously served as director of the Australian Communities Foundation and Youth Empowerment Against HIV/AIDS (YEAH).
David holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws from Monash University and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Anna Rose, Advisor
Anna is a well respected leader in the environment movement who has worked for more than two decades to help Australia make progress on climate change. Her work has taught her that bipartisanship is key to creating lasting policy change.
Anna’s background is in community engagement, including leading Earth Hour working with councils, schools and small business. Anna is a Director of Farmers for Climate Action, a Governor of WWF-Australia, a visiting fellow and former lecturer at the Australian National University and an associate at Melbourne University Sustainable Society Institute. Anna is the author of the book "Madlands: A Journey to Change the Mind of a Climate Sceptic" (MUP, 2012), based on a journey with former Finance Minister Nick Minchin that was also turned into a broadcast documentary.
She is a member of Chief Executive Women, a Churchill Fellow, a former Myer Foundation Innovation Fellow and was named one of the Australian Financial Review/Westpac’s 100 Women of Influence for 2019.
Anna has a combined Bachelor in Arts and Law with first class honours from the University of Sydney.
Amanda Goodman, Advisor
Amanda is co-founder and Partner at Ecotone Partners, a boutique funds management and advisory business focused on positive climate investing. Prior to this, Amanda was Head of Capital Raising and Investor Relations at Impact Investment Group. She has deep relationships with private clients, family offices and wealth advisory groups across Australia.
Amanda helped raise over $700m of investor capital during her time at IIG and helped develop a number of industry-first impact funds in Australia, including Australia’s first 100% impact-focused VC fund (Giant Leap).
Amanda started her career at Goldman Sachs in the US and UK, after which she became a Principal in a UK-based private equity firm. After arriving in Australia in 2001, Amanda worked with LJCB Investment group, a diversified private investment group. Amanda has also worked closely with the Jewish Communal Appeal (JCA), a non-profit fundraising and planning organisation for the NSW Jewish community.
Amanda has a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University and a Master of Applied Finance degree from Macquarie University. Amanda also serves on a number of non-profit boards and advisory committees.
Pnina Hagege, Advisor
Pnina is an experienced communications and government relations professional with a diverse background spanning both the public and private sectors, with strong ties to the NSW Jewish community.
Pnina has expertise in developing key public policies and strategies for elected members of Parliament, as well as creating news and media content.
Pnina served as an adviser to the Federal Minister for Communications, a former Federal Independent Member of Parliament, and a Councillor for the City of Sydney.
She is heavily involved in the NSW Jewish community, including as a Deputy and Adviser on the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, and previously as Campaign Coordinator for the Australasian Union of Jewish Students, and was a committee member for Youth HEAR, a youth-led organisation dedicated to passing on the lessons of the Holocaust to the next generation.
Pnina also has experience working in the media sector, crafting engaging, contemporary and informative content for The Daily Aus newspaper and Channel Nine television on a variety of platforms including podcasts, social media, and television broadcasting.
Pnina holds a degree in Communications, majoring in Social and Political Sciences from the University of Technology Sydney, is a graduate of the National Art School and was a Susan Wakil Fellow.