Meet Our Executive Committee

Sue was elected to the position of President in 2024.

Sue has more than 30 years’ experience as a flood risk management professional working for NSW state government, NSW local government and private consulting practices. Sue holds a degree in Civil Engineering (First Class Honours) from UTS Sydney.

Sue is the Director of SR Flood Solutions, a small consultancy specialising in flood advisory services.

For 10 years, Sue worked as Technical Flood Director for the NSW Government’s Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley Flood Risk Management Directorate. This role involved providing leadership, specialist advice and technical oversight across a wide range of flood risk management issues.

Prior to this, Sue was Sydney Regional Manager for the then NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, managing technical issues and grant funding assistance for flood, coast and estuaries across the Sydney Region.

Before working in state government, Sue worked for six years at Pittwater Council, now part of Northern Beaches Council, as Principal Officer in Floodplain Management.

From 2010 to 2012, Sue held the position of FMA Land Use Planning Director. During this time, she represented FMA on a range of land-use planning issues relating to flood risk management.

From 2016, Sue held the position of FMA Communications Director. Her passion for science communication supported FMA’s work promoting community engagement, understanding of flood risk and information sharing among flood risk management practitioners.

Danny is the Manager Roads and Stormwater at Tweed Shire Council, with over 20 years’ experience in floodplain management, asset management and infrastructure planning.

Danny has overseen Tweed Shire’s floodplain risk management processes, manages its flood mitigation asset program and is responsible for implementing development control measures for flood-prone development in this high-growth area.

Danny has been a frequent presenter at FMA Conferences, workshops and meetings and chairs the Conference Program Advisory Committee.

Danny was appointed Technical Director in 2013. He also assists in delivering the Floodplain Risk Management short course at the University of Technology Sydney, providing the perspective of an active local government practitioner.

Danny obtained a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) with Class 1 Honours from the University of New South Wales in 2000.

Ian’s professional career includes senior management roles as Director and General Manager in local government. He has also been a twice-elected Councillor in the Clarence Valley of NSW.

Ian holds a Civil Engineering degree from the University of New South Wales. He is also a qualified tennis coach, cricket coach and cricket umpire and served for several years as President of the NSW North Coast Cricket Council, of which he is a Life Member.

Ian served as FMA President from 2011 until 2024. Prior to this, he held the position of technical representative on the FMA Executive Committee.

Ian has presented papers at forums and conferences in Australia and the United States concerning floodplain management.

Together with the FMA Executive Team, Ian established strong relationships with floodplain management colleagues in Australia, New Zealand and the United States. He remains committed to seeing FMA continue to grow nationally and internationally.

William was elected Technical Director in 2024, having served as Queensland Director from 2019. He is a Chartered Engineer specialising in flooding and a registered engineer through NER and RPEQ.

He is River and Catchment Engineering Program Leader at Logan City Council, where he is responsible for floodplain policy, strategic planning, planning scheme and development codes, flood intelligence and disaster operations, community flood information, stormwater infrastructure planning and stormwater quality asset management.

His career includes public and private sector experience across project and program management, flood studies, floodplain risk management studies and plans, community resilience initiatives, disaster management and stormwater infrastructure planning.

William has experienced first-hand the effects flooding can have on communities, having supported response and recovery following major floods in Brisbane in 2010–11 and 2013, and across Logan following ex-Severe Tropical Cyclone Debbie in 2017.

William is passionate about working with all levels of government, industry and the community to deliver best-practice floodplain management outcomes and improve community resilience to flood risk.

Paul Grech is a Director of GLN Planning with 40 years’ experience as a town planner. While practising broadly, he has been involved in flood risk management for most of that time.

Paul holds a first-class honours degree in Town Planning, is a Registered Planner and Member of the Planning Institute of Australia and was co-recipient of the FMA–Allan Ezzy Flood Risk Manager of the Year Award in 2021.

Paul’s involvement in flood risk management has included preparing and presenting papers, undertaking the planning components of more than 20 flood risk management studies, preparing advice for government bodies across Australia and providing a statement and evidence on behalf of the 2011 Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry.

Paul also delivers the planning component of the FMA floodplain risk management course.

Paul has served as FMA Land Use Planning Director since 2013. During that time, he has prepared reports for Quarterly Meetings, contributed to FMA’s strategic direction, facilitated workshops, prepared submissions and represented FMA at inquiries, working groups and task forces.

He has also been responsible for delivering FMA’s Land Use Planning Position Policy and Climate Change Position Policy.

Dr Stephanie Kermode is a water resources strategist, modeller and fluvial geomorphologist with almost two decades of experience across flood, catchment, stormwater and water resources management. She holds a PhD in Fluvial Geomorphology from the University of Wollongong and has worked across hydrology, environmental management, climate resilience and strategic planning.

Stephanie is Principal – Water Resource Modelling & Strategy at HARC, where she provides technical and strategic leadership on major water management initiatives. She has previously held leadership roles with WaterNSW, Jacobs and Sydney Water, guiding teams responsible for catchment modelling, climate adaptation, resilience planning and waterway strategy development.

Stephanie joined the FMA Executive Committee as Communications Director in 2026. She previously served as Advocacy Chair for Stormwater NSW and was an invited advisor to Australia’s National Hydrological Modelling Strategy and Implementation Plan. She is recognised for her ability to translate complex flood and water management science into clear policy, strategy and practical outcomes.

Helping communities prepare for flooding, Jess draws on more than 16 years’ experience in flood and emergency management planning and service delivery.

He has worked closely with all levels of government and communities across Australia to build capability and improve resilience to flooding, both during his time with the Bureau of Meteorology and in his current role as Stantec’s National Practice Lead for Flood Resilience.

Jess is passionate about shaping safer communities through planning, engagement and research into best practice in flood management and natural disaster response.

Jess received his Bachelor of Environmental Management in 2007 and initially focused his career on operational flood forecasting, spending almost 15 years with the Bureau of Meteorology.

Jess became FMA Queensland Director in 2024 and advocates on behalf of Queensland’s floodplain management community while supporting the continued growth of FMA’s presence and membership in the state.

Glenn has extensive practical experience in floodplain, coastal and natural resource management and holds Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) degrees.

Glenn worked for 20 years with NSW Public Works in a range of technical and management positions, primarily across river, coastal and environmental disciplines.

He was Chief Executive Officer of the Hunter Catchment Management Trust for 10 years and General Manager of the Hunter-Central Rivers Catchment Management Authority for five years.

During that time, he was responsible for aspects of the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the Hunter Valley Flood Mitigation Scheme, the largest coastal flood management system in New South Wales.

Glenn has first-hand experience of numerous flood events throughout the Hunter, Lake Macquarie and NSW Lower North Coast catchments and understands the challenges faced by people living and working on floodplains.

Glenn has been involved with FMA since 1982, has represented FMA on numerous committees and working groups and was appointed FMA Executive Officer in 2010.