Mal Smith is the Business Development Manager at ECOllaboration, responsible for developing and enhancing collaborative partnerships throughout Southeast Queensland in environmental restoration, environmental consultancy, and environmental education and training. Mal's current role builds on previous leadership experience in the environmental and community sectors. For four years he managed the South Maroochy Rivercare project, a partnership with Seqwater and private landholders. He co-designed the program to implement sustainable agricultural practices, improve riparian conditions, and increase water quality at a catchment scale. Through his leadership, numerous social and environmental co-benefits were delivered, including upskilling over 200 landholders, training the next generation of conservation workers, and increasing regional landscape resilience and biodiversity. Prior to ECOllaboration, Mal worked for a NFP youth organisation, where he was a regional manager of a team delivering a suite of vocational education and training initiatives for disengaged youth. These projects ranged from career and transition support, case management, pastoral care, mentoring, advocacy and pre-apprenticeship training, through to the delivery of certificates in sustainability, horticulture and conservation, and the establishment of social enterprises in sustainability. Successful social enterprises Mal has established include a vintage clothing store, a landscaping company, a garden maintenance business, and ecological restoration services. Mal has high level communication skills, and experience in liaising with stakeholders across community and corporate sectors, and all levels of government. He was chair of the horticulture partnership brokers program for the Newcastle, Hunter and Central Coast regions (NSW). He has presented at several conferences and events, including The International River Symposium, World Environment Day Sunshine Coast, and UniSC's Implementing Sustainability and Regenerative Practices in Business.