Leah Talbot 2024 Australian Marine Sciences Association Annual Meeting combined with NZMSS

Leah Talbot

Dr Leah Talbot is an Eastern Kuku Yalanji woman from far north Queensland and is the Research Manager at the Northern Australian Indigenous Sea and Land Management Alliance (NAILSMA). Prior to joining NAILSMA, she was with the Great Barrier Reef Foundation and earlier at CSIRO as an Indigenous Social Ecological Researcher. Leah has a deep perspective on incorporating traditional knowledge into the governance of protected areas, both within Australia, and further abroad; in 2017 Leah completed her PhD and has experience in environmental management, high-level Indigenous negotiations, co-design frameworks and developing participatory planning with Indigenous communities in Indigenous land management. As an Indigenous science researcher her experiences also involve the development of Indigenous-led projects supported by collaborative Indigenous research methodologies. Teagan is a proud Arabana woman. She grew up in Newcastle (Awabakal Country) and has worked in strategic policy reform, community engagement and biodiversity conservation across NSW, ACT and WA for the past 15 years. Teagan holds a Bachelor of Applied Science, Bachelor of Education and a Master of Marine Science and Management. Teagan believes the answer to the conservation issues facing Australia lies in the Indigenous-led use of Traditional Knowledge. She is currently undertaking a PhD with the University of Melbourne, investigating systemic changes to empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land and sea managers in biodiversity conservation.