Our People
Our Board and Executive Leadership provide strategic and operational oversight of the company and ensure this is aligned with our vision and values.
Our Board
Dr Matt Francey
Group CEO
Matt is a prominent figure in urban water and natural resource management. As the CEO of Alluvium Group and a Director of EcoFutures, Alluvium International, Mosaic Insights and Natural Capital & Climate. Matt brings extensive experience from a government, scientific and community perspective to leading the Alluvium Group.<br> <br>Under Matt's leadership, the Alluvium Group has become a thought leader in the industry. His innovative approach to policy development and management has significantly advanced environmental practices. Matt's commitment to integrating scientific research with practical solutions, including the development of Alluviums internal research program and NfP foundation has enabled the Alluvium Group to deliver impactful projects that address critical environmental challenges.<br> <br>Matt's vision for the Alluvium Group focuses on collaboration and innovation. He believes in harnessing the collective expertise of scientists, economists, engineers, and natural resource managers to develop solutions that benefit both the environment and the community. This collaborative ethos is reflected in the Alluvium Group's diverse team and their multidisciplinary approach to project delivery.<br> <br>As a leading thinker in the field, Matt continues to drive the Alluvium Group's principles and vision. His dedication to excellence and his ability to inspire and lead his team have made the Alluvium Group a trusted partner for clients and the wider industry seeking innovative and effective environmental solutions.
Professor Barry Hart
Director
Barry is a recognised leader in the science of catchment and water resource management, and well known for his efforts in developing knowledge-based decision-making processes in natural resource management throughout Australia and South-East Asia.<br><br>Barry brings to Alluvium a strong academic background. He was appointed an Emeritus Professor by Monash University and previously was Director of the Monash University Water Studies Centre and Research Director of the CRC for Freshwater Ecology.<br><br>Barry was a member of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority Board for 9 years (2009-2018) and, amongst many other past appointments, has had leadership roles on the Commonwealth Environmental Water Scientific Advisory Panel, the Great Barrier Reef Water Quality Partnership Science Advisory Panel and the Gippsland Lakes and Catchment Task Force. In 2003, Barry received a Centenary Medal for services to water quality management and environmental protection. He was also made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in June 2012.<br><br>Barry plays a key role on the Board and in our business through mentoring staff and helping us to deliver the best possible science in our work.
Jan Orton
General Manager – Mosaic Insights
Jan is the General Manager of Mosaic Insights, she is a well-respected and recognised champion, leader and strategist for liveability, sustainability and natural resource management.<br><br>Over her 30 year career in local government and consulting, Jan has worked alongside communities, elected representatives, state and federal government agencies, researchers and private interests on urban greening including open space and recreation, urban forestry, canopy analysis, and adaptation and resilience; water and catchments, public domain design and management, market research, evaluation, community led resilience planning. institutional capacity and evaluation, policy and strategy, and developing the evidence base for science-led decision making.<br><br>Jan has led change in numerous areas of sustainability and land management and been recognised through many awards. In 2008 Jan was named the public sector manager of the year by the Institute of Public Administration Australia for her leadership and impact in applying research around integrated urban water management to the local government sector. <br><br>Jan has extensive experience in engaging communities and other stakeholders in public land / public interest plans. Jan has expanded the craft of collaborative planning across recreation, rivers, open space, infrastructure and services. Her strengths lay in using available evidence from a wide range of sources, sectors and experiences bringing together diverse groups, interests and disciplines to address what are often complex NRM and urban management issues. <br><br>Jan has held senior management positions in local government and in consulting, she has managed and led large and diverse teams across environment and sustainability, parks and recreation, waste and recycling, works and infrastructure. <br><br>Jan has completed the Australian Institute of Company Directors course which has expended her knowledge and application of best practice governance and reinforced the importance of stakeholders’ involvement in good decision making.
Management
Dr Paul Maxwell
General Manager – EcoFutures
Paul is a coastal ecologist and natural resource management specialist with 20 years experience working for state government, universities and not-for-profit organisations. He has had extensive experience in developing and implementing environmental, social and economic monitoring and research programs across Australia for local councils, natural resource management organisations and water utilities. He is an experienced project manager in the fields of coastal habitat management and assessment; water quality and river health management; water resource management; monitoring and evaluation; science translation and communication and stakeholder and community engagement.<br><br>Paul is the Research and Development lead for Alluvium. Throughout his career he has focused on developing better links between the best science and practitioners and has maintained an active research profile by partnering with university and industry researchers nationally and internationally. He has been involved in a diverse range of research projects which has led to extensive publications in top-tier journals in the fields of environmental management, ecological resilience, biodiversity conservation, environmental chemistry and marine and freshwater ecology. His research and monitoring outputs have directly influenced state and local government policies.
Our Team
Dr Ben Gawne
Ben Gawne is a freshwater ecologist with extensive experience generating, synthesising and communicating knowledge to support the adaptive management of water resources. For over 25 years Ben has collaborated in the planning, implementation and evaluation of significant river restoration initiatives including the Living Murray and the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. For much of his career he led a research joint venture between the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA), Commonwealth Government CSIRO and La Trobe University. He subsequently led planning and implementation of the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder’s long-term intervention monitoring project that involved collaboration among six multi-disciplinary teams across the Basin. Ben also led the 2020 Basin Plan evaluation for the MDBA. Prior to joining the MDBA, Ben held academic appointments with the University of Canberra, La Trobe University and CSIRO where he led and collaborated in applied research designed to improve manager’s capacity to effectively and efficiently restore the rivers, floodplains and wetlands of the Murray-Darling Basin. These roles included participation in the application of the best available science to the planning, monitoring and evaluation of environmental flows and ecosystem condition.
Dr Emily Saeck
Emily is an aquatic ecologist and science engagement specialist with 20 years’ experience working within universities and not-for-profit organisations. She has extensive project management experience in water quality and catchment health management, monitoring and evaluation, science translation and communication, partnership management and stakeholder engagement.<br><br>Emily is recognised for her strong skills in science communication and partnership management in a NRM setting. She has extensive experience co-ordinating projects that bring together stakeholders from diverse background (academic, government, industry), working with them to identify and synthesise common understanding and needs; and collaboratively developing and designing solutions.<br><br>Comfortable leading and delivering multiple-disciplinary scientific and applied projects, she has extensive experience working alongside a diversity of experts including coastal ecologists, social scientists, environmental economists, catchment modellers, statisticians, spatial analysts, science communicators, conservation biologists and land restoration experts.<br><br>Emily has long history of working within South East Queensland and its catchments, having worked on multiple projects across this region. Notably working for five years as lead co-ordinator for the region’s flagship partnership program: the Ecosystem Health Monitoring Program (EHMP) and Report Card.<br><br>She maintains an active research profile, holding an adjunct research fellow position at the Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University. Her PhD research (2009-2012) focused on understanding how the impacts of extreme climatic events interact with catchment processes and drive the productivity of phytoplankton in coastal waters (Moreton Bay, Australia).
Ying Quek
Ying is an environmental scientist who has over 8 years of experience working in spatial and data visualisation, ecohydrology, environmental flow assessments, and biodiversity strategies. She is a keen collaborator who enjoys working with clients, stakeholders and multi-disciplinary technical experts, bringing them along the journey to a common vision and producing high quality, evidence-based technical work. With a background in ecology and hydrology, Ying is particularly interested in the complex nature and ever-changing knowledge of these two disciplines in both local and catchment scales.<br><br>Ying is a core team member at EcoFutures who manages a diverse range of projects from vegetation management, biodiversity strategies, spatial ecology and environmental flow assessments. Her projects enable her to regularly collaborate with other sister companies including Alluvium and Mosaic Insights. She loves bringing different perspectives into her projects to ensure she brings pragmatic approaches to environmental management and achieves optimal ecological outcomes.<br><br>Ying has technical expertise in Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and she is familiar with geoprocessing and analytical tools to manage, process and wrangle environmental datasets for conservation planning, option assessment and feasibility studies. She previously led data and spatial analysis of several high-profile projects for NRM Regions Queensland, Melbourne Water, City of Moreton Bay and several other councils and water utilities. She believes scientific-backed evidence is key to making sound decisions in natural resource management and it requires rigorous data analysis wrangling and visualisation skills to translate complex information into tangible communication pieces.
Chrissi Charles
Chrissi Charles is a vegetation ecologist with a focus in conservation, ecosystem management and ecosystem restoration. At EcoFutures, Chrissi has worked in projects involving conservation land management, flora surveys, ecological vegetation assessment and mapping, and biodiversity strategy development. <br><br>Since graduating from a Bachelor of Plant Ecology in 2017, Chrissi has worked across a wide variety of roles including as a researcher for the ABC’s Gardening Australia, as an ecological restoration practitioner at Merri Creek Management Committee, and as a research assistant contributing to vegetation assessments, monitoring and data compilation at Melbourne University. <br><br>Chrissi has a passion for engaging diverse communities with the natural world and has coordinated, collaborated, and facilitated several community engagement projects designed to increase people’s confidence and familiarity with Australian native ecosystems. This combination of experience has honed Chrissi’s skills in communication, field work, research, writing and community engagement. Chrissi is a current board member of the Society of Ecological Restoration Australasia.
Dr Susan Nuske
Susan is an ecologist with over 10 years of experience in a range of research and consulting projects. Susan has worked on several interdisciplinary projects interfacing between management, conservation and research allowing her to gain broad ecological knowledge. Her experience includes mine native ecosystem rehabilitation, invasive species, endangered mammals, beneficial fungi and plant-soil interactions. Susan’s broad ecological skills both in the field and behind the computer allow her to know when theoretical strategies can become on-the-ground practical solutions. Susan particularly enjoys working in interdisciplinary teams that utilise varied skills effectively to tackle complex problems. Susan continually works on expanding her own knowledge and skill set. Susan is experienced in the dissemination of technical information for a variety of audiences including media, stakeholders and specific interest groups. Her high-quality writing and communication skills can be seen in the publication of peer-reviewed scientific articles and well-received client reports. Susan is passionate about conservation and effective environmental management that implements cutting-edge science. Her interests include mycology, botany and zoology and applying wholistic approaches to conservation and ecological solutions.
Dr Andrew Sharpe
Andrew is an aquatic ecologist with over 30 years of experience spanning academia, government, and environmental consulting. He specialises in freshwater ecology, with a strong focus on landscape-scale environmental issues and the integration of science into practical water management.<br><br>Andrew has led numerous monitoring and research programs, with particular expertise in environmental water management, project design, and ecological assessment. His work bridges hydrology, geomorphology, and the ecological needs of freshwater species.<br><br>Over his career, he has contributed to more than 200 consulting projects, published in peer-reviewed journals, and held leadership roles in major water management programs, including at the Victorian Environmental Water Holder.
Abigail Watkins
Abigail (Abby) Watkins is an Ecologist with ten years of field, research and project management experience in Australia and Canada. Abby applies a creative and inclusive approach to the sticky and difficult aspects of complex problems so common in today’s complex environmental setting. She combines her broad ecological knowledge and practical experience with organisation and people skills to bring projects to fruition. She strives to build the foundation of projects on First Nations involvement, knowledge and perspective to deepen the impact of project outcomes and contribute to Reconciliation.<br><br>Surveying birds by ear in the wilds of Canada and holding pygmy possums in her hand in Australia has deepened her affinity with and understanding of our connection to nature. Abigail has developed, progressed and managed large environmental projects for NRM agencies working with Threatened Species Recovery Teams to meet recovery objectives through a research-based, adaptive management approach. She has conducted, supported and contributed to ecological survey and research, building research into projects to fill knowledge gaps and ensure better outcomes for all. She has worked collaboratively with a variety of clients to develop biodiversity frameworks, strategies, management plans and conservation action plans that meet the bespoke needs of each project.<br><br>When faced with project challenges, she's never content to just deliver, she always strives to alter a project approach if she thinks there's a better path to meet the objectives of the project. As a result, her project guidance delivers sound environmental outcomes that are both feasible and based on best practice and the best available science.
Rohan Khot
Rohan is an ecologist with six years’ experience working in ecological consulting and vegetation management. He has worked on projects involving targeted threatened species surveys, weed and vegetation mapping, Vegetation Quality Assessments, and ecological monitoring across south-eastern Australia. Rohan is also interested in functional ecology and predictive ecological modelling, having completed a Master's project investigating how plant functional traits influence <em>Eucalyptus </em>species distributions in the Grampians-Gariwerd National Park.
Ana Backstrom
Ana is a plant ecologist with over twenty years’ experience in the fields of biodiversity conservation and ecological restoration, working as an Ecological Consultant for 15 years. She has worked on projects for local and state government organisations, in addition to private industry and universities. <br><br>Ana has a proven track record of managing large-scale projects, while producing high quality ecological outcomes. She has undertaken and managed a range of botanical and conservation-based projects in terrestrial, riparian and floodplain ecosystems across Victoria. Her skills include leading ecological restoration projects, assessing and monitoring floristic communities, translocation of endangered plant species, and indigenous plant production and nursery management. She specialises in leading large field teams to execute flora surveys for biodiversity monitoring programs in remote locations.<br><br>Ana’s research interest is in novel ecosystems. She is currently completing a PhD investigating socio-ecological management benchmarks for novel ecosystems. The aim of this study is to identify key socio-ecological attributes that shape and define novel ecosystem management decisions, and to explore mechanisms and processes that facilitate or impede the development of effective management strategies for these highly modified systems.