Citrus Australia’s head office is in Mildura, Victoria. Our staff are dedicated, passionate people who work hard to support and further develop Australia's citrus industry.
Nathan Hancock
Nathan Hancock is the CEO of Citrus Australia. Since his appointment as CEO in late 2017, Nathan has led new initiatives in expanding market access, fruit quality and strengthening biosecurity. He has expanded the business in that time to meet growing international demand for Australian citrus and also to advocate for the needs of Australian growers to government. He was recognised for his leadership and representation of the citrus industry during the citrus canker outbreak in 2018 and subsequent recovery efforts. Nathan first joined Citrus Australia in 2011. Before taking the reins as CEO, he implemented maturity and quality standards in the national industry and improved industry statistics, including the citrus tree census, national plantings database, and production forecast model.
David Daniels
David has a background in food service with a formal qualification in food technology.
His role at Citrus Australia has recently expanded from Market Access Manager to General Manager Market Development. His role is to engage with the sector and provide technical advice to government to overcome technical trade barriers in the area of biosecurity, agrichemicals and food safety.
Dr Jessica Lye
Jessica Lye joined Citrus Australia in June 2021 to coordinate activities within CitrusWatch, a national citrus industry biosecurity preparedness and exotic pest surveillance program. She has previously been involved in preparedness, response, and management activities for a variety of exotic species, including: Tomato Potato Psyllid, Cucumber Green Mottle Mosaic Virus, Spotted Winged Drosophila, Russian Wheat Aphid and Fall Armyworm. Prior roles include Biosecurity Manager at Ausveg, and researcher/science communicator at Cesar Australia.
Mara Milner
Mara Milner has a biological science degree from Deakin University and has worked in a number of food safety laboratories including almost 10 years in one of the citrus industry’s largest export packing houses, Mildura Fruit Company. Mara was successful in obtaining a Citrus Australia travel bursary to attend the 2012 International Citrus Congress in Spain whilst working in the citrus industry. She has experience in food and fruit maturity testing, chemical residue testing, quality and food safety compliance and training, reporting, and grower communication.
Daryl Brown
Daryl joined Citrus Australia in September 2024 to ensure our finances are managed effectively and to assist our wider team with projects and administration. He studied business at LaTrobe University, and is a qualified Certified Practicing Accountant (CPA) and Registered Tax Agent. Daryl's entire working life has been spent in Mildura and he brings to the table some 30 years experience in public practice and management accounting.
Chloe Betts
Chloe joined in September 2024 to work in our advocacy space, ensuring close relationships with government to further our industry and provide outcomes for growers. She studied regenerative agriculture and food systems at the University of California Berkley, and has been a policy officer at AUSVEG, covering labour, biosecurity, education, input costs, and sustainability. She also has on-the-ground farming and horticulture experience in Australia and across the globe.
Claire Fitchett
Claire joined Citrus Australia in September 2021 with the primary role of developing opportunities for the Australian citrus industry in India. Claire has worked in horticulture exports since 2012, having previously held export development roles at Apple & Pear Australia and Hort Innovation. She was the Export Manager at Montague for five years, one of Australia’s largest apple and stonefruit growers and has experienced first-hand the highs and lows of export. Claire has an extensive network across the private and public sectors and thrives on making international opportunities a reality for growers. Claire holds a Bachelor of International Business and a post graduate qualification in Asian Studies.
Jacqui Mitchell
Jacqui works alongside Citrus Australia’s Biosecurity Manager, Jessica Lye, to promote the importance of a robust biosecurity system and improve industry preparedness in the event of an incursion. Jacqui engages with urban communities in high-density areas to encourage the monitoring of pests and diseases through CitrusWatch’s Early Detector Network. Prior to joining Citrus Australia in late 2023, Jacqui was a TAFE lecturer at Charles Darwin University in the Northern Territory. She holds a Bachelor of Science and a Cert III in Horticulture.
Paul Stephens
Paul joined Citrus Australia in October 2021 to work in conjunction with the University of New England, NSW, on the geo-space mapping of citrus farms around Australia. Paul comes to Citrus Australia
with previous experience in viticulture and a Bachelor’s Degree in Archaeology.
Olivia Tait
Olivia works within the trade and market access team as a resource dedicated to the Australian juice sector. This is a newly created role to primarily service the needs of the juice sector to ultimately improve the profitability and viability of juice production and processing in Australia. Olivia comes to the role with a broad range of experience that runs right along the supply and value chain, and has worked in the private sector, state government, and with peak industry bodies.
Rachel Hall
Rachel works alongside Sarah Porter to market our organisation to growers and broader industry. Rachel is the co-host and editor of The Full Bottle podcast, and assists with the development of the website, social media content, and videos. She is also a writer and sub-editor on the Australian Citrus News magazine. Rachel came to Citrus Australia with a background in film production, as well as communications experience within the livestock and water sectors.
Sarah C Porter
Sarah joined Citrus Australia in July 2024 to take over the communications portfolio, including the Australian Citrus News magazine, our e-Newsletter, media relations and social media. She is the co-host of The Full Bottle podcast and manages Citrus Australia’s various industry relations and reporting. Sarah's background is in public broadcasting journalism with both the BBC and the ABC, among others, in Asia and Australia. Sarah works as a team with Rachel Hall.
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