Executive

Gareth Downing (he/him), Chair

Dr Gareth Downing is Deputy CEO at the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) the peak body for communications consumers. An experienced consumer advocate Gareth oversees a team responsible for ACCAN’s policy work, community engagement and membership.  

Gareth’s career has focused on policy and regulation and he has worked across a number of regulated sectors including telecommunications, energy and water.

 

Chandni Gupta (she/her), Deputy Chair

Chandni is a Policy and Program Director leading the Consumers in a Digital World workstream at the Consumer Policy Research Centre – an independent, non-profit, consumer think-tank. Chandni brings compliance and community engagement experience from various state and federal agencies. Prior to CPRC, she designed and led the online compliance initiative for product safety at the ACCC, working closely with digital marketplaces to deliver safer outcomes for Australian consumers. She also brings a global perspective from experience in the Strategic Communications arm of the United Nations, and most recently leading global consumer policy development in product recall effectiveness at the OECD. A tech geek earlier in her career, she’s passionate about digital products and markets that are safe, accessible, and meaningful for consumers. Chandni is also a member of the Consumer Data Right’s Data Standards Advisory Committee.

 

Gordon Renouf (he/him)

Gordon is one of the team at Ethical Consumers Australia: an organisation dedicated to making it possible for consumers to buy products and services that match their values. ECA created Good On You, a service that provides comprehensive ethical ratings for clothing and accessory brands via the Good On You app (goodonyou.eco). Gordon represented consumers on the Banking Code Monitoring and Compliance Committee and the Board of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman. He is Deputy Chair of Justice Connect and a board member of Good Environmental Choice Australia. Gordon was previously Director, Policy and Campaigns, for CHOICE, a member of the Commonwealth Consumer Affairs Advisory Council, Director of the Northern Territory Alcohol Framework, and Foundation Director of the National Pro Bono Resource Centre.

 

Ian Jarratt (he/him)

Ian is a retired economist and policy analyst. He is a member of the Queensland Consumers Association and undertakes research and advocacy on a range of topics including energy, market information, trade measurement, and labelling. Ian lead the national campaign that in 2009 resulted in large supermarkets being required to display the unit price (price per unit of measure) for prepacked food and grocery products. Ian is a consumer representative on several advisory/consultative committees and represents CFA on FSANZ’s Consumer and Public Health Dialogue. In 2006, he was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to study unit pricing in the USA and Europe, in 2010 he was the inaugural recipient of Choice’s Consumer Champion Award, and in 2017 he was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his consumer work.

Kerry Connors (she/her)

Kerry Connors is Director of Energy Inclusion at Energy Consumers Australia, having been with ECA since its inception, building on her extensive experience on energy consumer issues, previously as Executive Director of the Consumer Advocacy Panel, and the inaugural Executive Officer of the Consumer Utilities Advocacy Centre. She has also worked in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, including a posting to the Australian Embassy in Seoul, and has managed her own consultancy business, strengthening relations between the private and community sectors

Bev Jowle (She/Her)

Bev Jowle has over three decades of experience in the community services sector and is currently the Chief Executive Officer for Consumer Credit Legal Service. Bev has held many leadership roles in the human services sector, more recently as the Sector Partnerships Manager at Department of Communities, Manager of Grants Development at Lotterywest, Executive Officer of the Financial Counsellors Association of WA.

Bev completed a Graduate Certificate in Social Impact at UWA in 2019 and holds a BA in Youth Studies. Bev has a keen interest in family and domestic violence, particularly in relation to economic abuse and helped lead the development of the Economic Empowerment Project for Women whilst at the Financial Counsellors Association, a resource for financial counsellors and women’s refuge workers in delivering groups to women experiencing economic abuse. Bev also assisted in the development and delivery of family violence training nationally for the financial counselling sector. Bev is a strong advocate for financial and consumer rights and represents Consumer Credit Legal Service on a range of forums and groups based in WA. Bev has extensive Board experience and is well regarded as a champion for social and economic justice. Bev was also a finalist in the Department of Consumer Protection’s Rona Okley Award for individual achievement in 2019. 

Katelyn Cameron (She/Her)

Katelyn is the Head of Media at CHOICE, Australia’s leading consumer advocacy group. She has been at CHOICE for over four years and works on sharing their campaigns, investigations and test results through the media. She is also responsible for training and supporting campaigners and experts to present their knowledge confidently across print, digital, radio and television platforms. Katelyn has degrees in media and communications and health communication, and prior to CHOICE worked for a number of media organisations. 

Nicola Howell (she/her)

Nicola is a Senior Lecturer in the Law School, Faculty of Business and Law, Queensland University of Technology. Nicola’s teaching responsibilities include commercial law, consumer law, banking and finance law, and insolvency, and her research focuses on legal and policy issues in consumer financial services, consumer credit and other consumer transactions, and personal insolvency. She has published widely on these topics, and is also a regular contributor to relevant policy and law reform processes. Prior to moving to academia, Nicola worked in a range of community and government organisations in roles focused on consumer law and policy. For more information on Nicola’s background and publications, see https://eprints.qut.edu.au/view/person/Howell,_Nicola.html or https://www.qut.edu.au/about/our-people/academic-profiles/nicola.howell.