GIWA Team

Peter Nash was appointed as Chief Executive Officer in June 2021 after having commenced in December 2020 as Acting CEO. Peter has a long association with GIWA, having worked on many projects for GIWA since 2008. Peter has over 35 years’ experience in agriculture and environmental management and has worked in a variety of senior roles in both state and local government, and in the private sector. He has a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture with Honours from the University of Western Australia, and spent the first 14 years of his career with the then WA Department of Agriculture in regionally based research, farm advisory, then management roles before then taking up senior environmental management roles in both state and local government organisations. He has international trade and market development experience gained while working as General Manager for an Australian owned business manufacturing motorcycles in China and exporting globally.

Ian Longson is currently providing project coordinator support to GIWA. Prior to June 2009 he was on the Executive team of the Department of Agriculture from 1995 to 2004, finishing up as Director General of the Western Australian Department of Agriculture and Food (DAFWA) for five years from 2004 to 2009.

Prior to joining DAFWA (now Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development DPIRD), Ian was senior consultant and manager of the Perth Office of ACIL Consulting (now ACIL Tasman) and has also worked for the Dairy Industry Authority of Western Australia, the Asian Development Bank and early in his career as an extension adviser with the Western Australian Department of Agriculture in the South West.

Ian holds a Bachelor degree in Agricultural Science from the University of Western Australia and a masters degree in agricultural marketing from the University of Guelph in Canada.

Amanda has over 25 years of experience in marketing, events, and communications in Australia and London. Most recently she worked for four years at Wide Open Agriculture, an ASX listed food and farming company and has a well-developed understanding of the agricultural industry. Prior to this she has worked for a member-based organisation, not for profits, small and large corporations as well as working as a marketing consultant, assisting clients across a broad range of industries.

Since completing a Bachelor of Commerce at Curtin University, Amanda has continually upskilled to stay abreast of latest marketing innovations and expand her skill set. She has developed wide ranging skills and experience in digital marketing, event coordination, social media, content development, branding, communications, graphic design, and photography.

Deborah is a skilled events, marketing, and communications specialist with 17-years’ experience, including more than a decade within the Australian agricultural industry. With a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing and Commercial Law from Curtin University, Deborah has worked on a variety of projects with industry stakeholders such as the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, CBH Group, Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre, Murdoch University, AgriFutures Australia and Kondinin Group. 

Deborah joined GIWA towards the end of 2022 after providing professional project support to the team since 2014 through her independent consultancy.

Margie Walkerden is a qualified and registered Bookkeeper/BAS agent with extensive knowledge in MYOB, Xero and several other accounting and payroll programs. An experienced overall finance person with a career spanning over 20 years across the Health, Oil & Gas and Hospitality sectors with specialist accounting and payroll knowledge. With a proven track record in working with clients in delivering tailored business solutions as per specifications and a solid background in office and business management.

Margie has worked closely with key internal and external stakeholders to determine business requirements and manage the end-to-end installation of payroll and accounting systems in line with specifications.

An experienced trainer and mentor to end users across the effective and efficient use of various software systems whilst playing a pivotal role in the successful completion of many systems installs across client operations.

Nadia brings over 20 years of diversified back office operations experience with high level executive management in multi-national financial institutions, recruitment, Silicon Valley start-ups as well as the non-profit sector within Asia and in Australia. 

In more recent years, Nadia founded a virtual assistant service while living in Hong Kong and studied digital marketing strategy with Columbia Business School. Before arriving at GIWA, Nadia was a People & Culture consultant in a global multi-family officed based in Perth. 

Nadia’s most recent role was the Executive Assistant in the Office of the Director General at DPIRD where she was responsible for correspondences and general office support for Acting Director-General Terry Hill as well as executive support for the Acting Executive Director of Strategy & Coordination, Office of the Director General. Nadia is certified in project management and project office with PMP Partners.

Jo Wheeler joined the GIWA team at the beginning of 2025 having previously worked with GRDC. Jo has had a long association with GIWA as she managed the Grains Research Updates contract for seven years while working as a Grower Relations Manager at GRDC.

Jo gained a Bachelor of Science (Environmental Science) from Murdoch University and has been living and working regionally since. Jo has worked in various agricultural related roles around the WA wheatbelt. At one stage Jo was even self-employed, growing trees for farmers to plant across their less productive areas on farm.