Kim Frankcombe
Co - Chair

Kim owns and manages a small geophysical consulting group based in Perth and working globally. The group specialises in Mineral Exploration but also has skills in and consults on environmental and geotechnical projects as well as non-seismic oil and gas exploration. Currently he is the Secretary of the Australian Geoscience Council (AGC), a Special Adviser to the SEG (geophysics) Council, a member of the Conference Advisory Committee for the ASEG as well as its equivalent for ASEG/PESA and AIG, a member ofthe ASEG History and Technical Standards C'tees and SEG Mining and Geothermal Committee. He chairs a special SEG (geophysics) task force looking at the FutureWorkforce. Past President and Honorary member of the ASEG. Current memberships include ASEG, AIG, IAMG, SEG (geophysics), SEG (Econ Geol) and EAGE. Past memberof several Conference Organising Committees including two as co-chair, one as Treasurer and one as Technical Program co-chair.

Suzy Urbaniak
Co - Chair; Education Primary & Secondary

Suzy, a geologist with a career spanning Telfer and Kalgoorlie mining and education, is the CoRE Lead at the CoRE Learning Foundation. For two decades, she has championed improved Earth Science education in Australia, highlighting its relevance to daily life, environmental understanding, and resource industry careers. The CoRE Learning Model, developed by Suzy during her teaching career, fosters STEM learning through real-world applications and alignment with UN Sustainable Development Goals. This innovative approach has inspired numerous students to pursue diverse STEM careers, contributing significantly to the Australian economy.

Ron Colman
Treasurer

Ron is a member of the national committee for IAH Australia where he is also the treasurer. Ron is a hydrogeologist with extensive experience in water supply development and water resource management throughout WA and NT for mining, municipal, commercial, horticultural, and industrial clients. Overseas experience includes groundwater investigation and water supply development work in Peninsula and East Malaysia (Sabah), Kalimantan (BHP Minerals Indonesia) and Orissa, India (Indo-Australian Aid Project). Ron has been a member of IAH since 1984 filling various WA Branch committee roles before stepping up to the national committee.

Bronte Nicholls
Technical Papers; Education Primary & Secondary

Dr Bronte Nicholls has been a Senior Leader in South Australian government and non-government secondary schools for over 35 years. She has also held senior positions with state-wide responsibilities in the South Australian Department of Education and the South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) Board. She has been involved in the development of senior secondary curriculum and assessment in the Earth Sciences since the late 1980s, teaching Year 12 Geology and Earth and Environmental Science with a focus on creating meaningful fieldwork experiences. Most recently, she has been a Curriculum Lead Practitioner for the SACE Board, developing resources for teachers in addition to being a marker and moderator for Earth and Environmental Science. She has been a member of the International Geoscience Organisation (IGEO) since its inception, a Council member representing Australia, and served as a Senior Officer – Newsletter Editor for 12 years.

Jo Watkins 
Technical Papers; Education Primary & Secondary

Jo Watkins is currently the CEO of Australian Earth Science Education (AusEarthEd) working to create, produce and deliver innovative, valuable earth sciences experiences; to further the recognition of earth sciences as an integral part of STEM; to improve the quality of the talent pipeline for industry; to increase the awareness of the wide range of career opportunities that earth sciences provide; and to emphasise the importance of earth sciences in understanding contemporary issues; across Australia.  Jo has been with AusEarthEd since 2011, prior to that she was a Secondary Science Teacher. Jo has qualifications in Exploration Geoscience, Teaching and Environmental Science.

David Turvey
Sponsorship

David Turvey is an economic geologist with >40 years’ experience in Australia, Asia, and Global mining industries. Activities focused on mineral exploration, evaluation, business development and corporate M&A in precious-base metals, bulk commodities, specialty metals and critical minerals. Communications and Publicity. In 1998, he founded a successful mineral industry consultancy business, Equant Resources, and is associated with the Penfold Group in evaluation, marketing, and investment in the international mining industry. Volunteer industry roles include Chair of AusIMM Geoscience Society 2022-25, including AusIMM’s member representative on the Australian Geoscience Council (AGC) and its education and Geotourism subcommittees. David is active and passionate in supporting and promoting geoscience education and opportunities of geoscience careers.

Louise Soroka
Communications

Louise Soroka is the Executive Officer for Geoscience Australia’s Office of the Chief Scientist. After working as an industry geoscientist for 10 years, Louise retrained in science communication to learn how to inspire an interest in Earth science in others. Louise’s roles at Geoscience Australia have included being part of the Education and Outreach team, working in stakeholder engagement, and developing Geoscience Australia’s public programs and spaces. Louise is lucky enough to have experienced first hand in her own education the impact that a passionate, well-informed geoscience educator can make and hopes future students will have the same experience.

Kelly Sharrad
Education Primary & Secondary

Kelly Sharrad is the Geoscience Outreach Officer for Geoscience Pathways Project, a not-for-profit organisation with the goal of engaging more schools in geoscience education. We provide all resources for free, which supports teachers in delivering the SACE Earth and Environmental Science (EES) subject in years 11 and 12. The subject covers relevant topics such as sustainability, responsible use of Earth’s resources and climate change and focuses on the diverse careers required for a sustainable future. Kelly is also an experienced EES teacher who teaches the subject in her classroom whilst working alongside the SACE board to cowrite EES back in 2017, mark and moderate the subject at the year 12 level and is part of the subject renewable group for EES.

Sabin Zahirovic
Education Tertiary

Dr Sabin Zahirovic is a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney conducting research that focuses on regional and global plate tectonics, mantle convection, and paleogeography. Sabin creates open-access community models and databases in Earth Science, which are used in a range of settings from high schools to university education, and research into geodynamics, biological evolution, and climate change. Sabin has volunteered in outreach since 2008, working with teachers and students and the broader community to raise the profile of Earth Science, and is currently Chair of the GSA's Education and Outreach specialist group.

Professor Ian Clark
Education Tertiary; Geotourism

Ian Clark has a long involvement in Geoscience education.  He was a co-convenor of the first GeoSciEd conference held in Sydney, Australia in January 2000 and President of IGEO in 2002-2004.  He is a senior officer of the IUGS Commission on Geoscience Education and has been a member of the Commission since its establishment in 2024. He has conducted, supervised and published research in geoscience education covering pedagogy, curriculum development, earth system science and sustainability.

Pat James
Geotourism

Patrick (Pat) James is currently an adjunct Professor at UniSA and an Honorary Research Associate with Nature Foundation in South Australia. At UniSA, he was formerly a Foundation Professor and Head of the School of Natural and Built Environments and prior to that researched and taught structural Geology at the University of Adelaide for thirty years. He was also Associate Dean of Science (Learning Technology) at the University of Adelaide and Program Leader for Education and Training in the CRC for Landscape Environments and Mineral Exploration. Pat has significant and long-term interests in geoscience teaching and education and especially in blended-, flipped-, distance- and e-Learning. Post retirement Pat’s most recent interests have been in the application of Geodiversity, Geoheritage and Geoconservation studies to promote and develop Geotourism products, including geosites, geotrails, websites, Apps, brochures and leaflets etc, in particular in association with GSA, AGC, and AGN (Australian Geoparks Network) whilst also liaising and collaborating with UNESCO Global Geoparks.

Young Ng
Geotourism

Young serves as the Chair of International Outreach for Geotourism Australia within the Australian Geoscience Council. He is a distinguished geoscientist and a trusted advisor to multiple UNESCO Global Geoparks in China. His research focuses on geotourism,geoparks, and sustainable development, with a particular emphasis on initiatives in poverty-stricken regions. Additionally, he is the Coordinating Principal Investigator of a research project at the University of Tasmania, exploring the application of digital tools in geoconservation and geotourism.

Ian Lewis
Geotourism

Ian  Lewis grew up in Mount Gambier and became a cave explorer and pioneer cave diver there.  He works in the region as a Hydrogeologist for the SA Department for Environment, Water and Natural Resources. He is also Honorary Director of the Kanawinka Volcanic Geotrails (cross-border from Beachport  SA to Colac Vic) and is completing a PhD on aspects of  geological heritage in South Australia including the World Heritage Naracoorte Fossil Caves. As a former teacher, he runs local volcanic and karst field trips for secondary and tertiary student groups.

Martin Brook
General Committee

Martin is Professor of Applied Geology at the University of Auckland where he leads the master of engineering geology programme and researches land instability problems in New Zealand, Pacific and SE Asia. Prior to this he was a consulting engineering geologist based in Brisbane, working in the civil and extractive industries across Australia and the middle east. His teaching roles champion the importance of geoscience to society, with a focus on providing work-integrated learning opportunities to students. He serves on JTC3 Joint Technical Committee on education and training for the International Association of Engineering Geology & the Environment. Martin is a Chartered Geologist with the Geological Society of London, a Chartered Member of Engineering New Zealand, and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Additional Supporters: