Voting for new SCBO Board members is now open! Seven candidates have been nominated to stand in the election, which will fill three member-at-large board seats.
The deadline to vote is Friday 5 July, 2019 (24:00 UK/GMT).
It’s easy to cast your ballot:
- Go to the SCB website and log in to your member home page (click “Member Login” at the top of the page).
- On your SCB member home page, click the link for the Oceania Section Election in the blue box at the top of the page.
- Read the candidates’ profiles on the bottom of the ballot.
- Cast your vote.
- After you select your candidates scroll to the bottom of the page and click “submit” to validate your vote.
Meet the candidates!
Tim Doherty
I am a Research Fellow at the Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia. I conduct applied research in the fields of disturbance ecology and predator-prey ecology in the terrestrial realm and mainly work on reptiles, mammals and plants. The ultimate aim of my work is to improve our understanding and conservation of the natural world. I collaborate with government and non-government organisations, and regularly engage with the media and write online articles for the general public. I have served on the board of SCB Oceania for the past three years, including as Secretary for the past two years. I am also Deputy Chair of the Policy Committee and an ordinary board member of the Greater Melbourne Chapter. Contributions I have made to SCBO include co-writing our submission to the Senate Inquiry into Australia’s faunal extinction crisis; initiating and facilitating the establishment of the Greater Melbourne Chapter; developing internal policy documents; and facilitating SCB sponsorship of the Victorian Biodiversity Conference; plus regular board duties. I am seeking re-election to the board so that I continue to promote and enhance conservation science, management and communication in our region.
Stephanie Godfrey
Stephanie Godfrey is a lecturer in the Department of Zoology at the University of Otago. She graduated from her PhD at Flinders University in 2010, and was a DECRA fellow at Murdoch University between 2012 – 2016, before moving to Dunedin (NZ) where she is currently based. Her research intersects the fields of disease ecology and animal behaviour, and in particular, she is interested in the interactions between behaviour, disease transmission, and the conservation of wildlife populations. She uses social network models to understand the factors that shape contact patterns in wildlife populations (mainly reptiles and marsupials) and the consequences of this for parasite transmission. Her research has a strong focus on conservation; she has worked with a range of conservation agencies to understand how conservation management affects disease ecology and host-parasite communities. Her research also has a growing focus on parasite co-extinction, and understanding how conservation activities can imperil parasites; which are otherwise essential components of ecosystems.
Mark Hall
I am a landscape and community ecologist with wide ranging interests and a passion for conservation on private land – I believe if we don’t support wildlife on private land, we will continue to lose a significant amount of global diversity. I am currently a research fellow in the Hawkesbury Institute for Environment (HIE) at Western Sydney University, studying beneficial pollinators of both natural and agricultural ecosystems. I am committed to working alongside industry partners, researchers, policy makers and landowners to achieve critical and innovative conservation outcomes. I have recently sat on the Birdlife Melbourne committee, and currently sit on the board for the Wild Pollinator Count. I am a proponent for community awareness and engagement with nature and am active on multiple social media platforms to promote the science of conservation. I have sat on the SCBO board and on the Conservation Science and Education Committee since 2018. I will continue to work tirelessly with the Society for Conservation Biology Oceania and its chapters in whatever capacity I can to achieve the best outcomes for people and wildlife.
John Lamaris
I have been a member of SCB since I joined as a student 2014. In 2017 I helped found, and served as President for the Papua New Guinea Chapter while working with the Wildlife Conservation Society Papua New Guinea program. I have recently moved to Brisbane, Australia to pursue an MPhil at the University of Queensland and since then have joined the SCB UQ Brisbane Chapter. I still work closely with the SCBPNG chapter executives and in May 2019 we were able to get the chapter’s application to be registered and operate under PNG laws accepted by PNG Investment Promotion Authority (IPA). SCB has played a significant role in promoting the conservation work I have been involved with and has been an important part of both my student and professional life. I am keen to continue to share this positive stories and experiences and, to expand SCBs sphere of influence in the region, especially the Melanesia region.
Rachel Miller
I am soon to finish a PhD on the role of stakeholders in the governance of threats towards marine migratory species in Australia. I began my career as a marine biologist, but shifted my focus to environmental education (and later to environmental governance) as I began to recognise the importance of the human-dimension when managing complex environmental problems. I have been a member of the SCB for a little over a year and a half, and I feel that because I am a relatively new member, I can bring a fresh perspective to the Oceania Board. I am passionate about making environmental policy and management more accessible to and inclusive of diverse stakeholders and believe my education and experience would be beneficial to the goals of the Board. I am a member of the SCB Oceania’s Policy Committee, the Student Committee for the Social Science Working Group, the Oceania and Marine Sections, as well as several other boards in my local area. In my free time, I enjoy reading, jigsaw puzzles, fitness, and time outdoors with my partner and our German Shepherd.
Shannon Noelle Rivera
I am a project and research consultant based in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi on the island of Oʻahu. I am largely focused on the importance of intersections within conservation practice including identifying gender-sensitive strategies and addressing animal welfare considerations. My current research examines the illegal wildlife trade, specifically the disposal of confiscated live animals. With this research, I was awarded the Society for Conservation Biology Graduate Research Fellowship and completed my Master of Science in Animal Welfare Science, Ethics and Law in September 2018. In Hawaiʻi, I work in urban forestry with the nonprofit, Smart Trees Pacific, and the state’s Kaulunani Urban and Community Forestry program; Division of Forestry and Wildlife. I coordinate a citizen science initiative systematically inventorying our stateʻs urban trees; and I work to build urban forestry capacity throughout the state and Pacific region. I have been actively engaged with SCB since 2016. I am a founding and current board member for the Societyʻs Hawaiʻi Chapter, and I have had the pleasure of serving on the board of SCB Oceania for the past three years. I am seeking re-election to the SCBO board in order to continue promoting and expanding our organization’s reach in the Pacific!
Blake Alexander Simmons
Blake is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at The University of Queensland and a Visiting Fellow at Queensland University of Technology. His research is transdisciplinary in nature, with an overarching focus on the effects of anthropogenic actions on biodiversity and ecosystem function. His current projects investigate the environmental, political, and social dimensions of deforestation decision- making in Australia to inform environmental policy and behaviour change initiatives. Blake has a passion for promoting science engagement, education, and visibility in typically underrepresented groups, like youth and the LGBTI+ community. He is a Wonder of Science Young Science Ambassador and currently serves on the ICCB 2019 Equity, Inclusion and Diversity subcommittee.
We thank all of the candidates for their willingness to serve on the SCB Oceania Section Board, and thanks for voting!