Rachel Mackenzie has been Executive Director of Berries Australia since 2019 and has led the organisation to success ever since. Under her leadership, Berries Australia is delivering major projects to service the Australian Berry industries including the highly successful communications and industry development project and export market access projects both funded by Hort Innovation. Rachel is extremely proud of the work done by the team in pulling BerryQuest 2022 together and is excited to be leading Berries Australia as we put on this world-class event.

Rachel has shown herself to be a passionate supporter of growers through her sustained advocacy, including her tireless support for the industry during Covid-19. Berries Australia received a 2020 SafeWork NSW Highly Commended Award in the Industry Support Category recognising the efforts of Rachel and her team.

Rachel Mackenzie was awarded the Women in Horticulture Award at the 2018 Horticulture Connections conference in recognition of her contribution to the sector. Rachel was instrumental in establishing Growcom’s Fair Farms Initiative to improve workplace standards across Australian horticulture, has instigated and managed several key projects aimed at implementing Best Management Practices with respect to water quality, and has been a strong voice for growers in relation to competition policy. Rachel was a speaker at the BerryQuest Conference in 2018.