The Team Behind Noosa Power
Zero Emissions Noosa (ZEN) is a not-for-profit incorporated association whose members have set the goal of zero net community carbon emissions in the Noosa region by 2026. We believe that Noosa is capable of joining communities around the globe which are committing to meaningful action on climate change. Noosa Power is a for-purpose company set up by ZEN members to coordinate the Noosa community in this process. There are no investors that expect a return. Team members have volunteered their time and will receive payment as the project delivers value to the community participants.
We will operate in an open and transparent way so that other communities can benefit from our learning and replicate similar projects in their own communities. As part of that, our processes, figures and generated materials will be made available to the community. Naturally, none of the personal or business data of participants will be shared.
Vivien Griffin
Zero Emissions Noosa is passionately led by Vivien Griffin, President of the Sunshine Coast Environment Council.
Vivien has been involved in the Sunshine Coast environment movement since the early 90's. Like many, her first contact was through a revegetation group, and then went on to find herself part of the Marcus High Dunes campaign team. Over nearly 3 decades she has been leading the environmental cause from within the Noosa Council and in various community groups.
Alexander Kohl
His interest in sustainability took root at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002 where he managed the Clean Energy World Tour for BMW.
Alexander then produced the Sustainable Living Festival in Melbourne in 2004, an event which brought 120,000 visitors from all over the world.
After that he moved closer to ocean and National Park and now lives in Noosa, Australia with his wife and two daughters. SolarPay was his first successful business venture, growing to 22 employees within 12 months. The next two ventures Jet Convert and Promis both operate in the online accounting space and based out of Noosa.
His passion for creating value for a community is now focused on bringing Noosa together to reach 100% clean energy and distributing the gains in an equitable way.
Vivianne Barry
Vivianne Barry started her career with Price Waterhouse Melbourne and went on to work out of London as a Management Consultant improving business performance and strategy implementation and then as VP Business Planning with Getty Images in Seattle, focusing on digital media assets. On returning to Australia, Vivianne settled in Noosa in 2005 and applied her organisational skills to local businesses: Accounting North, USM Events & Noosa Council.
More recently Vivianne pivoted to community initiatives, co-creating TEDxNoosa over 4 years and founding Yoga Circle Noosa, in which she encourages personal transformation and the ability to speak up and positively impact our environment and society.
Joe Shlegeris
Joe Shlegeris was born in California and witnessed the ruin of that once-wonderful place by overpopulation and rampant car-centric development. He earned degrees from Harvard and from Stanford, started and sold a software company in Silicon Valley, and came to Australia in 1985 to work with a venture capital firm, later buying and operating a stock broking business. He has a special interest in the financial aspects of clean electricity.
Thorsten Kels
Thorsten has over 20 years’ experience in the global Hydrogen, energy storage and renewable industries. Since moving to Noosa in 2012 Thorsten has been involved in the local efforts to promote renewable energy and sustainable living. He is currently the Director of EXIDIR3d, an engineering consultancy and prototyping company which is specialising in energy storage and energy management technologies.
Prior to moving to Australia Thorsten worked for General Motors’ Global Alternative Propulsion Centre on the development of Fuel Cell technology and energy storage. Thorsten holds a degree in Energy and Environmental Technology from the University of Applied Sciences in Aachen, Germany His personal and professional drivers are around social justice, sustainability and accessibility of renewable energy.
Johnny Quattro
Johnny Quattro is a technology entrepreneur, investor and engineer. He holds a bachelors degree in computer science and structural engineering; and is the founder, CEO and lead product architect of music-technology startup MiQ Corp and getjamn.com; co-founder and CTO of theperfecthideaway.com; and executive director of zeepinc.com. In July 2015 he was ranked 1st on the best startups and mobile application for Smartphone Asia Pacific Awards; and in June 2014 he also ranked 1st in Hong Kong ICT global awards for best startup and best education/entertainment software application.
In addition to his primary business pursuits, Quattro is a long time local resident of Noosa and has envisioned the community becoming 100% energy renewable. He is a passionate surfer and advocate of clean and smart cities. His goals include making the world cleaner through sustainable energy production, storage, distribution and consumption; and he strongly believes Noosa to be perfectly positioned to set the global standard.