WinZero Leadership Team
Chair - Chris McGuigan
Chris brings extensive educational leadership and environmental advocacy experience to her role as WinZero Chair. With a Master of Arts in History from Macquarie University and over two decades in education management, Chris has served in senior roles including Education Manager at the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists and History Faculty Head Teacher at Sydney Distance Education High School.
She is actively working towards solutions for a cleaner, greener future through her involvement as a steering committee member for the Virtual Energy Network (VEN) Wingecarribee Pilot and her advocacy work with the Fossil Off! campaign. Chris combines her expertise in review and report writing with her passion for renewable energy transition to help guide WinZero’s strategic initiatives toward achieving net-zero emissions in the Wingecarribee Shire.
Deputy Chair - Gaye White
Gaye brings a unique combination of educational expertise, technology leadership, and environmental advocacy to her role as Deputy Chair of WinZero. A professional teacher with diverse experience spanning from Yarrabah Aboriginal Mission to East Sydney TAFE and the University of Western Sydney, Gaye demonstrated her commitment to digital inclusion as CEO of Dot Com Mob in 2008, a charity providing internet access and digital literacy skills to Indigenous communities.
Having witnessed extreme weather events on the Gold Coast and lived across Brisbane, Mt Isa, and Sydney before settling in the Southern Highlands, she brings firsthand understanding of climate impacts to her environmental work. Gaye is passionate about bush regeneration and native gardening, and occasionally expresses her environmental advocacy through mixed media art that celebrates the natural world while promoting conservation awareness.
Secretary - Derek White
Derek was founding Chair of WinZero and now serves as its Secretary, bringing over four decades of mining industry expertise combined with strong environmental advocacy and community leadership.
Born and raised on a sheep property in Western Queensland, Derek studied mining engineering at the University of Queensland before building a distinguished career at Mt Isa Mines, Delta Gold, GMA Garnet, and Pacific Precious Metals, with experience spanning underground operations, international commodity marketing, project development and environmental impact assessments.
His deep industry knowledge has made him a powerful advocate against harmful mining projects, including his 2021 testimony to the Independent Planning Commission opposing the Hume Coal Project. Derek served nearly 20 years at board level in Rotary and continues his community engagement as a part of the Virtual Energy Network development team.
Treasurer - Neil Warner
Neil is the Treasurer of WinZero, bringing extensive leadership and governance experience from a long career in the engineering and communications sectors.
He spent 12 years at Thales Australia in senior executive roles, including Director of Engineering, Technical and Engineering. Neil’s expertise includes project management, financial oversight, systems integration, and governance at national and international levels.
Now retired, Neil is actively contributing his skills to community-based environmental initiatives. At WinZero, he ensures financial operations are transparent, accountable, and aligned with best practice standards for grant management and reporting.
Committee Members
Jeff Aston
Jeff brings 27 years of winemaking expertise and pioneering sustainable agriculture practices to WinZero as a committee member. The founder and winemaker of Tractorless Vineyard in Berrima and Bowral, Jeff combines ancient winemaking traditions from Georgia, Europe—the world’s oldest winemaking region dating back 8,000 years—with modern regenerative viticulture practices in NSW.
His biodynamic, tractorless operations demonstrate remarkable environmental innovation, saving approximately 7.4 tonnes of carbon annually through solar power systems and eliminating up to 9 tonnes of carbon yearly by avoiding chemical sprays. Jeff’s unique approach uses sheep for vineyard maintenance instead of tractors, with each grazing session saving approximately 100kg of carbon, while his integration of biodynamic techniques with animal systems reflects Dr Rudolf Steiner’s insights into sustainable farming that benefits social, economic, and agricultural management.
Heidi Fagan
Heidi was born in the southern suburbs of Sydney and grew up in a family with deep roots in the Sutton Forest area, dating back to 1871. After completing her studies in Health Science at Sydney University, she worked as a Registered Nurse before pursuing a post-graduate degree in Mental Health and taking up a position at Rozelle Hospital.
Alongside her husband, Heidi runs their own local building company, while also pursuing her interests in biodiversity, sustainability, and planning. She is an active member of the Poultry Section within the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW and serves on the executive committees of The Exhibition Poultry Association of NSW and The NSW Waterfowl Association.
Heidi is passionate about breeding and exhibiting rare waterfowl, which reflects her deep commitment to the environment and preserving the natural world around her. Her leadership and expertise have made her a valuable asset to the organizations she serves, and she continues to be a force for positive change in the community.
Kirstine McKay
Kirstine is an international award-winning journalist, television reporter, and sustainable living advocate who brings media expertise and community engagement skills to WinZero. With a degree in Print and Broadcast Journalism and Film and Media from Griffith University, Kirstine spent 12 years with the Nine Network Australia as a reporter, producer and researcher for the Sunday Programme and A Current Affair, along with international experience in London magazine publishing. As a bestselling published author and regular magazine columnist, she has been instrumental in WinZero’s technology setup and social media presence since the organization’s early days.
From her historic Bowral property, Kirstine runs “Life at Greenlaw” workshops focusing on sustainable living, gardening, and green living practices, while actively advocating for community solar farms, electric vehicle infrastructure, and landscape regeneration through initiatives like the Million Jobs Plan.
Clive West
Clive contributes valuable legal and policy expertise to WinZero, drawing from his distinguished career in government and international organizations. Born in England and migrating to Australia at age 11, Clive studied economics and law at Monash University before earning a Master’s degree in US Government Procurement Law in Washington.
He spent many years in the Attorney-General’s Department in Canberra specializing in major projects, and worked in the legal department of the OECD’s Nuclear Energy Agency while living in Paris. As a member of the Austral and Boral community committee and active participant in Bushcare and Landcare initiatives,
Clive has been a long-standing advocate for addressing global warming due to its impact on biodiversity. He firmly believes that communities must come together to protect the environment, bringing this collaborative philosophy to his work with WinZero’s mission of achieving net-zero emissions in the Wingecarribee Shire.
Personal Journeys of WinZero Members
Colin Todd’s Story
A Conversation with Miles Lochhead
An Australian Climate Story | Derek White
Finding Maree Byrne
