Why WOW:
Empowering Women in Offshore Wind

Mary Barry

Mary Barry is a purpose-driven individual, visionary leader, connector, and strategist who serves as an inspiring force in driving positive change. With her deep expertise and forward-thinking approach, she has earned a reputation as a trusted strategist, guiding organisations towards impactful outcomes. Mary's ability to foster diverse and inclusive teams creates an atmosphere where varying perspectives thrive, leading to innovative solutions and greater industry progress.

In her role as the CEO of Xellence Pathways, CEO and Founding Director of Women of Offshore Wind (WOW), and CEO and Director of CircularEco, Mary is at the forefront of empowering the Australian Offshore Wind workforce its complementary technologies and underpinning supply chain. As CEO of Xellence Pathways, Mary and the team are dedicated to addressing the skills and labor requirements and opportunities in the renewable energy industry. Collaborating closely with various stakeholders, including academic institutions, jobs skills councils, unions, and international organisations like the OECD and the World Bank, Mary drives innovation, taps into global best practices, and shapes a sustainable future for the Australian Offshore Wind industry. Through her global expertise and commitment, she ensures an inclusive and thriving workforce that propels the growth of the offshore wind industry and creates a brighter future for generations to come.

Mary's career journey reflects her commitment to shaping the future workforce, bridging skills gaps, and promoting sustainable business practices. Her extensive experience and skills in strategic leadership, client relations, and collaborative partnerships have been honed over decades of involvement in diverse industries and sectors. From her early roles in the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector to her executive-level positions in government departments and corporate organisations, Mary has consistently demonstrated her ability to lead, innovate, and foster partnerships.

Throughout her career, Mary has forged collaborative relationships with key stakeholders in both the private and public sectors, forming alliances with senior officials, corporate entities, and community sectors on both local and global levels. Her ability to foster connections and share knowledge has played a pivotal role in facilitating industry collaboration and growth. With a diverse background spanning multiple divisions of government, Mary brings extensive expertise in areas such as Offshore Renewable Energy, Energy Transition, Clean Technologies, Digital Technologies, Skills and Training, Infrastructure, Industry Engagement, Education, and Entrepreneurship. Her experience includes collaborating with large multinational organisations and fostering bilateral and multilateral arrangements with global partners. This breadth of knowledge positions Mary as a well-rounded professional with a comprehensive understanding of key sectors and the ability to navigate complex international landscapes.

Moreover, Mary Barry is a passionate advocate for gender equality. Her dedication to empowering girls, women, and all individuals in STE(A)M fields is unwavering. By breaking down barriers and creating a supportive environment, she actively works towards their participation, progress, and leadership. Mary's commitment to gender equality, combined with her multifaceted skill set, empowers others to strive for equal opportunities, sustainable growth, and innovation in the renewable energy industry.

Mary's unwavering dedication to gender equality is evident as she champions the participation, advancement, and leadership of girls, women, and all individuals. She creates an empowering environment that nurtures their professional growth and fosters equal opportunities. 

Mary Barry's multifaceted skill set, empowering mindset, dedication to inclusive, gender equality, and achievements in obtaining infrastructure funding and project management position her as a respected leader. Her strategic vision propels organisations towards their goals of equal opportunities, sustainable growth, and innovation. 

With her unwavering dedication to driving positive change and her extensive expertise, Mary continues to make a significant impact in shaping the future workforce, promoting sustainable practices, and fostering collaborations that lead to a brighter and more inclusive future for all.

Naomi Kerp

Naomi is an environmental scientist with 22 years professional experience spanning industries such as mining, oil & gas and more recently in the burgeoning offshore wind industry. The breadth of these industries has led to her undertaking many diverse projects over more than 20 years, from botanical field work in remote Western Australia and Vietnam, developing monitoring plans for uranium exploration in Tanzania, environmental impact assessment for decommissioning of an FPSO in the Philippines, to environmental scoping studies for a green hydrogen project.

Naomi began her career in the mining industry at Alcoa World Alumina, including a site role at what was the largest bauxite mine in the world. After moving into the oil & gas industry, Naomi spent seven years with Chevron Australia, with her most recent role as Approvals Team Lead for the Gorgon Gas Development at Barrow Island, the largest and most environmentally stringent resources project in Australia. Naomi has managed and delivered numerous complex interfacing approvals, including primary approvals under the OPGGS Act, EPBC Act and Western Australian, Victorian and Northern Territory legislation. 

Naomi is currently the Environment Lead – APAC for international energy consultancy, Xodus, where she leads a team of over 20 across a varied portfolio of projects especially in offshore wind starting with the origination of site locations, environmental planning, and strategy and through approval processes. Her team has worked on offshore wind projects in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and the UK (INTOG and ScotWind). Naomi has worked with the major players in Australia's energy landscape to achieve environmentally responsible outcomes, including Woodside, Chevron, Santos, Shell, BHP, ConocoPhillips, Beach and Cooper Energy. She has sat on independent expert panels for marine turtles and advising Traditional Owners.

Her extensive experience in challenging, complex environmental approvals in the offshore oil & gas industry (specifically Environment Plans and Offshore Project Proposals) is well-suited to the developing offshore wind approval framework which is based to a large extent on that which operates in other large, marine-based industries such as offshore oil & gas. Naomi's expertise lies in developing innovative strategies to minimise the ecological footprint of large-scale projects, facilitating effective stakeholder engagement, and fostering collaboration. 

As a cofounding director of WOW, Naomi aims to highlight that a varied professional background across multiple industries is a strength, not a deterrent, to accelerating new industries such as offshore wind that are reliant on the learnings of other more mature industries. In particular, she champions the unique skills working in mega-projects in her home state of Western Australia, as a great opportunity to develop projects of scale requiring resilience and vision, which is required to make Australia’s offshore wind industry one we can all be proud of.

Alongside her professional endeavours, Naomi passionately advocates for gender equality and diversity within the renewable energy sector. She is one of the co-founders and serves as a Director of WOW (Women of Offshore Wind), a prominent organisation dedicated to empowering and promoting the role of women in the offshore wind industry.

Having come from the male-dominated industries of mining and oil & gas – including a role where she was one of only two women in a mining camp – Naomi is passionate about eliminating barriers and creating opportunities for women to excel in the sector, encouraging their participation, advancement, and leadership.

Naomi Kerp exemplifies a dedicated professional who combines her scientific knowledge, leadership skills, and advocacy efforts to drive positive change in environmental approvals and the advancement of women in the offshore wind industry. Her multidimensional contributions and expertise continue to have a lasting impact on the broader renewable energy sector.

Erin Coldham

Erin Coldham, the Chief Development Officer at Star of the South, is playing a role in advancing Australia's offshore wind project. With a proposed location off the Gippsland coast, Star of the South aims to establish itself as a groundbreaking initiative in the country's renewable energy sector.

Drawing upon her extensive expertise in major project planning and delivery, Erin brings decades of experience to her role. As the overseer of Star of the South's development activities, she collaborates with industry experts, regulators, policy-makers, and local communities to navigate the complexities of bringing offshore wind to Gippsland and the State of Victoria. Erin's leadership and strategic vision drive the project's progress and ensure effective engagement with stakeholders at all levels.

Prior to her current position, Erin held leadership positions within the Victorian public sector and private consulting. These roles equipped her with invaluable insights into project management, regulatory frameworks, and the intricacies of balancing various interests in large-scale endeavours.

As part of her responsibilities, Erin collaborates with a global team of offshore wind specialists from over 30 different nationalities. This diverse group operates under the esteemed Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, one of the world's largest green energy fund managers. Through this collaboration, Erin harnesses the collective knowledge and expertise of this international team to drive the success of the Star of the South project.

Erin's dedication, extensive experience, and collaborative approach make her an invaluable asset in steering the Star of the South project towards its goal of establishing offshore wind as a prominent source of renewable energy in Australia. Her leadership and commitment contribute to the realisation of a sustainable and environmentally friendly future for the Gippsland region and the State of Victoria as a whole.

Emily Scivetti

An innovative and outcomes-focused leader, Emily Scivetti is the Chief Operating Officer of Oceanex Energy and former Chief Operating Officer of the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence.

Emily has over 20 years of experience in developing and delivering major infrastructure projects across a number of industries.  These include renewable energy, transmission, transport, urban development and education.

Key to the foundation of her achievements is Emily’s ability to create thriving, high-performing and collaborative team ecosystems which engage, listen, collaborate, support, challenge and drive the success of major projects in highly complex environments.  Having a lot of fun and feeling empowered to flourish in a safe and supportive environment is also a key point of difference for the teams under Emily’s leadership.

Emily is an instinctive and tireless advocate for professional women and integrates this into all she does as she continues to support the growth of the emerging Offshore Wind Industry in Australia and its enviable future role on the global energy stage.