Professor Marcia McKenzie

Associate Dean and Director of the Global Monitoring and Evaluating Climate Communication and Education Project, Melbourne University

Marcia is a Professor of Global Studies and International Education, and Associate Dean Sustainability in the Faculty of Education, and Lead of the Climate Communication and Education Research Cluster at Melbourne Climate Futures, University of Melbourne. She is currently Principal Investigator of two SSHRC-funded studies, including the $4.5M Monitoring and Evaluating Climate Communication and Education (MECCE) Project (www.mecce.ca). Her research areas include global education policy research, geographies of education, and climate and sustainability education, including in relation to place, mobilities, and affect theory.

Kaeden Watts

Co-Founder of Te Waka Angamua and Principal Advisor, Climate Change at Wellington City Council

Kaeden (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāi Tūhoe) works at the intersection of climate change and tino rangatiratanga. Kaeden has 6+ years’ experience in climate advocacy movements, campaigning and environmental consulting/advisory services at the grassroots level and government
in New Zealand and overseas, as well as at the international-level through the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change and United Nations Human Rights working group.He is the Trustee/co-founder of Te Waka Angamua, an organisation responding to climate-induced impacts affecting vulnerable
communities through amplifying Indigenous methods to inform our national response to climate change.

Professor Victoria Keener

Senior Global Futures Scientist and Co-Lead of the NOAA Pacific RISA program, Arizona State University

Victoria Keener is a Research Professor at the ASU Global Institute of Sustainability & Innovation and a Senior Fellow at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. She is a Co-Lead Principal Investigator of the NOAA-funded Pacific RISA program, one of the NOAA Climate Adaptation Partnerships (CAP). She earned a Ph.D. in Agricultural & Biological Engineering from the University of Florida, specialising in hydro-climatological research. Dr. Keener does interdisciplinary and applied research working with Pacific Island communities to transform climate research into resource management policies aiming to reduce climate-induced vulnerabilities. She was the Lead Author of the Hawai‘i and Pacific Islands Chapter of the 4th US-National Climate Assessment (NCA4), is an Author on NCA5, and helps to direct the Pacific Islands Regional Climate Assessment (PIRCA) network and reports. Dr. Keener is appointed to the City & County of Honolulu Climate Change Commission, where she currently serves as the Vice-Chair.

Isabelle Zhu-Maguire

Network Coordinator at the UN’s Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Monash Sustainable Development Institute  

Isabelle is a Project Coordinator at the Monash Sustainable Development Institute (MSDI) and the Network Coordinator of the UN's SDSN Youth AusNZPac branch. She founded the Sustainable Universities Network and has conducted research into gender as experienced by Afghan women
and governance in the Pacific.

Hudson Worsley

Co-founder of B Corp Presync

Hudson supports organisations in the deployment of innovative technologies and systems thinking to generate business value and drive efficiency. He has a background in business and sustainability consulting and project management with extensive time spent with utilities, infrastructure projects and development companies. Hudson works with organisations on their transition to the zero-carbon economy and adaptation to the changing climate. His ability to communicate complex technical concepts in clear language to non-specialist supports the change management required to achieve sustainability objectives.  Hudson is chair of the Materials & Embodied Carbon Leaders’ Alliance (MECLA), an industry collaboration he helped establish with WWF and Climate-KIC to drive the national take-up of low emission construction materials.

A/Professor Susie Siew Yuen Ho

Director of the Monash Innovation Guarantee, Monash University

Dr. Ho designs and leads education programs accelerating the Paris Agreement, SDGs, and Action for Climate Empowerment agenda. She drives collaboration and codevelopment between students, higher education and social and commercial enterprises and government and UN agencies. She is part of a UN project setting global indicators for climate change education worldwide, a lead PI in the global Youth Environmental Alliance for Higher Education, and a Board Member of the Victorian Skill Authority. She is passionate about empowering emerging leaders, leading 6 student delegations to UN climate change conferences.

Gavin Choong

Global Youth Spokesperson, Amnesty International

Gavin is a passionate activist based in Melbourne who works in the intersection between climate change and human rights. In 2023, Gavin was appointed as a global youth spokesperson for Amnesty International, representing the interests of youth activists across the Asia-Pacific. He advocates for the inclusion of First Nations and Pacific Islander youth voices in conversations surrounding climate change, as well as greater youth inclusion bycreating meaningful leadership opportunities and breaking down barriers to information.

Gavin also leads the translation sub-group for YOUNGO, the official children and youth constituency of the UNFCCC. Gavin is currently a New Colombo Plan scholar with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. In 2024, he hopes to pursue human rights work with intergovernmental organisations throughout the Indo-Pacific.

Dr Bodean Hedwards

Social Impact & Partnerships Lead, UNSW Sydney

Dr Bodean Hedwards recently joined UNSW Engineering’s growing Equity, Diversity & Inclusion team as the social impact and partnerships lead, where she will be focused on building the social impact strategy and associated initiatives to help drive our collective impact across research, education, and governance activities. As part of this, Bo will be working to help strengthen and grow a network of partners across the Indo-Pacific that are interested in collaborating to achieve our broader social impact goals.

Bo is an experienced program designer, partnership broker and strategist, having led a range of high-profile social impact and education initiatives across government, civil society, and the higher education sector over the last decade. Bo is also the Co-Chair of the Australia-India Youth Dialogue, which is the pre-eminent track II leadership dialogue in the Australia – India relationship, and prior to joining UNSW was the Director of Monash University’s Global Immersion Guarantee program. With a background as a criminologist, Bo has specialised in research on the nature of, and responses to human trafficking, slavery and irregular migration, having spent much of the last decade working alongside leading organisations from around the world.

Andrew Paris

Environmental Coordinator for the Blue Prosperity Fiji program

Andrew is the Environmental Coordinator for the Blue Prosperity Fiji program. Prior to joining the program, Andrew was a research assistant and marine studies master's student at the University of the South Pacific. Andrew is a Fijian who has been immersed in ocean-centric research in the South Pacific after completing an undergraduate degree in Environmental Science. Andrew has designed and managed research in marine ecology, marine pollution, and eco-toxicology and possesses a strong record of outreach and advocacy for ocean stewardship.

A/Professor Anita Foerster

Director of the Monash Business School Green Lab

Anita Foerster is an Associate Professor in the Monash Business School, Monash University, where she researches and teaches in environmental and climate change law and regulation and leads the inter-disciplinary sustainability research network Green Lab. Before joining Monash University, Anita completed her PhD at Melbourne Law School and worked in research and teaching roles at Melbourne Law School and the University of Tasmania. Anita's research is socio-legal and interdisciplinary. She uses empirical and qualitative research techniques to track and assess the impact and effectiveness of environmental law and regulation in practice. She often works closely with government and non-government stakeholders to enhance the impact of her research.