District Governor Elect

Marie-louise Lees

PO Box 836

Gawler SA 5118

Mobile: 0408 134 363

Marie-louise, mostly known as M-l, is a certified professional engineer with an Honours Degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Adelaide. Her career has been in the upstream oil & gas industry working as both a Process and Petroleum Reservoir Engineer for over 30 years. M-l currently works part-time as Senior Associate for EnergyQuest, a boutique independent industry consultant.

Since August 2017 M-l has also worked for Taylor & Forgie Funeral directors in Gawler in the administration team. This work has presented new challenges requiring some very different skills and has been a journey of significant personal growth.

M-l and Graham live at Cockatoo Valley with their two indoor cats, Plasmo and Skittles, and 6 outdoor chickens. Our three sons Tim, Harry & Ethan have flown the nest.

M-l joined the Rotary Club of Gawler in Nov 2012 and moved to Rotary Club of Gawler Light in July 2020.

At the Rotary Club of Gawler M-l served as Director Vocational Service 2015/16, Club Administration/President Elect 2016/17, President in 2017/18, Secretary 2018/19 and 2019/20. At the Rotary Club of Gawler Light M-l was President 2021/22 and Youth Director 2022/23.

At a District level M-l was 2019/20 District Conference Chair. This conference was planned to be held in Whyalla, but disappointingly COVID intervened, and it was cancelled three weeks prior to the event. We did salvage something from all the planning and held a virtual conference.

M-l has held several other roles on district committees including National Youth Science Forum (NYSF) Committee Chair for one year and served on NYSF committee for several years, Australian Rotary Health committee for 2018/19 and 2019/20, the District 9510 Redistricting Committee as Secretary and then committee member and the District Foundation Committee since 2016 initially as Paul Harris Society representative and most recently as District Rotary Foundation Chair. M-l is also leading a team in the Zone 8 Regionalisation Pilot Establishment team.

M-l’s passion for Rotary was ignited by the ability of Rotarians to contribute to world peace and community development at a local, national, and international level largely through The Rotary Foundation, Rotary’s Charity. M-l is a Paul Harris Society member and Rotary Foundation Major Donor.

Some other fun facts. Graham and M-I own a B&B “The Peppers Cottage” in Burra. During covid M-l learnt to bake sour dough bread. Keeping the sour dough starter in good shape and baking delicious loaves serval times a week remains an ongoing joy. In 2015 to celebrate her 50^th Birthday M-l with her sister walked 780 km of the Camino De Santiago from St Jean De Pied De Porte to Santiago De Compostela in Spain. A truly life changing journey. From this stemmed a love of long walks, but only if there is a comfortable bed at the end of the day. Some walks M-l has done include the Three Capes in Tasmania, The Milford and Routeburn tracks in New Zealand and the gruelling Tour Du Mont Blanc a 170km walk with 9,000m elevation change which passes through France, Italy and Switzerland. The Larapinta Trail is on the bucket list.