About the Contributors
Dr Roger Attwater
Roger Attwater is Director, Environmental Sustainability in the Division of Operations and Commercial, Western Sydney University. His team oversees Western’s Environmental Sustainability Action Plan, related initiatives and Living Lab engagement opportunities. Core areas of current focus include climate action, incorporating nature-based solutions, and increasing circular economy opportunities. Roger has Honours and Master’s degrees from the University of Western Australia, and a PhD from the Australian National University. Early in his career he worked with Landcare and Integrated Catchment Management in WA, followed by PhD fieldwork in Thailand, work with WSU’s Centre for Integrated Catchment Management, being a Guest Professor of the Peoples Republic of China, and a project with the Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute. Roger lives in the Blue Mountains with his family, and endeavours to be a systemic practitioner.
Ms Emma Boddington
Emma Boddington works as an Outreach and Engagement Librarian at Western Sydney University, and has extensive experience across a range of academic, media and cultural libraries. In her Outreach and Engagement role, Emma facilitates innovative programs, events and exhibitions that connect with clients, community, and collections. With her co-lead Bhadra Chandran, Emma has organised and delivered a total of twenty-four Thought Leadership events to date, creating opportunities for community connection, dialogue and knowledge sharing between Western Sydney University researchers, community partners and a diverse and growing audience.
Ms Bhadra Chandran
Bhadra Chandran is working as an Outreach and Engagement Librarian at Western Sydney University (WSU) Library. In this pivotal role, she spearheads outreach initiatives and educational programs, fostering collaboration between the WSU community and external partners. Bhadra co-leads the “Thought Leadership Event Series,” which focuses on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, bringing together WSU researchers and guest speakers to discuss impactful work with a broad audience. With over 20 years of experience in academic, research, public, and special libraries across Australia, New Zealand, and India, Bhadra’s extensive background is complemented by a Master’s in Library and Information Science (MLIS), a Master’s in Economics (MA Econ), a Bachelor’s in Education (B Ed), and a research-focused Postgraduate Diploma in Management Systems. Her career includes significant managerial and leadership roles within academic and public libraries. Bhadra’s expertise in information and digital literacy is demonstrated through her workshops and presentations for students, academics, and researchers. Her work bridges academic departments and library services, aligning with WSU’s teaching, learning, and research priorities.
Ms Jen Dollin
Jen Dollin is the Director, Sustainability Education and Partnerships in the Office of the Pro-Vice Chancellor Learning and Teaching. Jen lives and works on Dharug Country in Western Sydney and provides leadership and oversight of Western’s institutional sustainability ambitions both regionally and globally, sustainability and United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2030 agenda reporting as well as high profile sustainability partnerships and major curriculum development initiatives. She has over 20 years’ experience of working with grassroots community groups and developing participatory, innovative approaches to collaborating with diverse human and more-than-human communities. Her research interests focus on multispecies ethnography, ecofeminism, rivers, freshwater anguillid eels and transdisciplinary and transformative learning.
Prof Susanne Gannon
Susanne Gannon is Professor of Education and Associate Dean Research in the School of Education at Western Sydney University. She researches equity issues in education, particularly focusing on gender, poverty, and diversity in secondary schooling. Professor Gannon has pioneered innovative qualitative methodologies, notably collective biography and autoethnography, and employs a wide range of interpretivist methodologies, including narrative, visual, and discourse analysis. She has led and designed mixed-method research and has undertaken funded research projects, large consultancies, and competitive tendered research for regional, state, and federal education authorities. Professor Gannon led the recent Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery grant entitled “Gender Matters: Changing Policy and Practices in Australian Secondary Schools” and was a Chief Investigator on two earlier ARC grants. Professor Gannon collaborates internationally with researchers in Canada, the UK, Europe, and Latin America. She has authored more than 100 academic papers and coedited several books including Gender Un/Bound: Traversing Educational Possibilities (Routledge, 2025), and Resisting educational inequality: Reframing policy and practice in schools serving vulnerable communities (Routledge, 2018). Her scholarly contributions have significantly advanced understanding in her fields of expertise. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2182-3615
Ms Helga (Girschik) Griffin
The daughter of an Austrian railway engineer, Helga Girschik was apprehended in Iran with her family at the age of six and sent into an Australian internment prison camp (1941-46). Schooled in Melbourne, then married, Helga raised six children, thus delaying the completion of her B.A. degree (1975) with Honours in History (1983) and a Diploma in Secondary Teaching (1986) at institutions in Australia and Papua New Guinea. She taught and designed a Race Relations course at tertiary level in Townsville (1976 – 79) was briefly employed by the Federal Shadow Minister for immigration and Ethnic Affairs, Dr Moss Cass (1979), and became a research editor for the Australian Dictionary of Biography (1979-98) at the Australian National University in Canberra. She published her memoir, an urban and an edited history, and a batch of essays. She was on the executive committee of the Australian Human Rights Council (1979-80) and with the Independent Scholars’ Association of Australia (1999-2001). A precinct of the The Village in Townsville honours her for her urban history of Townville with “Griffin Way” (2016+). In ‘retirement’ Helga has worked on several academic projects. She has found Pedram Khosronejad’s absorbing “Germans from Persia” transformative in old age.
Jeffrey W Har
Jeffrey W. Har is the Digital Publishing Librarian at Western. He holds a Master’s in Library and Information Science (MLIS) and creates video content for the Library while managing its YouTube channel. He has assisted in the publishing of eight Western Open Books, overseeing book formatting and graphics work. In addition, he provides updates and graphics support for other departments across the university.
Ms Katie Hayes
Katie Hayes brings over 20 years of experience in the higher education sector, with a specialised focus on equity, diversity, and inclusion over the past 15 years. In her current role with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Katie’s work has focused on supporting the University’s strategic, governance, and policy frameworks to advance gender equity and foster systemic and cultural change. More recently, Katie also broadened her scope to include the University’s sustainability initiatives with the Sustainability Education and Partnerships team, guided by the UN Sustainable Development Goal 2030 (SDGs) framework. Her contributions extend to strategy and governance implementation frameworks, educational development, and community engagement projects, including initiatives such as the Hawkesbury-Nepean Waterkeeper Alliance. Katie’s work reflects her commitment to creating inclusive and sustainable systems that drive meaningful change across institutional and community landscapes.
A/Prof Stephen Healy
Stephen Healy is a geographer, an Associate Professor of Geography and Urban Studies, and a school-based member of the Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University. His current work encompasses three Australian Research Council projects centred around economies of waste and reuse, and climate adaptation. He is co-leading the Climate Ready in Social Housing Project with Professor Abby Mellick Lopes. He is co-author of Take Back the Economy: An Ethical Guide for Transforming our Communities with J.K. Gibson-Graham and Jenny Cameron, a key text in the Community Economies Research Network (CERN) an international network of action-research scholars, artists, and practitioners. He lives North of Sydney with his wife, son, and two chickens, and loves jiujitsu.
Prof Pedram Khosronejad
Professor Pedram Khosronejad is Curator – Exhibitions and Collection at Grafton Regional Gallery and an Adjunct Professor in the School of Social Science at Western Sydney University. He has nineteen years of intellectual and leadership experience around the world (France, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Japan, United States, Australia and Iran)—spanning curatorial and museum activities, teaching and research, and public engagement programs for several universities and cultural institutions. Between July 2020 and January 2023 Professor Khosronejad worked as the Curator of Persian Arts at Powerhouse Ultimo. Prior to this he was Associate Director of Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies at Oklahoma State University in the United States (2015–19) and the Goli Rais Larizadeh Chair of the Iran Heritage Foundation for the Anthropology of Iran in the Department of Social Anthropology at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland (2007–15). His curatorial, teaching and research activities to date have been multidisciplinary in scope, cutting across Visual Studies, Material Culture Studies, Curatorial Studies, and Visual Anthropology. Professor Khosronejad interests include questions of contemporary visual art, multidisciplinary curatorial approaches, museum migration collections, and the history of photography in relation to gender, sexuality, and race. In particular, he explores the manners by which art, memory, and material culture are bound up in, as well as influenced and altered by wider political, social, and cultural trends.
Ms Charina Kofod
Charina has over 20 years’ experience in university and public libraries. Most of her career has involved working with the communities in western Sydney. She joined Western Sydney University in 2024 as the Precinct Librarian for the East Precinct. In this role she provides guidance and strategic direction for the Outreach and Engagement team.
Ms Kitty Mach
Kitty Mach is a therapist with a unique passion for working with individuals with disabilities. As a neurodiverse clinician herself, she possesses a strong understanding and empathy towards her clients. Kitty obtained her degree in psychology from the University of Western Australia and has since then committed herself to helping those in need. She believes that every individual’s unique personality is what makes them special. In her free time, Kitty enjoys indulging in her favourite hobbies such as reading, drawing, and spending time with her cats.
Prof Abby Mellick Lopes
Abby Mellick Lopes is Professor of Social Design in the School of Design at the University of Technology, Sydney. Abby is a social design expert dedicated to addressing climate change and fostering sustainable cultures through engaged research partnerships. She co-founded the “Cooling the Commons” initiative, which brings an action research approach to the challenges of urban heat and social justice. She currently co-leads the ARC Linkage project “Living with Urban Heat: Becoming Climate-Ready in Social Housing” with Associate Professor Stephen Healy. Abby lives in southwest Sydney on beautiful Goolay’yari (Cooks River), which helps to keep locals cool during hot summers.
Dr Caroline Mills
Caroline has been an occupational therapist for 20 years, working with people with neurodevelopmental disability, particularly autism and intellectual disability in school and community settings. Caroline completed her PhD at The University of Sydney in 2018 and also holds a Master of Applied Linguistics from Macquarie University. She is currently a Senior Lecturer in occupational therapy at Western Sydney University. Her research and teaching focuses on co-designed initiatives and innovative technologies to improve the lives and participation of people with disability and other vulnerabilities in health, education and community settings. Caroline is a sought after speaker, often engaged to speak at National and International Conferences and other events. Caroline is an honorary allied health researcher within the South Western Sydney Local Health District (NSW Health) and serves on the Board of Directors for Macarthur Disability Services.
Prof Sebastian Pfautsch
Sebastian Pfautsch (PhD, GAICD) is a Professor of Urban Management and Planning at Western Sydney University. He is also the Deputy President of the Australasian Green Infrastructure Network, the peak body of the green infrastructure industry in Australia and New Zealand. With a background in forestry, plant ecophysiology and climate change impacts, he develops and verifies strategies that help cities to adapt to rising air temperatures. Sebastian’s projects won multiple awards for innovation, sustainability and technology. His high-quality research is documented in the form of 134 published works. He has generated more than $14 m research funding and is listed in the top 2% of scientists worldwide in Plant Biology and Ecology (Stanford Elsevier).
Mr Duncan Ross
Duncan Ross has been a data miner since the mid-1990s. As director of data and analytics at THE, he oversees a team that generates university rankings and related data products. Prior to this, he led Teradata’s data science team in Europe and Asia, where he was responsible for developing analytical solutions across a number of industries, including warranty and root-cause analysis in manufacturing and social network analysis in telecommunications.
Dr Michelle Ryan
Dr Ryan is a senior lecturer in ecology and environmental science, and she brings a wealth of expertise to this topic. Michelle holds an undergraduate degree in environmental management and has been actively contributing to universities and industry since completing her PhD in 2014. Her research interests delve into human impacts on aquatic environments with specific emphasis on the ecological health of freshwater systems and aquatic vertebrates. Currently, her research is centred on populations of platypus in Greater Sydney.
Ms Fiona Salisbury
Fiona Salisbury has been Executive Director of Library Services at Western Sydney University since 2022. Fiona joined Western from La Trobe University, where she served as Executive Director and University Librarian. She has a career track record of success that has spanned library learning, research, literacy, and engagement portfolios. Fiona has a deep, scholarly understanding of the role of the university library in the future of higher education and is highly regarded as having expertise in open textbook publishing. Fiona has been a Director on the Board of the Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL) since 2020. She is currently Deputy Chair of CAUL and the Program Director for the CAUL Open Educational Resources Program. This program includes the CAUL Open Educational Resources Collective, an open textbook publishing initiative involving 42 universities and has published 35 open textbooks since 2022.
Mr Jeff Scobie
Jeff Scobie has a Masters in Management and is the current CEO of Macarthur Disability Services (MDS). His passion for working with people with a disability started when working as a registered nurse in the early 1980s. Since then, he has worked in a variety of disability-related areas including direct support, staff training, behaviour intervention and support, and senior leadership positions. His passion for this work has seen him gain a wealth of experience in both government and the not-for-profit sectors and he now has over 40 years’ experience working to improve and deliver services for people with a disability.
Prof Danielle Tracey
Danielle is a Professor in the School of Education and the Translational Health Research Institute at Western Sydney University. Professor Tracey has a strong international reputation in the fields of educational and developmental psychology, disability studies, and evaluation. Her career objective is to understand and advance the physical, psychological, and social wellbeing of vulnerable people and communities, especially people with disabilities. She works in partnership with communities to construct and complete meaningful research that fosters real-world impact. This expertise is underpinned by her substantial experience as an educational and developmental psychologies and program manager in the community sector. Her most recent work sees her partnering with scholars in Papua New Guinea to achieve inclusion and participation for vulnerable children and communities.
Ms Lucy Walton
Lucy Walton has over 30 years of experience in academic and corporate libraries and is dedicated to fostering collaboration and advocating for inclusive publishing practices. She currently serves as the Scholarly Publishing Consultant at Western Sydney University, coordinating the Western Open Books service and leading various initiatives that empower individuals to navigate the dynamic landscape of scholarly communications. Lucy Walton is the author of “A Guide to Creative Commons” https://doi.org/10.61588/ZXHV8635 an open text available from the Western Open Books platform.
Dr Izabela Pereira Watts
Dr Izabela Pereira Watts is a former UN peacekeeper, multi-award winner, with an extensive career of 20 years of combined professional experience and academic know-how, and a robust aptitude for international security, sustainable development, and international cooperation. Her passion is demonstrated by several roles at renowned international organisations, such as the United Nations and the Organisation of American States, as well as with Governments and multinationals. Her experience in international affairs across Asia, Latin America, Africa and Europe intersects with advocacy, international security, project management, monitoring and evaluation, humanitarian affairs, research and strategic analysis. Beyond a Doctorate in International Relations, she also holds two master’s degrees in Economics and political science and in peace studies, respectively and an MBA in finance and investment. Her excellent verbal and written communication skills are evident through her fluency in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. Her expertise is also evidenced by the publication of several notable works, such as the book “Peace or Democracy: Dilemmas for Peacebuilding after Civil Wars” (2023 Routledge – UK). Awarded as the “Top 99 Young Professional World Leaders in Foreign Policy under 33” nomination by the Global Affairs Magazine, Diplomatic Courier (USA- 2013), “Premio Yunque 2007” for Educational Distinction and Humanitarian Work (Argentina) and nominated 4 consecutive times for OCTAL award by the University of Wollongong. She is also a Senior International Specialist for the Australian Federal Police.
A/Prof Jessica Weir
Dr Jessica K Weir is an Associate Professor at the Institute for Culture and Society, WSU, and a non-Indigenous scholar who investigates environmental issues and natural hazard risk through a lens that holds environment and society in intimate relation. Her award-winning scholarship rethinks nature and what counts as evidence about nature, innovating in areas traditionally investigated by the natural sciences. She also investigates the policy and regulatory consequences of co-located Indigenous and non-Indigenous jurisdictions. This research program is fundamentally informed by over two decades of collaboration with Indigenous leaders in Australia. Her disciplinary reach is evidenced in reviews of her work in geography, ecology, sociology, Aboriginal studies and political science journals. She has published over 55 peer-reviewed articles/chapters, three edited books, one short book and a monograph. Jessica also prioritises non-traditional research outputs, such as training for public servants and collaborations with artists. Jessica is currently a node leader in the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Research Centre. In addition to her academic career, Jessica has worked in government, private sector and community positions in Australia, Bangladesh and Thailand.