Stories

The Sparking Conversations, Igniting Action team is made up of people passionate about preparing communities for the threat of bushfire.

We bring a range of experience to this project and have backgrounds in conservation and land management, firefighting, education, and the not-for-profit sector. Each team member brings a special set of skills to this project.

Meet Bree

“Hi, I’m Bree and I am the Project Manager for the Sparking Conversations, Igniting Action team!”

For the last two decades, I've worked in conservation land management, which has taken me to some incredible places. I've been lucky enough to work in far eastern Indonesia, Alaska, remote island reserves in New Zealand, and even Macquarie Island.

My insatiable curiosity has driven me to acquire several degrees, in sociology, parks and recreation, wildlife management, and public sector management. Recently, I also completed the Tasmanian Leaders Program.

For the past nine years, I've been employed in local government, where I've worked in fire management, open space planning, project management, and community engagement.

I'm thrilled to be working with the Sparking Conversations team and various communities to ensure the project's success and significance.

Meet Chris

“G’day, my name is Chris. I am a Hazard Abatement Officer in the Sparking Conversations, Igniting Action team. ”

For the past ten years I have been working as a firefighter, most recently with the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service, where I used fire to mitigate bushfire risk and look after nature conservation values.

I’m passionate about grassroots community projects and have spent more than ten years working in the childcare industry, creating and delivering accelerated learning programs for children with special needs and assisted learning requirements.

I now look forward to combining these skill sets to help deliver the Sparking Conversations, Igniting Action project to the Greater Hobart community.

Meet Milly

“Hi there, my name is Milly and I’m a Community Resilience Officer in the Sparking Conversations, Igniting Action team.”

I have a Bachelor of Psychology, and more recently a Master of Environment. In between degrees I was lucky enough to spend a year living and working in Nepal as a volunteer coordinator.

Before joining the Sparking Conversations team, I was working for a not-for-profit organisation on policy, advocacy and communication around climate change and health. I am passionate about climate justice and working towards solutions to complex environmental issues, particularly through the use of education and social change.

I am excited to be part of the Sparking Conversations team and to have the opportunity to work directly with communities to prepare for and build resilience to bushfires.

Meet Zelah

“I’m Zelah, and I’m a Community Resilience Officer for the Sparking Conversations, Igniting Action project.”

I recently moved back home to Tasmania with my family after living in Europe for many years. My experiences in work life have been diverse, both culturally and linguistically. In my previous role, I worked in the education sector, which I believe is a valuable transferable skill for my current position.

In my new role, I’ll aim to educate our community about bushfire awareness and preparedness. I have a strong passion for community work and have volunteered with various organizations in Australia and internationally for many years. I am particularly excited to share the objectives of this project with the multicultural and newly arrived members of our community.

For many of them, bushfires are a new phenomenon, and I am eager to initiate conversations about being bushfire-ready. Additionally, I look forward to collaborating with some of our First Nations People to utilize their expertise in fire management.

Look out for these friendly faces in your neighbourhood and if you see the team out and about, please come and say hi!