Meet our speakers
Chris McCormack (Chair)
Chris McCormack is North West Project Manager at Trust for Nature. He is co-founder and managing director of Australia’s first nature connection charity, Remember The Wild. He has a background in ecology and marine biology, and is currently studying a PhD in conservation psychology; investigating the links between narrative and connection with nature. Chris is a passionate communicator who enjoys telling stories about the natural world through a variety of mediums, including; film, podcasts, and more.
Dr Kylie Soanes
Dr. Kylie Soanes is an Australian scientist on a mission to save nature in our cities and towns. A leading expert in her field, she collaborates with councils, community groups, engineers and architects to make real change for nature cities – and has experienced first-hand the power of story-telling to influence conservation action in impossible places.
Annette Ruzicka
Annette is an award-winning visual storyteller dedicated to telling stories for the good of the Australian environment and conservation sector, be that our unique species, landowners protecting their patch or our First Nations people, whose thousands of years of knowledge are critical to healing Country. Her work has been published both in Australia and abroad including the New York Times (about bats, her favourite!), the London Sunday Times, the Guardian and Australian Geographic where she is a regular contributor. In short, it is her love of the natural world and her admiration of those who “do their bit” that is the purpose behind her work.
Dr Jen Martin
Associate Professor Jen Martin studied the sex lives of possums before founding the University of Melbourne’s Science Communication Teaching Program which teaches scientists across all disciplines to be engaging and effective communicators. She also practises what she preaches: she’s been talking about science each week on 3RRR radio for nearly 20 years, hosts podcasts (including Let’s Talk SciComm), MCs events, writes for a variety of publications, was named the 2019 Unsung Hero of Australian Science Communication and is Ambassador for The Wilderness Society’s Nature Book Week. Jen’s first popular science book, ‘Why am I like this? The science behind your weirdest thoughts and habits’ was published by Hardie Grant in 2024.
Associate Professor Jen Martin studied the sex lives of possums before founding the University of Melbourne’s Science Communication Teaching Program which teaches scientists across all disciplines to be engaging and effective communicators. She also practises what she preaches: she’s been talking about science each week on 3RRR radio for nearly 20 years, hosts podcasts (including Let’s Talk SciComm), MCs events, writes for a variety of publications, was named the 2019 Unsung Hero of Australian Science Communication and is Ambassador for The Wilderness Society’s Nature Book Week. Jen’s first popular science book, ‘Why am I like this? The science behind your weirdest thoughts and habits’ was published by Hardie Grant in 2024.