Global Energy Network Institute foundation

Biographies for our Committee members

Ruanna Segal (Trustee)

Since leaving a well-paid job as an Administration Manager with Telecommunications in 1990, Ruanna has delved deeply into esoteric studies, opened the ‘Metaphysical Healing Centre’ in Kyneton, Victoria and today runs her own successful ‘Tarot in Action’ business and shop in Melbourne, Australia. Ruanna offers a variety of programs and services including Tarot, Western Astrology, Numerology, One on One Counseling and Spiritual Development Programs. Reiki Master as well as a Wellness Advocate with doTerra Essential Oils. Now an Author of ‘Tarot Distinctions’ book. Ruanna used her admin skills towards worthy organisations such as; Before It’s Too Late - created a System Manual. Rotary Melbourne and Rotary Preston - fundraising for the 15,000 sick children in Victoria every year. Board Member of the Tarot Guild of Australia - helped organize International Tarot Conference in Victoria. Dans Martial Arts – created system manual and fundraisers for the club. Trustee of the GENI Foundation since 1992 – admin, financials, newsletters, mailouts and fundraising. Ruanna travelled regularly throughout Australia delivering her programs, presenting seminars, conducting readings at the Mind Body Spirit Festivals and Psychic Mind Body Expos and at corporate events. Since 2010, Ruanna has been consistently invited back every year to teach Tarot, Numerology and Astrology Masterclasses in Singapore. She has also been invited to speak at various engagements such as: SEEK - breaking the cycle for troubled Teenagers, regular Guest Speaker at Tarot Guild of Australia, and at the International Feng Shui Convention Singapore and in Melbourne. Martial Arts was another love, which gloves beautifully with her esoteric studies and in 2011 achieved a Diploma of Sports in Coaching and Development. Achieved gold medals at State and National level Competitions and today is a Taekwondo Instructor and holder of two Dan belt certificates, 4th in Taekwondo and 1st in Kyusho Jitsu.

Charles Kovess (Trustee) LL.B. (Hons), LL.M., CSP, MAICD

After 20 years of high level legal and business experience, Charles Kovess turned his back on the law in 1993 to share success strategies as a professional speaker, educator, facilitator and coach. Charles has provoked, enthused and inspired many companies and individuals to achieve world-class results by harnessing passion, and is known as Australasia's Passion Provocateur. He is the Founder and CEO of Kovess International, a Past National President of the National Speakers’ Association of Australia, President of the Australia-Hungary Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Trustee of the Global Energy Network Institute, CEO of an innovative manufacturer of industrial hemp processing machinery, Past President of the Lorne Surf Life Saving Club, Past Councillor of the Law Institute of Victoria, and a Certified Speaking Professional. Amongst a broad range of interests, Charles has promoted sustainability practices and philosophies since 1976, and challenges his audiences to passionately promote the need for sustainable behaviours, both personally (by being healthy!) and globally (by keeping our planet alive!) Charles has authored two inspirational books, ‘Passionate People Produce’, and ‘Passionate Performance’, and is the co-author of ‘The 7 Heavenly Virtues of Leadership’. Charles is not only passionate about the power of passion: he is also passionate about entrepreneurship, innovation and sport! He is currently competing in his 33rd consecutive year in triathlons; he qualified as an international water polo referee, played A Grade Amateur Football, and has completed nine marathons. He is the father of five children, aged from 35 years down to 6 years.

Jerry Speiser (Trustee)

Jerry is best known as the drummer and a founding member of the 1980s group Men at Work, one of Australia’s internationally most successful bands with the worldwide hit ‘Down Under’. MAW won a Grammy award for Best New Artist in 1982, sold over 12 million albums worldwide and was inducted into the Australian Music Hall of Fame in 1994. Since MAW, Jerry has played and recorded with various bands and currently plays in Sons of the Blues, based in Castlemaine, central Victoria. Jerry has also produced a number of bands and solo artists and still has a passion for producing music and artists. After MAW in 1986, Jerry in partnership with Bill Mackin opened a retail drum shop in Richmond called ‘Mackin's Music’. They then opened a wholesale business called ‘Tom Tom Trading Co.’, this time to import and distribute musical goods to retailers throughout Australia. Prior to pursuing his interest in music, Jerry completed a BSc majoring in physics. Many years later in 1990, he was introduced to the work of Buckminster Fuller (or Bucky, as he liked to be called). Bucky, best known for inventing the geodesic dome, saw that the fundamental principles of nature, (laws of physics and chemistry) could be applied to all facets of life including family and business and so Bucky renamed them the Generalised Principles. Jerry was inspired to learn more and started a ‘Bucky Study Group’. This launched him into a new career where he headed the business On Board Communications with the mainstay programs ‘Your Future by Design’ and ‘Business by Design’, presenting workshops in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the USA. From speaking and presenting workshops, it was a natural progression for Jerry when he assumed the role of a business coach. He started a consulting business helping organisations implement systems based on the Generalised Principles to make those businesses more efficient and productive. More significantly, the methodology used in making these improvements would inadvertently transform the culture of an organisation to become a fully functioning, self-correcting environment of fulfilment. Jerry’s expertise is in teaching and interpreting the Generalised Principles and how to apply them in business and everyday life. He is currently dividing his time between writing this work into a book and playing and producing music.

Graeme Edwards

still coming

Peter Meisen (B.S.) President and Director GENI U.S.

Mr. Meisen comes from San Diego CA, and considers himself a global citizen having flown around the world several times delivering his work. He graduated from the University of California at San Diego, with an engineering degree in Applied Mechanics and Engineering Sciences. For the past 30 years he has worked in social engineering and sustainable development. Peter was fortunate to have met Buckminster Fuller twice and followed Bucky's advice to read "Critical Path." This changed his life and inspired him to found the Global Energy Network Institute (aka GENI) to conduct research and education on Bucky's premier global solution -- the interconnection of electric networks between nations with an emphasis on tapping abundant renewable energy resources around the world. Peter is a member of the following professional associations: IEEE Power Engineering Society, World Affairs Council of San Diego, Union of Concerned Scientists, United Nations Association, and is an Honorary member of the Rancho Bernardo Sunrise Rotary Club. In 1983, he co-founded S.H.A.R.E. (Self Help and Resource Exchange), North America's largest private food distribution program.

Willem Oudyk - Computer Programmer and problem solver

A very capable Information Technology (IT) practitioner who can analyse business requirements, translate them into technical design documentation and ultimately implement them to the standards required by the business. With over 10 years computer mainframe and PC programming experience across many disciplines, he has been able to develop excellent communication skills, problem solving and motivational skills and is effective as a team leader and team player. He is a good trouble shooter and functions efficiently under stressful situations. Next to his professional career, he has numerous interests including: Family, Tennis, Comedy, Art & Music, 4x4 camping adventures, Travelling, Chess, Woodwork, Geodesic Domes (invented by Buckminster Fuller),
'Solar Battery sales' with Zenaji Australia and the safest, most efficient Aeon LTO Battery.
'Oral and Maxillofacial' surgical research into Lingual nerve, Peripheral nerve & Inferior Alveolar nerve repairs.
'Chronic Fatigue Syndrome' for which he has published a treatment manual (written by Dr. Fred Warwick - ISBN 978-0-9923257-1-8).

Jay Garland – Researcher and Health Advisor

I was born in 1961 in Adelaide, Australia. I left full-time employment as a computer programmer in the mid-1980s and ran various small businesses while working a few casual jobs. Some of these businesses included: Japanese to English translation, running a Japanese language school and the writing and publishing of language text books. Casual employment included: bartending, call centre work, retail sales, youth detention officer, flight attendant and office administrator. In my 30s, I had friends that had been diagnosed as HIV positive. I did some research to support them. In my 40s I was told that I was HIV positive. Due to my earlier research, I chose not to take the HIV medications. A year later I developed fugal pneumonia and was in hospital for two months and I was told I’d never be able to work again and I’d require assisted living. With my applied knowledge I made a full recovery and now run multiple businesses and live in a house in the suburbs of Melbourne. One of my strengths is numbers and patterns, so I began making graphs of the surrogate markers used to track HIV progression: namely, CD4 cells and HIV viral load. In my quest to understand this pattern, I started studying statistics, HIV and AIDS. This lead to calculus, epigenetics (the coding that sits atop DNA and alters gene expression) and many other subjects including biology, immunology and virology. I’m in the process of writing up my research for publication.

Janette Culbert (Volunteer)

I am currently enjoying a career in telecommunications. Prior to this I studied Graphic Design and discovered a passion for photography during an elective course. This led me to spend several years working as a photographer in Melbourne and throughout regional Victoria. My interests beyond my professional life include pottery, personal development, anything creative, and connecting with others. Over the years, I have supported GENI's work, attending many of their wonderful fundraising events. After nominating a neighbour, I witnessed firsthand the incredible impact of GENI's efforts and felt inspired to get involved. The Solar Panels for Pensioners (SPPP) program is particularly close to my heart. It not only significantly reduces energy bills and improves the quality of life for pensioners but also contributes to reducing carbon emissions and promoting environmental sustainability. In the spirit of Buckminster Fuller, GENI truly strives to be the trim-tab in the lives of those around us, making small positive changes that ultimately have a much bigger impact on the world.

Malcolm Green - Electrical Engineer

Inspired by the books of Buckminster Fuller, and encouraged by friends and family, plus the personal desire to have a ‘career’ and earn a living, I studied electrical engineering back in the 1990s. Soon after graduation I became involved with the Alternative Technology Association (ATA) in Melbourne. With them we built the 'Energy Mobile' that displayed renewable energy technology and toured throughout Victorian towns and suburbs. Further with the ATA, back in 1993, we went on to install Australia’s first grid-connected solar energy system, at CERES Environmental Centre, in East Brunswick. With an eye to mass-scale deployment of renewable energy I went on to propose and promote the idea of a 20MW solar-thermal power station in Whyalla South Australia. We gained some significant funding toward this project, and the idea was to incorporate sea-water desalination- making use of the waste heat of energy transformation from thermal to electrical. A Pre-feasibility Study was performed by Professor Stephen Kaneff, and the results looked pretty good with power generation possible at the price of 7.5c per kWh. However this project has not yet been realised. Current supply issues in South Australia make this project more viable again. Currently I run my own solar consultancy and we design solar energy rooftop PV systems, residential and Commercial, and look for opportunities to propel the mass use of solar and renewable energy, in support of the integrity of eternally regenerative Universe.