Speakers + Artists

Interesting People

Addy is a somatic relationship and trauma therapist. She is passionate about supporting people to live full, rich and satisfying lives. Her work focuses on all aspects of love, sex, sexuality, empowerment, vitality, creativity, personal & interpersonal relationships, and physical, mental & emotional health and wellbeing.

Dr Alexandra Paton is a conservation biologist and science communicator with a passion for weird and wonderful wildlife. From chasing feral cats through the Tasmanian bush to unravelling the secrets of our native wildlife, Alex is fascinated by how animals survive, thrive—and reproduce. When she’s not in the field or the classroom, she’s sharing nature’s strangest love stories with anyone who’ll listen.

Prof Andrew Cole studied astronomy and physics at Yale University and got his PhD in astronomy from the University of Wisconsin in 1999. His research interests span a wide range of areas related to the formation and evolution of structures in the Universe, from planetary systems to star clusters and galaxies. He held academic appointments in the US and the Netherlands before coming to Tasmania as a lecturer in physics in 2007. He is the director of Greenhill Observatory, the University of Tasmania’s home of optical astronomy research, where staff and students use telescopes to study exoplanets, variable stars, and explosive events associated with the death of stars.

Dr Andrew Phipps is a Hobart-based photographer, cinematographer, and medical researcher whose work bridges science and art. With a PhD focused on neuronal changes in ageing and Alzheimer’s disease, Andrew brings a scientific eye to his photography, which spans landscapes, weddings, and educational film. His visual work—viewed by over 20,000 people annually—also supports environmental advocacy, using imagery to spotlight the value of takayna and Tasmania’s wild places.

Anya deploys the most remote seismic detectors on Earth. She records the seismic symphony of cracking and melting ice, revealing the hidden changes that are happening deep within Antarctic glaciers.

Ben Alldridge occupies a stalemate between artisan and mad scientist, and it only becomes clear in any given moment which is winning. When he’s not exploring the minutiae of the natural world’s unseen and undocumented processes in Tasmania’s beautiful wildernesses, he’s dabbling in any number of other sidelines, including: yelling about dark skies and their protection; recreational scientific research; being one of Australia’s leading astrophotographers and Landscape Photographer of the Year; and being “pretty okay” at gardening. He’s a perpetually curious raconteur, and not immune to describing himself in the third person.

Brandan is the founder of Alluvium Water Cremations, Tasmania’s first provider of water cremation — a more sustainable and gentle alternative to traditional funeral practices. With a background in technology and a strong interest in innovation, Brandan is focused on transforming end-of-life care by offering families meaningful, environmentally conscious choices. A lifelong Tasmanian, he is passionate about protecting the state’s natural environment and raising awareness around more sustainable funeral options. When not working, Brandan enjoys exploring Tasmania in a caravan with his wife Renee and daughter Everly.

Charlie McCarthy is a Hobart-based violinist, composer, and sonic adventurer whose work spans classical, jazz, and experimental sound worlds. Known for his deeply expressive playing and pioneering use of live looping, Charlie crafts immersive performances that invite listeners into vast and shifting emotional landscapes. Whether performing gypsy swing with Django’s Tiger, leading solo improvisation concerts, or conjuring soundscapes for Tasmania’s woodlands and festivals, Charlie’s music is rooted in curiosity, precision, and storytelling.

Curly is a tall woman in a very short gold dress with skin the colour of chocolate souffle who occasionally teaches the WSET qualifications in Tasmania after 10 years of being the only local provider. She is a sparkling wine tragic, a wine writer for The Wine Front, a passionate advocate for childhood food, culture and nutrition education and an enthusiastic supporter of local food and farming across Tasmania.

Dean is a former electrician who purchased a house in Mount Rumney, outside Hobart, Tasmania, which happened to have an old railway tunnel on the title.  One weekend a former mushroom farmer knocked on his door and suggested the decommissioned tunnel could be the perfect place to start growing mushrooms.  He was right!  After experimenting with a number of mushroom varieties, Dean modified the tunnel to suit commercial-scale production and now supplies a host of Tasmanian restaurants and cafes with many gourmet mushroom varieties.

Dr Karl Kruszelnicki just loves science to pieces, and has been spreading the word in print, on TV and radio, and online via social media for more than thirty years. The author of 47 books (and counting) Dr Karl is a lifetime student with degrees in physics and mathematics, biomedical engineering and medicine and surgery. Since 1995, Dr Karl has been the Julius Sumner Miller Fellow at the University of Sydney. In 2019 he was awarded the UNESCO Kalinga Prize for the Popularisation of Science.

Friends Xander Allan, Conor Gallacher, and The Captain are the team behind Melbourne’s cult dating show, Human Love Quest.

Jon Smeathers (1992.) is an experimental musician, composer, and improviser based in nipaluna/Hobart. Recognised for his versatility and cutting edge projects, Jon is a member of Reptrillion Culture Club, curator of Huh!pink and internationally known for his deconstructed DJ performances as 𝔈ℭ𝔅.

Dr Jonica Newby is a science reporter, author, TV presenter and director best known for her two decades on ABC TV’s popular weekly science program, Catalyst. She has twice won the Eureka Award, Australia’s most prestigious science journalism prize, and is a recipient of a World TV Award.

Josh Taylor is an award-winning technology reporter who has covered the intersection of tech and politics in Australia for the past 15 years.

K.Verell (nipaluna/lutruwita) is a transdisciplinary artist working across sound, image, and object to explore dissonance, signal, and ritual interference. As a storyteller and researcher, their work traces dissonant logics and assembles futures not yet fully formed, pulsing with non-binary logic, posthuman entanglements, and the ecstatic residue of rave. As an Australian Antarctic Arts Fellow, they are developing a suite of works exploring extinction time, ecological loss, and the entangled rhythms of ice, memory, and sound.

Dr Karelle Siellez is an astrophysicist and lecturer at the University of Tasmania, internationally recognised for her work in multi-messenger astrophysics. Her research on gamma-ray bursts, kilonovae, and gravitational waves includes a landmark 2017 publication cited over 3000 times. A passionate science communicator, she has given over 20 talks worldwide—blending physics with art, music, and storytelling. Karelle creates spaces where science meets soul, from TEDx stages to starry skies. She is currently developing Art-Astro Camps for all ages, and hosts meditative stargazing sessions to explore our place in the vast, mysterious universe.

Dr Kirsten Banks is a passionate astrophysicist, science communicator, and Lecturer at Swinburne University of Technology, working with OzGrav to connect cutting-edge research with the public. A proud Wiradjuri woman with a PhD in astrophysics, Kirsten brings a unique perspective to her work, blending scientific insight with storytelling. Her love of space began with a high school excursion to see a Hubble space telescope documentary, and today she inspires audiences worldwide through workshops, talks, and social media.

Kitana Mansell is a proud palawa woman and the powerhouse behind palawa kipli — Tasmania’s only Aboriginal food business. Since age 17, she’s been at the heart of the enterprise, now leading as business manager, cook, tour guide, and cultural ambassador. Through bush tucker tours, catering, workshops, and public speaking, Kitana champions sovereign food and land rights with fierce dedication. Based at piyura kitina/Risdon Cove, palawa kipli shares culture, history, and sustainability on a plate — and in 2023, was recognised with the Tasmanian Young Achiever Award for Tourism and Hospitality.

Landon has been educating about light’s influence on our experience of the built environment for over 20 years. Most recently, he has become an advocate against light pollution and the associated environmental impacts. He is a Committee Chair at the Australasian Dark Sky Alliance, and president of Dark Sky Tasmania.

Leigh Connell is an End of Life Doula based in Nipaluna/Hobart, with a background in community engagement spanning Sydney to a remote Pacific atoll. She co-facilitates the Tassie Death Cafe, a monthly gathering since 2018 that invites people to talk openly about death and dying in a safe, agenda-free space. Passionate about helping others live and die well, Leigh finds deep meaning in supporting individuals at the end of life and in holding space for honest, life-affirming conversations—because, as they say, “talking about death won’t make you dead.”

Dr. Lila Landowski is a multi-award winning neuroscientist and senior lecturer at the University of Tasmania, a Vice President of Science and Technology Australia, a Fides health ambassador for the World Health Organisation, regular guest expert for the ABC, and a keynote speaker at Saxton Speakers. Named one the Herald Sun’s Top 20 Aussies in STEM and a “Science Superhero” (according to Australia’s then-Chief Scientist), Lila is on a mission to make brain science accessible to everyone.

Dr Lisa Gershwin has a PhD in jellyfish and has been working with bioluminescence for 30 years. She has published three best-selling books and around a hundred peer-reviewed scientific papers and industry reports, given two TEDx talks, had a four-year science show on commercial radio, and is often called upon for expert comment in the media. In early 2024, the Science Show on ABC Radio National named Lisa as one of the Top 100 Australian Scientists (of all time!). What really drives her passions, however, is connecting people to science through fascination. And she absolutely loves things that glow in the dark!

With nearly a decade of experience in death care, Luke has worked across the industry — from his early days as a mortician to co-founding Tasmania’s first water cremation service. He’s driven by a deep commitment to offering compassionate, sustainable, and meaningful end-of-life care. For Luke, death isn’t just a logistical challenge, but a chance to create space for reflection, connection, and honouring life in all its complexity. Outside of work, he’s usually exploring Tasmania’s forgotten places with his wife Kylie and daughter Remy, reading, writing, or indulging his love of playing cards — whether that’s creating moments of quiet magic or just enjoying a game with friends. He believes how we face death says everything about how we choose to live.

Luke Tscharke is a Hobart-based landscape photographer dedicated to sharing Tasmania’s natural beauty, with particular expertise in night sky photography. A former biologist turned professional photographer, Luke applies his scientific background to meticulously plan shoots using weather data and aurora forecasts. As a Sony Digital Imaging Advocate, he combines technical precision with creative vision across landscape and astrophotography.  His work spans Tasmania’s ancient forests to Antarctic expeditions, with a passion for preserving dark sky sites and inspiring others to connect with our natural world.

An award-winning artist, Margaret specialises in commissioned oils portraits and genre paintings. She is amazed by the magic of the natural world and her art celebrates the triumph of beauty and goodness in the everyday.

Before joining Sea Forest as the head of research and development Masa spent many years as a researcher for the University of Tasmania studying ecological impacts of climate change as well as the rehabilitation and conservation of coastal and estuarine environments. Masa brings a wealth of seaweed knowledge having completed his doctorate on dynamic resilience and stability of Ecklonia as well as having spent years cultivating Macrocystis to restore Tasmania’s kelp forests at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies.

Michael Hing is a broadcaster, actor, improviser, podcaster and long-standing fixture of the stand-up comedy scene. Michael came into the public’s consciousness as one half of the Triple J drive duo, Hobba and Hing and firmly established himself as a house-hold favourite during his time as part of weekend desk at The Project.

Myf Warhurst is an Australian broadcaster, TV presenter, journalist, and writer. She is renowned for her role on ABC TV’s Spicks and Specks, her seven-year stint as Australia’s commentator for the Eurovision Song Contest, co-host of weekly arts and culture podcast Bang On, and the voice of Aunt Trixie on the popular ABC Kids show Bluey.

Nanna is a Finnish artist and sauna maker who resides in Tasmania. She is passionate about bringing sauna culture to Australia, and is a trained Traditional Finnish Sauna Healer.

Prof Naomi McClure-Griffiths FAA is an astrophysicist who uses the world’s largest radio telescopes to study the gas and magnetic fields in our galaxy, the Milky Way, and its neighbours, the Magellanic Clouds.  Her prize-winning work includes the discovery of a new spiral arm within the Milky Way.  Since coming to Australia from the US in 2001, Naomi held senior roles at CSIRO before moving to the Australian National University (ANU) in 2015.  She is currently an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow at the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics of the ANU.

Natasha is a multi-award-winning journalist, presenter and documentary maker. She hosts ABC Radio National’s flagship show Big Ideas, was founding host and producer of the blockbuster radio show and trailblazing podcast All in the Mind for a decade, and of Science Friction — awarded Best Science and Medicine podcast at the Australian Podcast Awards.

Dr. Natasha Vavrek is a powerhouse women’s health GP and founder of The Bubble Tasmania, a multidisciplinary women’s health clinic, located in Hobart and Launceston. She’s on a mission to revolutionise women’s healthcare through excellence in clinical practice, frank education, and loud-and-proud advocacy.  With a number of awards and accolades under her belt when she’s not championing gender equality, she’s shaking up the status quo—one conversation at a time.

Paul is a Hobart-based professional photographer specialising in portrait, travel and commercial work, though he is best known for his landscape imagery, particularly from an aerial perspective. A Grand Master of Photography with the NZIPP and a seven-time Tasmanian Professional Landscape Photographer of the Year, he is also a respected judge, educator, and contributor to numerous publications. Passionate about using photography as a tool for advocacy, Paul has dedicated over 20 years to documenting and guiding people through Tasmania’s wilderness, supporting various cultural and environmental projects. He remains dedicated to contributing to the preservation of Tasmania’s globally significant wilderness and cultural heritage values for generations to come.

Pete is the founder of Hobart Rivulet Platypus, a community organisation dedicated to the conservation and protection of Hobart’s urban platypus population.

With over 25 years in the field of wellness and a PhD in science, Dr Rebecca Chabot provides a scientific approach to restoring balance to the mind, body, and emotion through wellness – first for the individual and subsequently for the community as a whole.  She will help you strengthen connections, re-build confidence, adjust mindset and improve overall wellness for a more harmonious, efficient and stress-free life.

Rebecca Lyons is an end-of-life doula, independent funeral director, author, and passionate advocate for holistic death care. Since entering the funeral industry in 2011, she has championed home-based and family-led approaches to death and dying. As co-founder of You n’ Taboo, she works to raise awareness and foster open conversations. A 2018 Churchill Fellow, her international research informed her book “A Heartfelt Undertaking”. Rebecca is committed to reshaping how we approach dying and death as a community.

Rebecca is a cognitive neuroscientist whose research investigates how movement and balance reflect brain function, particularly in ageing and neurological conditions like Parkinson’s disease and dementia. She works with a multidisciplinary team exploring how AI can detect subtle movement changes linked to these diseases, even before the onset of disabling symptoms. This work aims to improve early diagnosis and help inform targeted treatments. Rebecca is also an experienced lecturer, teaching psychology and neuroscience to undergraduate students.

Rob is a proud murri who loves to perform stand up comedy, act and write. Rob started doing stand up comedy in 2013 and has been a regular on the small but strong scene in nipaluna ever since and has opened for some of Australia’s biggest comedy acts.  Rob isn’t only passionate about performing but also seeing his local comedy scene grow. He has been producing sell out shows around lutruwita for over 8 years.

As a Science journalist and broadcaster Robyn has conducted countless interviews with scientists on ABC TV on programs such as Quantum and Catalyst, narrated the Nature of Australia series and appeared in World Safari with David Attenborough.
Outside the ABC, Robyn has served in various capacities, including president of the Australian Museum Trust, chairman of the Commission for the Future, and president of the Australian Science Communicators. In 1987, he was proclaimed a National Living Treasure.

The CTO for Microsoft in Australia and New Zealand, Sarah is responsible for identifying and understanding emerging technical trends, building the technical strategy that will enable Microsoft to leverage these trends, and supporting the company’s most significant customers in their understanding of the risks, implications and pathways to the adoption of cutting-edge technology.
Prior to Microsoft Sarah served in the Australian army, followed by a decade travelling the world and working across a broad range of industries. From supporting Think Tanks to building custom business applications and even attending ballet for a living, Sarah’s varied experiences and perspectives bring a unique lens to the way she approaches innovation and the potential of technology.

Sarah Lloyd is a naturalist with a lifelong love of birds and a 35-year interest in documenting flora, fauna and funga, particularly the species that occur in the forest that surrounds her home in northern Tasmania. She has written natural history books about different regions of Tasmania, including Takayna Tarkine, Blue Tier, Black Sugarloaf, and the Great Western Tiers.
In 2010 Sarah started searching for slime moulds in the forest at Birralee, which has proven to be richer than she could ever have imagined. After 15 years of collecting for her private herbarium and the National Herbarium of Melbourne, she has amassed over 2500 specimens representing 174 taxa, including six ‘new’ species, one new genus and many others awaiting description.

Theresa is a Pakana woman. She is a researcher and writer.  Her poetry and essays, written and delivered in both her language, Palawa Kani, and English generally relate to the sacredness of Country, and protection of the disappearing Aboriginal Cultural Landscapes, and Aboriginal Heritage. Speaking for Country is an act of sovereignty; of defiance and in doing so she honours Palawa Ngini (the Old People) of Lutruwita, their Country, languages and pays tribute to all Elders.

Dr Tiana Pirtle has spent most of her life studying animals: who they hang out with, who they breed with, and how their populations grow and shrink. She has studied giraffes in Africa, Przewalski’s horses in Mongolia, mustangs in America, brumbies in Australia, and deer in Tasmania and has a PhD in reproductive ecology and physiology. Tiana loves telling everyone about science, so much so that she now works as a science communicator and advocate. She especially loves telling people all about the under researched and under appreciated vaginas of the animal world.

Prof Tim Flannery FAA is Chief Councillor at the Climate Council and one of Australia’s leading writers on climate change. An internationally acclaimed scientist, explorer and conservationist, Professor Flannery was named Australian of the Year in 2007.  He has held various academic positions including Professor at the University of Adelaide, Director of the South Australian Museum in Adelaide, Principal Research Scientist at the Australian Museum and Visiting Chair in Australian Studies at Harvard University in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology.
Prof Flannery has held various academic positions, has been a well known presenter on ABC Radio, NPR and the BBC for more than a decade, he has also written and presented several series on the Documentary Channel.  His books include Here on Earth (2010) and The Weather Makers (2005). His latest book is ‘Life: Selected Writings’.

Tim is a father of 4 and mycologist who runs West Tamar Fungi in Invermay, Launceston. He has worked exclusively with mushrooms for 7 years and previously studied chemistry and biology at University in the UK. He holds workshops and mentors other growers encouraging small businesses across Tasmania. He attends Harvest Launceston every Saturday and has a strong interest in the multiple chemical compounds found in cultivated mushrooms.

Dr Tobias Stål is a geophysicist specialising in Antarctic science, using geophysical techniques to investigate the solid Earth and cryosphere. His research has taken him to both the Arctic and Antarctica, where he has conducted extensive fieldwork to deepen our understanding of polar environments. He holds a PhD from the University of Tasmania and an MSc from the University of Copenhagen. Alongside his scientific career, Tobias brings 25 years of experience as a sound, video, and light designer for stage art, primarily in drama and circus. He studied sound engineering and sound design at Piteå Music Conservatory in Sweden and has worked in theatres and toured worldwide.

Toby Walsh is Scientia Professor of AI at UNSW Sydney, and Chief Scientist of UNSW.AI, UNSW’s campus wide AI Institute. He is a strong advocate for limits to ensure AI is used to improve our lives, having spoken at the UN, and to heads of state, parliamentary bodies, company boards and many others on this topic. This advocacy has led to him being “banned indefinitely” from Russia. He is a Fellow of the Australia Academy of Science, and was named on the international “Who’s Who in AI” list of influencers. He has written five books on AI for a general audience, the most recent is “The Shortest History of AI: six ideas are all you need to know”.

Tui passionately believes in sustainability and is committed to a better story at the end of life. As founder of the non-profit organisation, Earthly Remains, she advocates for human body composting (aka natural organic reduction/ NOR/terramation) as a beautiful and dignified way to return to and contribute to the cycle of life.  Tui is building a national profile promoting the need for this type of body disposition, leading the government advocacy and public education drive for non-profit human body composting in Australia.

Yoav Daniel Bar-Ness grew up between the coastal redwoods and the giant sequoia groves of California, studied forest ecology in the coastal rainforests near Seattle, and originally came to Tasmania to conduct the first on-ropes biodiversity surveys of the giant Eucalyptus treetops. In the years since, he’s travelled 26,000km around India documenting trees as part of a Fulbright-Nehru Fellowship, conducted the first systematic measurements of the world’s broadest trees, visited Hiroshima’s atomic-bomb survivor trees, and clambered into the branches of a New Caledonian aracaurian pine.

Zoe is an award-winning science writer with a focus on evolution, ecology, and the environment, spending her time observing the universe and sharing her wonder for it by telling science stories. A former Assistant Director of The Beaker Street Festival, you can also find her words in The Guardian, the ABC, The Best Australian Science Writing 2022 & 2023 & 2024, Cosmos and more.
Zoe’s love for science cannot be contained to the page, she also gives talks, makes science TikTok videos for an audience of over 23K followers and regularly appears on live radio.

Dr Zoe Rimmer is a proud Pakana woman, cultural historian, curator and creative. She has worked in the museum and cultural heritage management sector for the past 20 years. Her recently completed doctorate follows on from her work and documents the Pakana community campaign for the repatriation of Ancestral remains and cultural material. It demonstrates the impact of this activism on Pakana cultural resurgence and global museum practice.