I am an interdisciplinary social scientist working on environmental and natural resource management, and with a specialisation in fisheries and marine resource governance. I have a particular interest in qualitative and participatory research techniques, and in working with community, fisheries and Indigenous organisations on collaborative research and capacity building. I also have experience using mixed methods research approaches, and often work with decision makers and stakeholders on strategic policy oriented research.
For my Post-Doctoral Fellowship (2017-2019) I worked on developing methods for assessing the governance of tuna fisheries in the Indo-Pacific region, in terms of how they influence the social wellbeing of fishing communities. With case studies in Indonesia and the Solomon Islands, our aim was to develop approaches that can be widely applied to assist in social, cultural and economic considerations being taken into account in fisheries decision making, for the betterment of the communities that depend on these resources for food and livelihoods. This work as now flowed on to longer term collaborations with Ministries and regional organisations in Indonesia and the Pacific.
Prior to joining UTS I worked as an independent consultant for a range of Indigenous and non-government organisations, and established and ran Field GIS Australia, a small training and research organisation specialising in the interface between community engagement, environmental management, and spatial data technology. This has included work since 2005 on projects related to conservation and protected area management in India, Australia, Indonesia and Timor-Leste, and since 2011 on fisheries and coastal resource management in Australia, Indonesia and the wider Pacific region.