Failed applied mathematician, incompetent ecologist, aspiring economist. Co-author of the Brigalow Declaration, co-author of the Long Paddock statement, Vice-President of BirdLife Australia, Chief Scientist of Accounting for Nature, Biodiversity Council councillor, TSX co-inventor, Marxan co-inventor, loves birds, especially robins and thornbills. Former QLD Chief Scientist, former Chief Scientist of The Nature Conservancy. Mentor to many. FAA, FNAS, FRS

Anita specialises in environmental and climate change law, regulation and governance. Anita's research explores the design and implementation of legal and regulatory frameworks to address climate change, biodiversity loss, and other sustainability issues at different jurisdictional scales and in different governance contexts.

Jacqui Diggins is the Project Management Impact Lead for Terrain NRM, a community-driven, independent, not for profit organisation which develops sustainable solutions to increase the resilience of the rainforests, reefs, landscapes and local communities of Australia’s Wet Tropics region. Jacqui brings nearly 20 years of experience in landscape and threatened species conservation, with a strong background in community development and stakeholder engagement. Her work spans diverse ecosystems and partnerships, reflecting a deep commitment to collaborative, place-based solutions. She is particularly passionate about climate adaptation and is dedicated to developing and applying methods for measuring environmental impacts to guide and improve disaster resilience and climate adaptation. Through her leadership, Jacqui continues to champion approaches that integrate ecological resilience with community wellbeing in the face of a changing climate.

My research centres on combining remote sensing technology with political science, economic instruments, and systematic conservation planning to achieve the best solutions for the environment. I was Science and Research Lead at WWF Australia, before joining Griffith University in 2024.

Mark provides strategic leadership for Parks Victoria’s nature conservation programs and climate change response across 4 million hectares of parks and reserves. His priority is to inform about, and advocate for, the urgent preparation and actions required to meet rapidly increasing climate change impacts on nature, society and economy. Previously Head of Sciences at Museums Victoria, Mark’s research background is in marine biology as well as across wildlife research, biodiversity field surveys and science communication.

Karleah is the Team Leader for the Biodiversity Unit at the Kangaroo Island Landscape Board, which delivers conservation focused projects for threatened fauna and flora. Karleah has also worked with the Kangaroo Island Glossy black-cockatoo Recovery Program since 2015, and in this role manages a long-term conservation and monitoring program for the species. Prior to this she worked in various roles on Kangaroo Island across wildlife management, feral cat eradication and sustainable agriculture. She has also worked on research projects which included the conservation biology of translocated populations of greater bilbies and population dynamics of native arid zone rodents. Karleah’s professional interests are testing and monitoring the effectiveness of innovative conservation management actions.

Mirinda Thorpe and Iestyn Hosking are active members and volunteers with the Victorian Malleefowl Recovery Group and National Malleefowl Recovery Group, with 11 and 27 years of experience working and volunteering with Malleefowl. Their combined education and experience in environmental conservation, restoration, threatened species monitoring and management has complemented their work with Malleefowl. What started as a passion volunteering with annual Malleefowl mound monitoring, led to LiDAR ground truthing for Malleefowl mounds, being trained by Malleefowl expert Dr Joe Benshemesh on the safe excavation of mounds (for collection of hatched eggshell membrane for genetic analysis) and later egg rescue after the 2025 Little Desert bushfire. With collaboration by multiple people, organisations and agencies, including Dr Mark Norman (Chief Scientist Conservation and Climate Action from Parks Victoria), the opportunity to undertake Malleefowl egg translocation as an emergency response to fire affected Malleefowl populations across Australia is being proposed. This will require more trained people like Mirinda and Iestyn in the safe excavation of Malleefowl mounds and translocation of eggs. Mirinda and Iestyn share their passion for environmental conservation, habitat restoration and Malleefowl through direct action, monitoring and education in their work and hobbies.

I am an Associate Professor in Environmental Biology at the University of South Australia. My research focuses on ecological research with applied outcomes for the conservation of biodiversity in Oceania. My two key projects focus on managing drought-driven dieback in Souh Australia's stringybark eucalypts and on implementing refugia to reduce the loss of biodiversity due to climate change. I am passionate about developing the next generation of ecologists and conservation biologists.