Keynote Speakers
Dr J.E.N. 'Charlie' Veron
“Charlie” Veron has worked on all the major coral reef regions of the world and has over 100 research publications including 12 books and monographs on corals and coral reefs. He is the principal author of www.coralsoftheworld.org an open access website providing global coverage of coral taxonomy, biogeography and identification. This website and its forerunners have underpinned most initiatives about the conservation of Indo-Pacific reefs made this century. His work has led to widely accepted evolutionary concepts of marine life and to the palaeontological record of corals.
Charlie is former Chief Scientist of AIMS and now has his own organisation, Coral Reef Research as well as several adjunct positions. He has many professional awards including the International Coral Reef Society’s Darwin Medal and the American Academy of Underwater Sciences’ Lifetime Achievement Award. Over the past four years he has appeared in over 200 film and print productions about climate change and coral reefs.
Katie Fletcher
Senior Drainage Engineer, Arup
Katie Fletcher is a civil and environmental engineer who likes to look at things differently. With a technical background in stormwater drainage design, she now straddles the lines between engineering, landscape architecture and master planning. By drawing these disciplines together, she’s developed designs which not only achieve engineering standards but provide social outcomes by increasing community connectivity, increasing our connection with nature and designing with empathy for all users.
For the past 15 years, she has been a prominent member of the stormwater community, presenting at several conferences and serving on the Stormwater Queensland committee as a past Secretary.
Frederieke Kroon
Team Leader 'Tropical Marine Water Quality and Impacts', Australian Institute of Marine Science
Dr Frederieke Kroon has postgraduate qualifications in Biology (MSc 1991, University of Groningen, The Netherlands) and Zoology (PhD 1997, University of British Columbia, Canada). After finishing her PhD in 1997, she made a deliberate choice to move into more applied research that would inform the protection and restoration of coastal marine ecosystems. Dr Kroon’s research broadened into understanding how coastal zones can be managed using a collaborative and integrated approach to both catchment management and coastal ecosystem health, to protect water quality, aquatic biodiversity and fisheries production. She has been leading major research programs with NSW Fisheries and the CSIRO in both temperate and tropical coastal ecosystems. In her current research at the Australian Institute of Marine Science, she focusses on assessing the ecological risks of known and emerging contaminants on tropical marine organisms and ecosystems. Her research on water quality in the Great Barrier Reef has informed on-ground management, planning and policy at regional, State and Federal level. She also hold the position of Adjunct Associate Professor at James Cook University.
Conference Convenor
IECA is a not for profit, international member organisation that provides education, resource information and business opportunities for professionals in the erosion and sediment control industry.
Conference Convenor
Stormwater Queensland is an incorporated, not for profit association. Promoting efficient management of stormwater and providing industry representation.
Conference Organiser
GEMS Event Management is the appointed Professional Conference Organiser (PCO) for the 2019 IECA Australasian Conference and Stormwater Queensland State Conference.