Speaker Bios

Max (he/him) is one of Australia’s most sought after facilitators, trainers and engagement practitioners. He regularly delivers workshops and masterclasses on Deliberative processes at conferences and for the professional development programs of the Municipal Association of Victoria, IAP2 and Collaboration for Impact.  

Renowned internationally for his skilful design and facilitation of community engagement processes, Max has developed innovative models for collaboration and community engagement, for which he has won numerous national and international awards.

Max has co-authored two books, presented papers at numerous international conferences, is a Fellow of IAP2, and a regular collaborator with the Tamarack Institute, Canada. Recently Max teamed with collaborators to form Authentic Co-design, delivering online self-paced training and mentoring services.

An experienced conflict resolver, facilitator, communicator and coach, Rikki (she/her) works with individuals and organisations to develop leadership, resolve conflict, improve communications and effectively engage stakeholders. Rikki is passionate about values-basedleadership and co-creating programs that result in real change. Alongside her consulting work, Rikki maintains university teaching and research appointments in Tasmania and Queensland.

Rikki's strengths include her capacity to understand whole systems, to synthesise information quickly and turn complex and entrenched problems into innovative, creative solutions. She works alongside her clients to scope their needs, co design and nuance interventions, processes, and to deliver on agreed objectives. As well as group facilitation, Rikki offers court-connected restorative conferencing as well as private mediation and conciliation services.

Rikki also brings a portfolio of board and governance experience serving on various Boards for the past 17 years. She loves working with leaders at all levels as well as on the ground in the community to transform people, systems and bring about real change. 

Jessica’s (she/her) mission is to help Tasmanians shape a climate safe and thriving future. Bringing more than fifteen years of experience in climate change and sustainability, Jessica is focused on how we can mobilise climate leaders across Hobart to respond to the global climate and biodiversity emergency. After a decade of working with island leaders around the world, Jessica has learnt first hand how the world's smallest communities can be the incubators of solutions to climate change. She brings this island worldview and rich experience in leadership, collaboration and systems change. In her spare time you will find her running in the wilderness of lutrawita.

Jess Grace-Conroy (she/her) has worked in community development and communications for development for over 15 years. Jess now works as Community Engagement Officer with the City of Hobart.

Jess believes that access to information and having a democratic voice are human rights, and this belief is what drives her work. Every person has something valuable to contribute to our society. And through community engagement, Jess works to ensure the City is listening to Hobart’s diverse community in accessible and inclusive ways.

Jess has lived and worked in France, Cambodia, Hong Kong and throughout Asia and the Pacific region.

David (he/him) is a design and innovation specialist who works with communities and organisations to imagine and build the inclusive, resilient and creative systems we need to thrive in a changing world. David brings over a decade of experience designing solutions that put people and planet first – including redesigning learning platforms with First Nations young people around Australia; innovating out of crisis with earthquake-affected communities in Nepal; and shaping local initiatives in humanitarian action, urban resilience and climate transitions. He is currently working with the City of Hobart to support government and community to innovate together on systemic urban challenges.

Dr Mel Fitzpatrick is a climate scientist and educator, who over the last two decades has concentrated on effective communication of climate science to both policymakers and the general public.

A specialist in polar and alpine research, Mel has worked for the Australian Antarctic Program, the US Antarctic Program, and in the Department of Earth and Space Sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle. Mel was an expert reviewer for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, contributing to the reports in both 2001 and 2007, and also worked for six years at the Union of Concerned Scientists as part of a small team developing a series of climate impact reports used for outreach and education in coastal and mountain areas.

Mel now works in the education sector, contributes as a member of the Climate Futures Portfolio Committee and continues to be passionate about bridging science and policy. 

Kathleen is Director of the Climate Futures Research Group, and Senior Lecturer in Climate Impacts and Adaptation in the School of Geography and Spatial Sciences at the University of Tasmania. She is passionate about delivering innovative, complex and integrated climate impacts and adaptation research. Kathleen’s research aims to improve our understanding of the past, present and future climate and the impacts of climate change on communities and the environment. Her broad research interests are in climate change impacts on human health, social systems, infrastructure, urban environments, energy efficiency, biosecurity, invasive species ecology, ecosystem resilience and biodiversity. Her recent work has centred around the design and development of regionally downscaled climate projections to deliver fit-for-purpose climate data, tools and products for climate-resilient planning.

Ellen (she/her) has worked across Australia and internationally. She is one of the company’s leaders in housing policy and climate change adaptation and mitigation. Ellen is a popular public speaker and media commentator. 

Ellen has over 20 years of experience in consultancy. She has extensive experience in governance, community strategies and business case preparation. 

She has worked with over twenty councils and with state governments. She advises about how to build community resilience and adapt to the impacts of coastal erosion, riverine flooding, loss of snow (Alpine resorts), bushfire and other impacts. 

Philip is a Hobart-based economist and Managing Director of SPR.  He has worked in the climate change and energy fields – locally, in Canberra, and overseas – for nearly 40 years including:

• Contributing to Australia’s first National Greenhouse Response Strategy in the late ‘80s
• Negotiating on international agreements (eg, the Kyoto Protocol) in the early ‘90s
• Help to set up and lead the Australian Greenhouse Office in the late ‘90s/early 2000s
• Rolling out key emissions abatement measures such as the Renewable Energy Target, energy efficiency standards and programs, building codes, etc

These days Philip is semi-retired, but still leads key projects such as:

• Scenario-based forecasting for the Australian Energy Market Operator
• New policy development for the Australian Government
• Energy and emissions monitoring for the Tasmanian Government
• Zero emissions strategies for communities and regions.

Mark Joseph (he/him) has worked in community arts, community education and local government, on the mainland and in Tasmania, for over 30 years. 

His work has included designing and delivering creative environmentally focused arts and education projects for inner city and regional communities, through to managing youth centres, facilitating grants programs as well as developing and delivering community events and activations, all with a focus on enhancing and building opportunities for social connection. 

He is currently the Inclusive City Program Leader at the City of Hobart, which includes responsibility for community halls, the City’s homelessness response, supporting positive ageing facilities and programs, as well as the City’s work with the LGBTIQ+ community.

I currently work as an Open Space Planner at Hobart City Council, including the strategic planning and management of open space, bushland, reserves and street trees.

I have a Master’s degree in Environmental Management at UTAS, where I researched ‘nature-based solutions’ for climate change adaptation, using urban greening in the City of Launceston as a case-study. 

I have an undergraduate bachelor’s degree (honours) in Urban and Regional Planning (aka town planning) from RMIT and worked in the town planning industry for approximately 8 years. This involved working with urban designers, architects, engineers, ecologists and heritage experts (among many others) to plan the city and new developments. If you’re familiar with the game Sim City, then you have good idea.

I am the vice-president of the UTAS Landcare Society, a young-adult focused group involved in restoration projects across Tasmania.

I completed a research internship with a rainforest restoration project in the Daintree Rainforest, Far North Queensland, Australia’s largest (and the world’s oldest) tropical rainforest. This included planning, research, management and community engagement activities.