Melissa first joined Alexandra Headlands SLSC in 2000 and later joined Townsville Picnic Bay SLSC when she relocated to North Queensland to undertake her PhD. As an active member of the surf life saving movement in south-east and regional Queensland, she has held numerous roles at the club and branch level. She has also been part of advisory committees at the state and national level related to diversity and the environment.

Now based in Brisbane, Mel is a marine scientist with over 20 years’ experience. Throughout her career, she has contributed to the development, implementation and monitoring of multi-tiered government strategic plans and policy to address the greatest threats to the marine environment, with a primary focus on climate change. She enjoys collaborating across her networks to broker knowledge and orchestrate partnerships that deliver on ground actions with measurable impacts.

Mel is an active member of the environment profession, championing best practice and the involvement of women in science and technical roles. She is also an experienced not-for-profit board member.