DISASTER CHALLENGE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Researcher
- Researcher / Bureau of Meteorology
Job Titles:
- Researcher
- Researcher / Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions ( WA )
Job Titles:
- Researcher
- Researcher / Department of Fire and Emergency Services ( WA )
Job Titles:
- Natural Hazards Research Forum Poster
- Scholarship Student
- Scholarship Student / Victoria University
Ahmad Hassan is a PhD Candidate with Victoria University's Institute for Sustainable Industries & Liveable Cities.
Ahmad's research looks at physics-based modelling of field-scale junction fires, a form of extreme fire phenomena when two contiguous wildfire lines merge. The research will assess whether there are scaling effects for some atmospheric, topographical and physical parameters in such extreme fires.
Job Titles:
- Associate Student
- Associate Student / Griffith University
As Communications Director, Ainsley is responsible for leading an innovative communications strategy to boost knowledge translation and engagement in natural hazards research.
Ainsley's special area of interest is science communication, finding new ways to communicate complex information to audiences outside the scientific arena to improve understanding and uptake.
With a career that spans government and non-government sectors in Australia and internationally, she is an advocate for building communication capability opportunities for the next generation of natural hazards researchers.
Job Titles:
- Researcher
- Researcher / Bureau of Meteorology
Alen is the Deputy Chief Officer Fire Risk, Research and Community Preparedness with the Country Fire Authority. After gaining a Master of Science (Forestry) Degree, Alen started his working career in Croatia as a forester from where he emigrated to New Zealand in 1995. He worked as a Fire Management Officer with the Forestry Corporation and a Technical Assistant - Fire Research Group with the NZ Forest Research Institute.
Job Titles:
- Scholarship Student
- Scholarship Student / the University of Canberra
Alex Tanfield is passionate about supporting community wellbeing through disasters. She has diverse experience working for not-for-profits including UN Women Australia and The Australian Red Cross. Her professional background is in disaster management, supporting communities affected by disasters to build their capacities before, during and after disasters. She has managed disaster response teams, developed community-led disaster preparedness initiatives and led national drought and disaster recovery wellbeing programs.
Alex is currently working towards her PhD at The University of Canberra where her research is focused on the impact on and changing nature of social capital in response to compound disasters. Alex is originally from the UK and now lives on a cropping farm with her family in Northern NSW.
Job Titles:
- Clinical Psychologist
- Researcher
- Natural Hazards Research Forum Presentation
Alexandra Howard is a clinical psychologist and public health practitioner, who has worked in the field of disaster and posttraumatic mental health for more than 10 years. She is a nationally recognised expert in advancing, translating, and implementing evidence-based mental health and psychosocial support approaches for high-risk organisations, government, NGOs and communities to prepare and respond to traumatic events, including disasters and large-scale emergencies. She has worked with primary care, mental health, emergency service and military personnel, community organisations, and other disaster relief organisations. Most recently she has overseen the implementation of a capability and capacity building program to more than 7000 Australians, including emergency service personnel, supporting Black Summer, flood and COVID-19 impacted communities, and dissemination of the evidence-based Disaster Mental Health Hub. She has published in the field of posttraumatic mental health, and has presented her work at national and international conferences.
Job Titles:
- Researcher
- Researcher / the University of Tasmania
Job Titles:
- Researcher
- Researcher / Monash University
Dr Adriana Keating is a systems thinker whose applied research focuses on enabling systems change to strengthen community disaster resilience. She is a Research Fellow with the Monash Sustainable Development Institute and holds a guest position at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. Working at the science-policy-practice interface, Adriana has over 15 years of experience in the disaster field, primarily in flooding and bushfires. She is an expert in disaster resilience whose work utilises systems analysis, and measurement and decision-support methodologies to conceptualise and effect change in disaster resilience both in Australia and internationally.
Job Titles:
- Researcher
- Researcher / the University of Queensland
Job Titles:
- Researcher
- Researcher / the University of Melbourne
Job Titles:
- Node Research Manager - Vic & Tas
Job Titles:
- Node Research Manager
- Node Research Manager - WA & SA
Job Titles:
- Senior Project Officer Research and Evaluation
Job Titles:
- Early Career Research Fellow
Job Titles:
- Node Research Manager
- Node Research Manager - NSW
Job Titles:
- Research & Implementation Director
Job Titles:
- Node Research Manager
- Senior Project Officer Education and Training
Job Titles:
- Researcher and Scholarship Student
Job Titles:
- Senior Communications Officer
Job Titles:
- Research Services Project Officer
Job Titles:
- Research Services Project Officer
Job Titles:
- Research Services Manager
Job Titles:
- Node Research Manager
- Node Research Manager - Qld & NT
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Board Member / Education and Training Committee
- Member of Risk, Audit and Compliance Committee
Professor Alicia Rambaldi from The University of Queensland is an expert in urban and spatial economics and has extensive experience working with administrative data to construct and validate economic models, including models of public transport networks and the housing market. Alicia has published extensively on the economics of housing and land prices. Her experience includes projects with the Victorian and Queensland governments on land and housing related areas. She is currently a member of the ABS's Methodology Advisory Committee, BLADE Technical Advisory Committee, and MADIP Economic Advisory Working Group. She is also a member of the newly constituted Go8 Economic Advisory Group. Alicia has extensive experience managing and completing funded research projects and consultancies.
Job Titles:
- Science and Innovation Director / Research and Implementation Committee
The Research and Implementation Committee provides the Natural Hazards Research Australia Board with strategic advice on the overall development of the Centre's research and implementation programs, consistent with the Commonwealth Funding Agreement.
Job Titles:
- Partnership Development Director
Job Titles:
- Senior Research Services Project Officer