Margaret grew up on the family farm near Kojonup, in Western Australia’s Great Southern region. After finishing boarding school in 1981, she moved to Hobart and worked on the Franklin Dam campaign, and then mainland wilderness conservation. In 1987, Margaret was awarded entry to the United Nations Environment Program’s Global 500 Honour Roll “in recognition of outstanding practical achievements in the protection and improvement of the environment”, mainly for her work as Director of The Wilderness Society's National Campaign for Wilderness. In the 1990s, Margaret worked on forest conservation in WA, helped to establish and then co-ordinate the WA Environmental Defenders Office and was a Board member of Bush Heritage Australia. Margaret has a Batchelor of Science from UWA and a First Class Honours degree in Environmental Management from ECU. Her studies focused on the value of local oral histories to ecological restoration. Margaret has worked with her local community curating displays and content at the award winning Kodja Place Interpretive Centre in Kojonup. Margaret now works with Gondwana Link, including developing and publishing people-focused stories from the central Link. She managed production of the film ‘Breathing life into Boodja’ and a series of videos displayed in Boola Bardip (WA Museum).

Emma Ligtermoet is a human-environment geographer and CSIRO postdoctoral research fellow working on transdisciplinary, sustainability science challenges. Emma’s current research examines governance aspects of large landscape-scale restoration endeavours, in collaborative action-oriented research with Gondwana Link. Emma’s research experience spans knowledge co-production and decolonising approaches, governance, socio-ecological systems and Indigenous land and sea management. Emma’s PhD research involved working with First Peoples in West Arnhem Land (Kunbarlanja) and Kakadu National Park to document lived experiences of historical and ongoing changes to freshwater coastal floodplain Country, including aquatic bush foods, and elevate Indigenous perspectives in climate adaptation planning. She enjoys spending time in aquatic places and science-art intersections. Emma has worked in research, government and with non-for-profit, across WA, the NT and southeast Asia.

Dr. Sophie Bickford is a conservation ecologist who lives and works in Kyneton. She has worked at the CSIRO Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, as a Lecturer in Biogeography at Monash University and as Chief Scientist at Carbon Planet Pty Ltd. Since 2010, she has been Executive Director of the Biolinks Alliance, building a network organisation, tools and practices to support large landscape repair.

Jim spent much of his childhood growing up on his family sheep station (Mt Gibson). After the family sold the station to the Australian Wildlife Conservancy, Jim stayed on managing Mt Gibson Sanctuary for three years to develop the initial conservation strategies. Initially trained as a marine scientist, Jim has a PhD that was gained for research into ‘Routine and rare genetic connections in corals off northwest Australia and the implications for conservation’. He worked for 17 years leading research into coral reef genetics and ecology at the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS). In addition to advanced molecular biology research, analysis and writing, this work also involved collaborations with non-government, state and federal management agencies to translate this research into effective conservation outcomes. Jim has a solid publication record and a track record in building capacity for traditional management of Sea-country through genuine science partnerships with the Traditional Owners of northwest Australia. Jim is now the Connecting Country Coordinator in Gondwana Link, where his work is focused on supporting Noongar families who are moving back onto properties secured for and by them, as well as helping them regaining leadership in key land management and land restoration actions.

In place of an author, Nathan Gregory will be presenting. Nathan is a Biodiversity Field Officer at ANU's Sustainable Farms. Nathan has a Bachelor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and experience within the conservation and natural resource management sectors. He has previously worked for the Department of Conservation (New Zealand) and the North Central Catchment Management Authority. Nathan is a keen birdwatcher and has a strong interest in conservation within agricultural landscapes, particularly the role farm dams could play in restoring declining waterbird populations.

Oscar Jones is a PhD candidate at Curtin University’s ARC Training Centre for Healing Country and Native Seed Technology and Innovation Hub. He is passionate about the carbon and restoration industry and contributing to these sectors through applied research that delivers meaningful ecological, cultural, and economic outcomes. His current research focuses on improving seed use efficiency and optimising native seed delivery for large-scale revegetation, particularly in agricultural landscapes across the Southwest of Western Australia. Prior to commencing his PhD, Oscar completed a Bachelor of Conservation Biology and a Master of Research at Macquarie University, Sydney, where he gained valuable experience working on coastal floodplain management alongside First Nations communities in the Northern Territory. Beyond his academic work, Oscar is dedicated to strengthening opportunities and outcomes for early-career professionals in the environmental sector. He serves as a member of the Ecological Society of Australia's Early Career Ecologists Working Group and is a board member of the Perth-based charity, the Urban Bushland Council.

For over two decades, Kim Wolfenden has led community engagement programs addressing highly controversial wildlife conflicts across Australia, where communities have experienced trauma and tragic loss of life. Whether it is working with people and communities impacted by bats and emergency animal diseases in Queensland, or following shark incidents on Australian beaches in New South Wales, Kim’s dedication to authentically connecting with and among people with different views and values has contributed to reducing harm to people, communities, and wildlife. In 2013, Kim traveled to the U.S. to attend CPeace’s Conservation Conflict Transformation (CCT) workshop - an experience she describes as a “complete game changer.” Returning to Australia, she began integrating CCT principles, tools, and strategies into her team’s broader approach. Her work led to Kim being awarded a Winston Churchill Fellowship to investigate human wildlife conflict transformation strategies across five continents. Kim is the Deputy Director at the Center for Conservation Peacebuilding based in Washington D.C. Over the past two years, she has worked across the United States on conflict around wolves, including serving as the co-convener of America's National Wolf Conversation.

Dr Brazill-Boast has been with the NSW Environment Agency in different capacities for 14 years, including in his current role as Principal Ecologist with the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust, for five years. Over this period, he has worked on various aspects of biodiversity policy, conservation program delivery, and research, including development of the Saving our Species program, designing a cost-effective prioritisation framework for threatened species investment and other decision science applications, design and coordination of ecological monitoring and evaluation frameworks and coordination and delivery of collaborative research partnerships. He has a background is behavioural ecology and conservation research, with a PhD in the reproductive ecology and conservation of the Gouldian finch in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.