Summary

My area of research interest is climate planning in remote or rural coastal communities. I advocate community participation as key to responding to future climate and environmental change, with community-driven solutions the optimal alternative to top-down interventionist models. My postgraduate studies, thus far, have focused on climate change adaptation and building resilience in Australian coastal communities. Further studies will extend this to small Island Nations in the Pacific and beyond.

My area of professional expertise is in community engagement and participation with First Nations Peoples for Traditional Knowledge projects, including the Indigenous Weather Knowledge website, through the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.

Education

January 2020 - current - Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Melbourne, Australia

January 2017 - June 2019 - Master of Environment (with Distinction) from the University of Melbourne, Australia

Completed research component equivalent 25% of course total achieving H1 (82%) overall:

Participant understandings and experiences of engagement processes for planning coastal climate change adaptation in the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia

January 2010 - December 2013 - Bachelor of Arts majoring in English and Philosophy from the University of Queensland, Australia

Professional Training and Development

2019 - Pitch Training - Institute of Public Administration focusing on presenting projects for awards and funding.

2019 - Media Training - Australian Bureau of Meteorology Training Centre on being a media spokesperson

2014 - Introduction to Meteorology - Short course on the basics of Meteorology

Skills profile

• Extensive project management experience for complex, long-term projects in a high-profile Australian Public Service agency

• Community engagement expertise in reaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities

• Experience in NVivo qualitative data analysis software for research and report management

• Experience with Logframe, Theory of Change and Learning Approaches to project management

• High-level science knowledge and policy communication including content writing and publishing

• Development, production and implementation of departmental policies, action plans and strategies

• High-level consultation and collaboration skills with internal and external stakeholders

Knowledge profile

• Community engagement and participation in climate change adaptation planning

• Complex socio-environmental systems mapping through a systems analysis approach

• Integration of diverse knowledge systems in planning for climate change adaptation, environmental management or community natural resource management

• Climate change mitigation and adaptation theory

• Strategies for making the most of an interdisciplinary team

Achievements

• Representative of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology at 2019 First Nations Media Festival on Thursday Island, Torres Strait and 2018 First Nations Media Festival at Yirrkala, Northern Territory

• Recipient of one of two Indigenous scholarships to attend Science Meets Parliament in 2019

• CSIRO Indigenous Science Awards in the Early Career category for leading the advancement of the Indigenous Weather Knowledge project

• Speaker at the AMOS 2019 Conference, on work completed at the Bureau of Meteorology

• Community award for work on the Australian Bureau of Meteorology Reconciliation Action Plan 2016-19 Finalist

Employment

November 2014 - January 2010 | Bureau of Meteorology | Melbourne, Victoria

June 2017 - January 2020 | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Engagement Coordinator

• Manage the Indigenous Weather Knowledge project, including extensive engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities

• Advise internal stakeholders on communication and engagement best practice to improve delivery of Bureau products and services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities

• Coordinate engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities through the development of organisation-wide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community engagement processes

• Support the delivery of the Bureau’s current Reconciliation Action Plan 2016-2019 and lead the development of the 2019-2022 Reconciliation Action Plan

• Engage with media as a spokesperson for the Indigenous Weather Knowledge project and website

July 2016 - June 2017 | Communications Officer

• Primary marketing and communications support for the Corporate Services Division focusing on diversity and employment policy

• Management of revival and improvement of the Indigenous Weather Knowledge project and coordination of the redesign of the IWK website to improve functionality and public accessibility

• April 2016–July 2016 | Administrative Officer for Climate Liaison Services

• High-level administrative support to Climate Liaison Services

• Administration support for delivery of the National Climate and Water Brief, 2016

• Coordination of organisation and administration of a high-level external advisory forum

December 2015–April 2016 | Indigenous Liaison Officer and Content Writer for the Australian Weather Calendar 2017

• Advisor to the Bureau’s 2017 Australian Weather Calendar theme of ‘Indigenous Weather Knowledge and Community Engagement’

• Co-author of theme specific content: introduction to the 2017 theme and monthly content

• Management of the community approvals process for Indigenous Weather Knowledge content

• Management of the consultation and procurement process to secure a commissioned Aboriginal artwork to be used as the principle design for the Bureau’s 2017 Australian Weather Calendar

November 2014–December 2015 | Graduate entry position

• 6-month rotation in the Climate and Ocean Support Program in the Pacific (COSPPac) providing administrative support to the program manager

• 6-month rotation in the Bureau’s Communications Team supporting the media and publishing areas

• 6-week rotation in the People Management section producing and editing diversity policy documents