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Carol Jadraque

Director, Gruen Exchange

Carol Jadraque is the Director of Gruen Exchange Pty Ltd, a company specialising in professional / executive coaching, sustainability, strategy and innovation advice and environmental ideas incubation. 

Carol rapidly identifies opportunities to maximise potential by relating to people quickly and viewing things from different angles; she will come up with creative and strategic solutions that set coachees, mentees, teams, programs or companies apart to excel and to create better futures. 

She has twenty years of government and NGO experience in organisational, team and people leadership, strategies development and corporate change management programs - embedding abstract concepts (sustainability, innovation, liveability, resilience) amongst others.


Ideation | Relator | Strategic | Maximiser | Arranger
— Gallup StrengthFinder top 5 strengths

She worked for:

Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP), leading some of Victoria’s climate change adaptation related strategic projects and the North-East Victoria Natural Environment Programs’ Threatened Species Team.

Liveability Victoria International (a branch of the State government of Victoria’s Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning - DELWP), undertaking stakeholder engagement for its next program evolution (design and facilitation of an ideation workshop and associated content report). 

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) as their Acting National Director and Deputy Director – and part of South-East Asia’s / Oceania leadership team - leading its conservation science, organisational improvement, HR, operations, external affairs and finance portfolios and overall program as Acting Director, including fundraising, philanthropy and marketing. TNC is the world’s largest nature conservation NGO. 

Melbourne Water, as Manager of Sustainability, Innovation, Clearwater and Waterwatch programs and strategic lead for liveability and climate change adaptation in charge of organisational improvement strategies and behaviour change initiatives. Notably, the organisation’s waste strategy leading to multi-million dollar savings and innovation program leading to being awarded the Business Review Weekly’s most innovative company in 2013. Outperformed industry world leaders twice in a row, according to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) benchmark.

Clearwater and led the program review and associated expansion and restructure to quadruple outcomes, grant income and geographies covered. Clearwater is a leading capacity building program in the Victorian water sector, specifically targeting the development of skills, knowledge and networks to drive the implementation of Integrated Water Management (IWM) practices. 


Qualifications

  • Executive Coach Certification, Coaching Australia

  • Master Environment (policy, governance & communications), Melbourne University

  • Bachelor of Science, Natural Resources Management, Monash University

  • Bachelor of Arts (equivalent) (Germanistik & Anglistik), University of Zürich


Memberships


Areas of expertise

  • Certified professional coach for emerging and existing leaders striving to make a difference

  • Team and organisational development, including interim team or company management

  • Strategy and policy development in the areas of sustainability, natural resources management, liveability, resilience and innovation

  • Stakeholder engagement, capacity building, citizen science and environmental education

  • Third party reviews

  • Workshop facilitation

  • Employee engagement, benchmarking and baseline measurements, change management


Superpowers

  • Maximiser: Organisational improvement programs professional (sustainability, innovation, resilience, liveability, capacity building).

  • Relator: Strong people development, coaching, mentoring and leadership skills.

  • Innovator: Brings an angle of innovation and strategic thinking to her work; superb problem solver.

  • Trilingual: English, German, Swiss-German dialect; social conversation skills in Spanish, French, Italian

  • Global citizen with work experience in Australia, Switzerland, Germany, UK, Spain, Philippines, USA, Ecuador

  • Wide range of experience spanning government and NGO sectors at various leadership levels.


Awards

The teams she has led in the past, have won a variety of prestigious awards, including twice the United Nations of Australia Association (UNAA) World Environment Day Awards for both Melbourne Water and Hume City Council’s corporate sustainability improvement initiatives and environmental community programs. 

  • Leadership in Sustainability Award, United Nations Association of Australia (UNAA) World Environment Day award at Melbourne Water, 2012

  • Excellence in Environmental Management, UNAA World Environment Day award at Hume City Council, 2006

  • Overall Champion Award for Excellence in Green Purchasing, Eco-Buy award for Melbourne Water, 2011

  • Overall winner: Sustainable City Award, Keep Australia Beautiful award for Hume City Council, 2006

  • Spirit of Australia Award, Keep Australia Beautiful Victoria for Hume City Council, 2006

  • Hume Champion Team Award, Hume City Council, 2004

Finalist: 

  • VicWater Emerging Leader Award, 2016

  • Excellence in Policy & Education Award, Stormwater Victoria award for Clearwater expansion in 2018


Pro Bono:

Carol volunteered as an UNAA World Environment Day Awards judge and supported the UNAA Young Professionals with leadership development. 

Vision Australia’s Seeing Eye Dogs are supported by caring for one of its breeder dogs - Demi. 

A percentage of her company’s profits are donated to select environmental NGO’s.

 
 
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Demi

Vision Australia Seeing Eye Dogs Breeder Dog

Pro Bono Associate, Gruen Exchange Chief Wellbeing & Resilience Officer

Demi is a five year old Labrador/Golden Retriever who lights up the team’s and some clients’ day. Her mission is breeding extremely talented Vision Australia Seeing Eye Dogs. She is a loyal, part-time associate, walk & talk and coffee catch-up buddy. Off-duty, she is a farm dog, enjoying daily swims in her local creek and long bushwalks.