
I am a Senior Lecturer in Public Sector Management within the School of Business, UNSW Canberra, as part of the Public Service Research Group. I recently completed an Australian Research Council DECRA Fellowship (2020-2023) which examined the growth of private sector investment in biodiversity and natural capital.
My research aims to understand how governments, businesses and other actors can more effectively protect and manage our natural environment. To do this, I use theories and methods from the natural and social sciences to inform the design, implementation and evaluation of environmental laws, policies and tools. I have a diverse background, including undergraduate degrees in mathematics and ecology, a PhD in public policy, and direct experience with policymaking. I sit on the editorial board of Conservation Letters.
2020: $41,600. WWF-Australia. Modelling pathways to a carbon neutral Queensland beef sector through policy and investment to drive transition from deforestation to reforestation.
2020-2022: $379,729. Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Research Award (DECRA) The Effectiveness of Impact Investing for Biodiversity Conservation
2017–2018: $95,786. Project funded by New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage to develop response to management models for priority species (Investigators: Maron, M, Evans M.C., Rhodes J).
2017: $3,000. Awarded a Visiting Fellowship (RMIT University) by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions (CEED).
2015: $7,000. Funding for a workshop on the legal and institutional dimensions of biodiversity offsetting by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions (CEED).
2013 – 2016: $87,500. Won a prestigious Australian National University Australian Postgraduate Award.
2013 – 2016: $49,500. Won a highly competitive CSIRO Climate Adaptation Flagship Top-up Scholarship.
2021: Awarded the Young Tall Poppy Award for the Australian Capital Territory by the Australian Institute of Policy and Science
2018: Winner of the University of Queensland Faculty of Science Rising Star (Academic) Award (selected from 29 nominations and 349 eligible academics).
2014: Awarded competitive scholarship by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions (CEED) to participate in a year-long leadership program for 14 early career researchers, which included media, facilitation and leadership training, and individual and group projects.
2014: Awarded a prestigious Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists Science Program Scholarship.
Submission to the Nature Repair Market Bill. pdf
ANU-UNSW research team submission to the Chubb Review. Link
Submission to a proposed National Biodiversity Market. pdf
Response to Question on Notice in the Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee Inquiry into the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Standards and Assurance) Bill 2021 (“the Bill”) pdf
Submission to the Independent Review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. pdf
Federal Govt proposes certificate scheme to promote biodiversity. ABC News.
What are biodiversity credits and how do they work? ABC News.
Honest Government Ad | Carbon Credits & Offsets. YouTube
My Research Supervision
Patrick Lucas (Doctor of Philosophy), Associate supervisor (with Dr Katie Moon and Prof Deborah Blackman) Thesis title: The social construction of property rights across governance scales and the implications for biodiversity conservation in Australia
Natasha Cadenhead (Doctor of Philosophy; University of Queensland), Associate Supervisor (with Professor Martine Maron, Dr Prue Addison, Professor Brendan Wintle) Thesis title: Making businesses work for biodiversity: Decision-support tools for integrating biodiversity conservation into the finance sector
Dharana Nepal (Doctor of Philosophy), Primary supervisor (with A/Professor James Rooney). Governance arrangements, use and availability of economic and financial information for decision making on ecosystems investments
John Verhoeven (Doctor of Philosophy), Primary supervisor (with Professor Stuart Khan). An integrated basin-scale blue-green algae strategy for the 21st century.
Madeline Combe (Doctor of Philosophy; University of Technology, Sydney), Associate supervisor (with Professor Deborah Cotton, Professor Kathy Walsh). Nature finance.
Completed supervision
My Teaching