Emily Knight, principal of Emily Knight Design, has been an active member of the RAA Committee and its events since 2022. A self-confessed sustainability nerd and passionate advocate for community, Emily is committed to professional development within our industry, ensuring her work is informed by current ideas, processes, and materials. This commitment has helped to shape the development of a program focused on deeper discussions around scalability, community strength, and the potential for collective achievement and real-world improvements.

Dr Mark B. Luther will speak about and display his prototype hydronic suspended ceiling panel. Radiant systems are healthy and environmental conditioning systems, operating at about 1/3 of the cost. His ceiling panel has overcome many of the problems of past radiant systems, that are slow, embodied energy intensive and costly.  

Don Culvenor will engage with delegates around his involvement in the Newstead Community Energy Project. As a strategic thinker with a lifetime of experience in business, local farming, and community volunteerism. Don brings planning and policy experience and an understanding of the technical and commercial aspects of the project.

Marnie Hawson will discuss where businesses who want to “do better for nature” can start, and how they can move beyond carbon. Her workshop will make biodiversity real, accessible, and directly connected to business reality — bringing nature into the room in a tangible, practical way.

Marnie Hawson is a former environmental scientist turned photographer, using two connected paths to support nature through the built environment.

The Guildford Public Hall is a much-loved venue central to its local community and will become the hub for discussion, conversation and learning at RAA’s March 2026 event. Powered by community itself, it is the fitting space for a gathering that aims to inspire and empower delegates to instigate change in their own local area.

Now local to Yarrayne / Guildford, Robert Mierisch is a semi-retired Mechanical Engineer and inventor of several innovative systems in mechanical engineering. Currently, Robert is working on a Rural Residential Energy System that will provide electricity, hot water, winter heating, summer cooling and electric car charging, at night.