Evaluation and audit

Dr Katie Ryan

Katie Ryan is an expert in designing and delivering evaluations for natural resource management programs. With almost 20 years of experience in monitoring and evaluation, her expertise is grounded in a PhD in freshwater ecology and a master’s degree in program evaluation. Katie is deeply passionate about bridging the gap between science and policy to promote evidence-based natural resource management.<br><br>Since joining Alluvium in 2021, Katie has successfully led evaluation and strategic policy projects for Commonwealth, State, and local governments, as well as for international clients. A skilled communicator and facilitator, she has organized and conducted numerous workshops, stakeholder interviews, and focus groups. Katie is committed to engaging with diverse stakeholder groups, including First Nations peoples, ensuring their values and needs are integrated into policy frameworks.<br><br>Katie's extensive experience in the Murray-Darling Basin, including eight years at the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, has given her a profound understanding of the Basin Plan and the intricate complexities of this water reform. She has collaborated with interjurisdictional groups to influence programs and policies across the Basin.<br><br>Residing in Canberra, Katie holds a particular fondness for the Upper Murrumbidgee River, where she completed her honours research. She is actively involved in the Upper Murrumbidgee Catchment Network and is an adventurous volunteer who often spends time on the river. Katie enjoys opportunities to contribute to local projects within the Upper Murrumbidgee catchment whenever possible.

Amanda Wealands

Amanda has worked in natural resource, water and waterway management in Australia for over 20 years, with a focus on water resource management, environmental flows, integrated catchment management, strategy development and evaluation. Much of her work involves engaging and working with scientists, community groups, industry and government agencies on water resource management challenges.<br> <br>Coming from an engineering background, Amanda combines her technical expertise with strong facilitation and engagement skills to develop and implement strategic, agreed programs for the natural resource management sector. She comes to projects without a fixed agenda or advocacy platform, rather she brings a deep understanding of the need to engage stakeholders and develop trust to develop agreed and workable solutions for contested issues.

Rebecca Smyth

Rebecca has over 18 years’ experience spanning assessment and evaluation, performance audit and review, governance and risk, public reporting and strategic relationship management across Commonwealth, State and Territory governments. She is a former Executive of the National Water Commission and Sydney Water Corporation and was previously a partner with O’Connor Marsden and managing partner of Vista Advisory, both audit and assurance firms. Rebecca was appointed the ANAO’s performance audit quality assurance reviewer spanning 2019-2022 and undertook similar services for the audit offices of QLD, WA, VIC and SA promoting better audit practice in line with the Australia auditing standards. In 2022 she led the four-year Statutory Review of the NSW Audit Office on behalf of the NSW Parliament. In her partner roles she has been responsible for the internal audit functions of the Fair Work Commission, Fair Work Ombudsman, Federal Department of Health, Clean Energy Regulator and the ACT City Renewal Authority. She is on the Board of the ACT Centre for Women’s Health. She is respected for her authenticity, sound judgement and the energetic promotion of better practices in public sector governance. She has a strong commitment and sense of personal responsibility for all work delivered which reflects her reputation for quality, reliability and integrity.

David Barratt

ACT Regional Manger

David is Alluvium Consulting’s Regional Manager in the ACT. He joined Alluvium in 2011 after 17 years in environmental and agricultural agencies in the Australian Public Service. David was a Director of Water Resources Assessment at the Bureau of Meteorology and prior to that a Director in the Bureau of Rural Sciences, leading teams in drought assessment, climate science and water resources reporting.<br><br>David has 30 years’ experience in catchment to continental-scale natural resources assessment and reporting in Australia. In the Bureaus of Meteorology and Rural Sciences, David and his staff developed landscape water balance models in collaboration with scientific teams at CSIRO to help understand and quantify the impact of land cover and land management practices on catchment hydrology relative to the effects of climate variability and climate change.<br><br>At Alluvium, David principally designs and oversees projects aimed at developing monitoring, evaluation, reporting and improvement (MERI) frameworks and plans, and undertaking reviews and evaluations of environmental policies, plans and program performance. He also has leadership roles in projects on catchment strategies and urban stormwater treatment systems, particularly with regard to erosional processes and ecological assets..