In the beginning...
Board of Directors
Dr Theresa Jones - VIC Chair
Therésa Jones is a Senior Lecturer in Behaviour and
Evolutionary Ecology and Leader of the Urban Light
Lab in the School of BioSciences. She is interested in
understanding the ecological impact of artificial light
at night on the fitness of individual animals and their
communities. She addresses this using a variety of species including crickets, spiders, swans, willie wagtails and the eastern grey kangaroo. Research from the Urban Light lab has linked artificial light at night with reductions in immune function, reproductive success and survival. The Urban light lab engages widely with diverse stakeholders regarding their lighting strategies.
Dr Ken Wishaw - QLD
Dr Ken Wishaw is a retired medical specialist (anaesthesia and critical care). He is an honorary senior fellow and adjunct professor at the University of the Sunshine Coast. He is the Secretary of the Brisbane Astronomical Society, and recently completed a post-graduate certificate in Astronomy at the University of Southern Queensland.
Dr Kellie Pendoley - WA
Kellie has over three decades of experience in the
environmental management of large-scale oil and gas developments, both in Australia and overseas. With her extensive knowledge of marine turtle biology and ecology, Kellie has designed and implemented an array of programs that manage industrial activities in the vicinity of marine turtle habitats. Her work with marine turtles led to a special interest in monitoring and modelling light pollution, spending over 25 years in R&D of novel technology and techniques to quantify biologically meaningful light and educating industry and regulators on the issue.
Landon Bannister - TA -
Technical Committee Chair
Landon Bannister has been working in the lighting industry for over 20 years and is a passionate advocate for the important role lighting plays in the human experience of the built environment. He is a member of the Illuminating Engineering Society as well as the International Dark- Sky Association and is actively involved in lighting education.
Peter Swanton - ACT
Peter Swanton is a Gamilaraay man from Mackay, QLD. Peter graduated from The Australian National University in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Physics, specialising in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Peter’s work in astronomy initially began with research around black holes and cosmology, but he has since shifted his focus to cultural astronomy and dark sky preservation. Peter’s work will highlight the scientific importance of Indigenous star knowledges, and what we need to do in order to preserve these knowledges on Country, as well as in the night sky.
Founder - Marnie Ogg - NSW
Marnie’s started at the grassroots of the travel industry building her own company, taking people around the world to visit places of scientific interest. She managed Sydney Observatory before devoting her time to one of her passions: preserving the night sky. In July 2016 Marnie succesfully saw the Warrumbungle National Park designated as Australia's first Dark Sky Park. Since then she has spent her time re-engaging people with the natural heritage of the night sky and reducing the impacts of lighting pollution. In 2017, Marnie was awarded the Dark Sky Defender Award, presented by the International Dark-Sky Association.
Dr Richard McDermid - NSW - Treasurer
Richard is a Senior Lecturer and ARC Future Fellow researcher in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Macquarie University. His research interests are in galaxy formation and evolution, with particular interest in galaxy dynamics, stellar populations, and supermassive black holes. Richard also helps develop instrumentation for astronomy, and is currently Project Scientist for MAVIS - a proposed instrument for ESO's VLT. He is an Astronomy and Astrophysics Degree Director, looking after the academic interests of astronomy Major students and coordinating the astronomy curriculum at Macquarie. He teaches astrophysics, and convenes the astronomy 'PACE' unit (Professional And Community Engagement) where students undertake professional placements related to their degree.
Dr Jen Martin - VIC
Dr Jen Martin spent many years working as a field ecologist until she decided the most useful thing she could contribute as a scientist was to teach other scientists how to be effective and engaging communicators. Jen founded and leads the University of Melbourne's acclaimed Science Communication Teaching Program. Jen also practices what she preaches: she’s been talking about science each week on 3RRR radio for 15 years, writes for a variety of publications, MC’s events and was named the Unsung Hero of Australian Science Communication for 2019.
Dr Bridgette Farnworth - NZ
Bridgette Farnworth has a PhD in Behavioural Ecology & Conservation Biology from the University of Waikato, New Zealand. Bridgette’s research background involves assessing the foraging behaviour of rodents, with a particular focus on understanding how wild rats respond to changes in light at night and the activity of wÄ“ta (a large, flightless orthopteran native to New Zealand) under illumination. Internationally, Bridgette has experience surveying mammals with the Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment (DPIPWE) and is a board member of the Animal Behavior Society’s Conservation Behavior Committee. At home in New Zealand, Bridgette has enjoyed working with a broad range of native species, including New Zealand dotterels, kiwi, blue ducks and carnivorous land snails... though her favourite animal remains the rat.
The Australasian Dark Sky Alliance accepts difference and diversity. In fact, we encourage it in our environment, man-made and biological. We know that healthy environments are those rich with variety - this is reflected in our employees, board, volunteers, products, and community. ADSA is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.
