Plenaries
Plenary 1 | Wildlife behavioural responses to a changing world
Professor Bob Wong
Bob Wong is a Professor of behavioural and evolutionary ecology based in the School of Biological Sciences at Monash University, Australia. Bob received his PhD from the Australian National University and undertook postdoctoral fellowships at Boston University and the University of Helsinki before joining Monash. Research in Bob’s Group focuses on how human-induced environmental change affects wildlife behaviour, ecology and evolution. Work undertaken in the group encompasses a wide range of species, including insects, crustaceans, reptiles, birds, and fish.
Plenary 2 | Science for monitoring the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework
Professor Emily Nicholson
Professor in Conservation Biology, ARC Future Fellow
School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences,
The University of Melbourne
Professor Emily Nicholson is a conservation scientist, whose work has impacts on conservation policy and practice at global and local levels. Her research interests include biodiversity monitoring and risk assessment, conservation decision-making, and ecosystem science. She co-leads the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems thematic group in the Commission on Ecosystem Management, and is a member of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on indicators for the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, and UN Statistics Division working groups on ecosystem accounting. She has >100 scientific publications, including in Nature and Science, cited over 7800 times, and has been awarded $9M in external competitive grants, including an Australia Research Council Future Fellowship, Discovery grant, and four Linkage grants.
Plenary 3 | A Tale of Two Biodiversities: Patterns of Diversity and Endemism in SE. Australia’s Under-Appreciated Terrestrial Invertebrates
Dr Nicholas Porch
Senior Lecturer
Nick is Senior Lecturer in Environmental Science in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at Deakin University. His research focuses on how humans have altered Indo-Pacific Island biodiversity over millennia (using palaeoecology) and SE. Australian invertebrate biodiversity, especially beetles. He is lucky to have four beetles, an assassin spider, a pincushion millipede, and a lace bug named in his honour.
Plenary 4 | Transforming research into impact: seals as ecosystem sentinels
Dr Rebecca McIntosh
Phillip Island Nature Parks
Rebecca is a Senior Scientist with Phillip Island Nature Parks and has worked on the ecology and demography of marine predators for over 20 years, with a focus on seals as sentinels of ocean change.
Rebecca completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Melbourne and her PhD at La Trobe University on the endangered Australian sea lion. Rebecca is also passionate about marine invertebrates and all things feathered.
With a love of remote islands, Rebecca explores how populations change in response to their environment. There is a focus on state-of the-art technology, community engagement and mitigation of anthropogenic threats. Projects are multi-disciplined and collaborative, including Traditional Owners, industry partners, social scientists and creative communicators.
Panel Discussion 1
Wednesday 12th: At VicBioCon 2025, our first expert panel will be discussing the following topic:
Dealing with ecoanxiety: maintaining optimism and passion for our work
Panellists:
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Kate Phillips (Senior Curator, Science Exhibitions, Museums Victoria Research Institute)
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Jessie Panazzolo (Founder, Lonely Conservationists & Conservationist Care)
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Dr Charles Le Feuvre (Psychology for a Safe Climate)
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Dr Ascelin Gordon (Senior Lecturer in the Sustainability and Urban Planning program, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT)
Moderator: Astrid O'Connor (PhD Candidate, Monash University)
Kate Phillips
Senior Curator, Science Exhibitions
Museums Victoria Research Institute
Kate is a museum communicator specializing in science-based projects that explore our dynamic, interconnected planet. She has curated 20 major exhibitions, and recent projects include the Gandel Gondwana Garden, the Museums Victoria Research Institute Gallery, and Youth Climate Cafés. Climate Cafes bring together science and mental health experts with young people to discuss climate concerns and connect with others in a supportive environment.
Jessie Panazzolo
Founder
Lonely Conservationists & Conservationist Care
Starting out as an terrestrial ecologist and environmental educator, Jessie Panazzolo now considers herself to be one of the world's few conservationist conservationists. In 2019, she founded the global community, Lonely Conservationists, where she provides resources, a safe space, and a voice to marginalised, exploited, and burnt out environmentalists. In this time she has published two books, How to Conserve Conservationists and The Secret Life of Conservationists and has taken the subject of conservationist care to global forums such as the World Species Congress. When Jessie isn't working on her plight to care for conservationists, she is working her day job coordinating programs and community platforms for women and non-binary individuals with a background in STEMM.
Dr Charles Le Feuvre
Psychology for a Safe Climate
Charles Le Feuvre is a psychiatrist and psychotherapist in private practice in Melbourne. He was Chair of the Psychotherapy Section of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists.
He has been interested in psychological and other perspectives on the natural environment and the climate and ecological crisis for many years.
For 14 years he has been involved with Psychology for a Safe Climate (PSC), initially Melbourne based, now Australia wide, which aims to support people emotionally in facing the climate reality. He is Senior Adviser. He has been involved in running workshops, speaking and writing on their behalf. PSC has worked with a range of people including researchers, activists, organizations and communities.
Dr Ascelin Gordon
Senior Lecturer in the Sustainability and Urban Planning program, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT
Ascelin's research interests have focused on developing quantitative and qualitative approaches for understanding the impacts of environmental policies and programs on biodiversity values. He has undertaken extensive research on biodiversity offsetting, impact evaluation, conservation planning, and private land conservation. Ascelin is also a meditation teacher and facilitates workshops to help participates work with their eco-grief.
Astrid O'Connor
PhD Student
Monash University
Astrid O’Connor (she/they) is a pile of bones masquerading as an evolutionary biology PhD student at Monash University and a Blender necromancer of extinct Australian animal reconstructions.
A science communicator at heart with a passion for showcasing the ways that open-source art and animation software can bring research to life, Astrid loves teaching workshops and working at the annual dinosaur dig in Inverloch.
Astrid’s current research sees her unraveling the relationships between the shapes and functions of flippers in the locomotion of all marine tetrapods from whales, to plesiosaurs, to penguins.
Panel Discussion 2
Thursday 13th: At VicBioCon 2025, our second expert panel will be discussing the following topic:
Decolonising management
Panellists:
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Gemma Cadd (Conservation Intern, Wildlife Conservation and Science Team, Zoos Victoria)
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Kasia Gabrys (Advisor Governance and Projects, Reconciliation Action Plan Working Group, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria)
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Kelly Ann Blake (Returning Spirit back to Country/Biodiversity Project Officer, Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation)
- Clancy Lester (Native Bee Hotels)
Moderator: Connor Wright (Masters Student, University of Melbourne)
Gemma Cadd
Conservation Intern, Wildlife Conservation and Science Team, Zoos Victoria
Gemma Cadd is a proud Yorta Yorta - Dja Dja Wurung women. She has undertaken five years of study, completing a Bachelor of Veterinary and Wildlife Science, a Masters of Conservation Biology and a Cert III in Conservation and Ecosystem Management for First Nations/Torres Strait Islanders. Gemma has, from a young age, dreamt of working with animals.
Gemma has grown up with culture her whole life. An important aspect she is very passionate about is Caring for Country. Gemma's passion for wildlife and her connection to Country influenced her decision to seek a career in Wildlife Conservation to help manage and save many of Australia's endangered species. She is currently a Conservation Intern with the Wildlife Conservation and Science Team at Zoos Victoria, helping to conserve Victoria’s threatened species.
Kasia Gabrys
Advisor Governance and Projects
Reconciliation Action Plan Working Group
Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria
Kasia Gabrys is a Social and Environmental Management professional with over 25 years cross-cultural environmental program experience gained across Australia, the Pacific and South-East Asia. Kasia’s work is focused on being an ally, co-designer and implementer of often complex socio-environmental and cross-cultural programs. Her strength is in building organisational and community partnerships for collaborative bio-cultural and socio-economic sustainable development solutions. This has included working with over 70 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clan groups across the NT, Queensland and Victoria in joint management of protected areas, reconciliation and various socio-environmental cross-cultural projects. Her current role at the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria as Advisor Governance and Projects, has involved working closely with Traditional Owners of the Gardens’ two sites, and First Peoples staff in the co-development and implementation of the Gardens first, and second Reconciliation Action Plan.
Kelly Ann Blake
Returning Spirit back to Country/Biodiversity Project Officer
Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation
Kelly Ann Blake is a Proud Wadawurrung woman living on DjaaraCountry. Kelly Ann graduated from La Trobe University in 2023 and holds a Master of Professional Archaeology. Kelly Ann is an active researcher in academia and currently works in the Biocultural/Biodiversity space as the Returning Spirit back to Country/Biodiversity Project Officer with Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation. Kelly Ann’s passion is reawakening sleeping Cultural knowledges most significantly through her work with Darrwal/Kaal Kaal Murrup (Dingo Spirit). Kelly Ann believes in the weaving of traditional cultural knowledge with western science in order to heal and care for Country-lands, Skies, and Waters, plants and animals. By walking together in true partnership and through meaningful collaboration we can heal Country together for a better future for all-Koling Wada ngitj-Let's walk together.
Clancy Lester
Native Bee Hotels
Clancy is a non-indigenous man from Yorta Yorta land in Northern Victoria who grew up obsessed with Steve Irwin and David Attenbourouhg. He was lucky enough to bring his dreams to life and be a part of a 2-way knowledge exchange in collaboration with and for the Yolŋu First Nation.
Clancy investigated trends with declines in native bees and the güku (honey) harvests of stingless bees. Supervised by Prof. Mayfield, and Dr. Rachele Wilson, used pollen from captured bees to identify through DNA metabarcoding the flowers they visit, and in doing so, we hope to paint a picture of the region’s plant-pollinator interactions.
Clancy is now a 2025 ABC Trailblazer aiming to educate regional and rural communities and schools on pollinators and environmental education.
Connor Wright
Masters Student
Connor is studying a Master of Environment and a Wattle Fellow at the University of Melbourne. Previously he completed a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Chemistry, and is deeply passionate about climate change stemming from both his connection as a proud Larrakia man and from his previous work as a sustainability consultant.
Connor primarily works on Climate Change, Indigenous representation and equitability policy. In 2024 Connor was appointed as the Australian Climate Change delegate for the Y20 where he represented the views of the Australian youth in advocating for change in global climate policy for the G20 summit.
Outside of this Connor is also an outreach demonstrator with the Melbourne Indigenous Transition School (MITS) helping to teach science to Indigenous students from remote communities. Additionally, he tutors various subjects at The University of Melbourne.
