Editor & Executive Director
Misha has been an editor and journalist for more than 25 years. He was previously founding editor of The Big Issue Australia and editor of Crikey, The Reader and The Melbourne Weekly. He was also a reporter and feature writer at The Age and spent several years at the ABC where he was a TV producer on Media Watch and The 7:30 Report and an editor on The Drum.
Chief Executive
Lisa is CEO and Executive Director of The Conversation Media Group and is responsible for funding and operations, and the IT and Product teams who serve the international group. Previously Lisa was CEO of ArtsHub, CEO of a search marketing firm, and GM online employment for Fairfax Digital. Lisa has been a Director of Vertical Networks Group and Chair of Midsumma Festival. Lisa is a Deloitte Outstanding 50 LGBTI Leader.
Deputy Editor/Senior Health + Medicine Editor
Fron is The Conversation's Deputy Editor and leads the site's health coverage. She joined The Conversation in March 2011 from the Australian Medical Association, where she managed the Victorian media office. She previously worked for BBC Magazines in London and Melbourne consultancy Twenty20 Communications. Fron is a proud Jaara woman and lives on Dja Dja Wurrung Country in central Victoria.
Deputy Editor and Chief of Staff
Alexandra interned at the Jakarta Post and worked at foreign policy think tank, the Australia India Institute prior to joining The Conversation in 2014 as Education Editor. She became Health and Medicine Editor in 2016 and Chief of Staff in 2018.
Senior Editor
Sunanda Creagh is an award-winning journalist and The Conversation's Digital Storytelling Editor. Previously, Sunanda has been The Conversation's FactCheck Editor, News Editor and Arts + Culture deputy editor. She began her career at The Sydney Morning Herald and worked at the Reuters bureau in Jakarta as a political correspondent before joining The Conversation in 2011.
Executive Editor
Liz is a Walkley award-winning journalist and author, with two decades of experience in newspapers, radio and online. In 2016 she became The Conversation Australia & New Zealand's Executive Editor. In March 2020, she took on a new role overseeing an expansion of The Conversation's New Zealand team and coverage.
Section Editor: Arts + Culture
Suzy is a former features editor, news editor and arts editor at The Age, where she wrote a regular oped column for many years. She has taught journalism at the University of Melbourne and freelanced in New York. Her essays, criticism, feature articles and fiction have been published widely in places such as Meanjin, Good Weekend, Island and Australian Book Review.
Deputy Section Editor: Arts + Culture
Jane is a Walkley award-winning journalist. Prior to joining The Conversation she was a freelance journalist and critic for ten years, writing for publications including the Guardian, Meanjin, Crikey, the ABC, and Kill Your Darlings, where she is a contributing editor focusing on podcast criticism.
Deputy Section Editor: Arts + Culture
With a background in the arts and textbook publishing, Lucy spent 14 years working at The Age newspaper as a reporter, reviewer, columnist and editor. She was deputy editor of Green Guide and joint editor of The Melbourne Magazine. Lucy extended her communication understanding and academic skills with a Masters of Speech Pathology and subsequent clinical work before joining The Conversation.
Section Editor, Business and Economy
Peter Martin is Business and Economy Editor of The Conversation and a visiting fellow at the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University. A former Commonwealth Treasury official, he has worked as economics correspondent for the ABC, as economics editor of The Age, and as host of The Economists on ABC RN. In 2019 He was made a member of the Order of Australia (AM). In 2016 he was made a Distinguished Alumni of Flinders University.
Deputy Editor: Business + Economy
Tim has worked at The Canberra Times, the Australian Financial Review, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, and on magazines including AFR BOSS, The Diplomat and Cosmos. Along the way he's worked on news, opinion and features in business, politics, foreign affairs, the environment, religion and science. He has held most positions in the editorial food chain, from freelance contributor to staff writer, subeditor, chief subeditor, associate editor, production editor, production manager and ed...
Section Editor: Higher Education; Cities + Policy
John joined The Conversation in 2013 as Politics & Society Editor. He later launched the Cities & Policy section. In 2020, he became Higher Education Editor as well. John has worked in news media since deciding in the mid-1980s that a life tracking elephants (for an honours degree in ecology) was less interesting than being a journalist in apartheid-era South Africa. His residence was revoked and he returned to Australia. He joined The Conversation after two decades with The Age as a chief le...
Editor, Science + Technology, Health + Medicine
Based in Perth, Michael joined The Conversation after several years as a journalist with Fairfax, The West Australian, and others. Before moving to Australia from his native UK, he was a senior news and features writer for Nature.
Section Editor: Energy + Environment
Nicole is a Walkley Award-winning journalist based in Canberra and a Visiting Fellow at The Australian National University's Crawford School of Public Policy. Before joining The Conversation she was environment and energy correspondent and federal politics reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
Section Editor: Politics + Society
Prior to joining The Conversation, Amanda was a reporter and editor with The Age for 16 years, covering health, education, social policy, pop culture and the arts. She was also news and features editor for The Sunday Age, which included overseeing the paper's coverage of the 2007 federal election.
Deputy Editor: Politics + Society
Prior to joining The Conversation, Justin spent seven years covering news, business and culture in China as the Shanghai correspondent for Monocle magazine. He's also a former news editor on the International and National desks at The Associated Press in New York and European digital news editor at Time Magazine in London and has taught magazine writing with Stanford University.
Deputy Editor: Environment + Energy
Anthea is a journalist and editor with articles published in Cosmos, The New Daily, Crikey, Australian Geographic and more. Before joining The Conversation, she was the editor of Focus magazine at the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, and worked as an SEO producer for the Herald Sun.
Section Editor: Education
Sasha is a writer and journalist whose work has appeared in publications including Crikey, the Guardian, the Age, Sydney Morning Herald, the ABC and New Matilda. Before starting at The Conversation in 2015, she worked as a reporter at the Centralian Advocate in Alice Springs. At The Conversation, she has worked as an editor in Health and Medicine, Cities, Politics and Society, and Education.
Deputy Editor: Health+Medicine
Anna is an experienced health and science journalist, educator and workshop presenter. She returns to The Conversation after a stint on the health desk in 2016/17. She is a former editor of online science news at the ABC, has degrees in biochemistry and journalism, and has taught journalism and media ethics and law at two universities. She is also an award-winning blogger and travel writer.
Deputy Editor, Health+Medicine
Phoebe joined The Conversation in 2018 as an intern on the Health + Medicine desk. Prior to that, she worked for four years as a journalist at The Australian Jewish News. She has a Bachelor of Journalism from Monash University and has recently completed her Masters of Public Health at La Trobe University.
New Zealand Editor: Science, Health + Environment
Veronika is an award-winning journalist and author, with two decades of experience in radio, print and digital. Before joining The Conversation in 2017, she produced and hosted a weekly science programme for New Zealand’s public broadcaster RNZ, for which she won several journalism awards, including the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union’s prize for best documentary. She has also contributed to other broadcasters and publications in New Zealand and internationally, including the NZ Listener, NZ ...
New Zealand Senior Editor & NZ Editor: Politics, Business + Arts
Finlay Macdonald is an award-winning journalist, editor, publisher and broadcaster with 30 years’ experience in the New Zealand media. He has been editor of current affairs magazine The Listener, a publisher at Penguin Books and HarperCollins, a weekly columnist for the Sunday Star-Times, and has written and presented for television and radio. He joined The Conversation in April 2020 and became the New Zealand Senior Editor in November 2020.
Digital Editor
Molly Glassey is The Conversation's Digital and Engagement editor. She oversees The Conversation's audience growth, digital strategy and annual donations campaign. Molly's work has seen The Conversation's audience triple since she started in 2017. Previous to working at The Conversation, Molly was a digital producer with New Regional Media in Queensland.
Multimedia Editor
Wes joined The Conversation in late 2015. In the past he has written for Crikey, Junkee and the Centre for Advancing Journalism’s The Citizen. He is also a cartoonist and has had cartoons featured in the Museum of Australian Democracy’s annual best of Australian political cartoons exhibition, Behind the Lines.
Deputy Editor, Science and Technology
Before joining The Conversation, Noor worked as a regional reporter with Seven West Media and News Corp. Prior to that, she freelanced for Guardian Australia and various science magazines.
Deputy Science + Technology Editor
Michael is a prize-winning science journalist. Before joining The Conversation he was an editor at The Monthly and Cosmos magazines and worked in communications for the Tongan ministry of agriculture and the Melbourne-based agency Science in Public.
Deputy Editor, Politics + Society
Judith has been a journalist in the Canberra Press Gallery since 2011. She joined The Conversation from The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, where she was a social affairs correspondent, political reporter and columnist. She has also been a reporter for The Canberra Times and policy adviser in The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. She has a masters in international relations from Cambridge University.
Deputy Editor, Health + Medicine
Liam joined The Conversation in April 2020 after interning on the Science + Technology desk. He holds a Graduate Diploma in Journalism (Advanced) from the University of Melbourne, and was awarded Melbourne Press Club Student Journalist of the Year 2019 for his work while interning at the ABC. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts, which he studied in order to become very rich and famous.
Social Storytelling Editor
Prior to joining The Conversation, Tessa worked as an Editorial Assistant at The Age. She has a background in human resources, administration and sales. Tessa has written for Broadsheet Melbourne and Women's Health Australia. She is currently completing a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Melbourne, majoring in media and communication.
Deputy Engagement Editor
Ben joined The Conversation in 2019 as an Editorial and Communications Assistant, before taking on the role of Deputy Engagement Editor in 2020. He is also a contributor to Crikey, and has written for Kill Your Darlings, Junkee and The Age. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Politics & Media) from the University of Melbourne, where he is currently completing a Master of Public Policy and Management.
Deputy Editor, Multimedia
Before joining The Conversation, Chynthia worked in video production and editing, freelancing for Vice Australia and the Museum of Chinese Australian History. She graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Master in Global Media Communications, following years of filmmaking studies and video production experience in Indonesia.
Indigenous and Public Policy Editor
Carissa Lee is a Noongar writer, editor and actor born on Wemba-Wemba country, based in Narrm (Melbourne). She works as the First Peoples and Public Policy Specialist Editor at the Analysis and Policy Observatory. She is currently completing her PhD at the University of Melbourne in Indigenous arts and cultures, and has written for The Conversation as an academic expert in Indigenous performing arts. (she/her)
Chair of The Conversation Media Group, Founding Editor of Griffith Review, Professor of Media and Culture
Julianne Schultz is the publisher and founding editor of Griffith REVIEW and Professor of Media and Culture in the Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research at Griffith University. She is a non-executive director of The Conversation and chairs its Editorial Advisory Board. She is an acclaimed author of several books, including Reviving the Fourth Estate (Cambridge) and Steel City Blues (Penguin), and the librettos to the award-winning operas Black River and Going Into Shadows.
Director
Mr Skrzynski is the co-founder of the pioneering CHAMP Funds Management Group which has invested over $5 Billion in private companies in Australia and South-East Asia. His current directorships include the global board of Human Rights Watch, The Observership Program, Philanthropy Australia, and as Chair of the Sky Foundation. Previously he has chaired the Sydney Opera House Trust, SBS TV and Radio, the National Planning Authority, and the Australian Film Television and Radio School.
Chief Executive
Lisa is CEO and Executive Director of The Conversation Media Group and is responsible for funding and operations, and the IT and Product teams who serve the international group. Previously Lisa was CEO of ArtsHub, CEO of a search marketing firm, and GM online employment for Fairfax Digital. Lisa has been a Director of Vertical Networks Group and Chair of Midsumma Festival. Lisa is a Deloitte Outstanding 50 LGBTI Leader.
Director
Partner at Corrs Chambers Westgarth specialising in Media Law and Litigation. Corrs Melbourne office Pro Bono Partner. Deputy Chairman of the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation and the Mt Buller & Mt Stirling Alpine Resort Management Board. Director of Australian Friends of Asha for Slums Limited. Committee member of the Melbourne Press Club and Law Council Media and Communications Committee. Member Melbourne University Centre for Media and Communications Law Advisory Board.
Director
Dr Marianne Broadbent is a Managing Partner at the innovative leadership advisory and executive search firm, NGS Global. Her career has combined executive roles in the private and education sectors. She was global Senior Vice President (New Product Development) for the technology advisory firm Gartner and her academic appointments include Associate Dean and Professor at Melbourne Business School, University of Melbourne. She is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and is...
Director
Cameron is a digital leader with over 25 years experience in a range of sectors through consulting and executive roles at Envato, Australia Post, ANZ Bank, Accenture and PwC. Cameron has successfully built and run large digital technology teams and in recent years has specialised in digital marketplaces as the founder of Digital iD, an award winning identity platform, and in his current role as a member of the executive team at Envato - a leading global marketplace for digital creatives.
Director
Kate Torney was announced as the new Chief Executive Officer of the State Library of Victoria in July 2015. Kate joined the Library during an exciting period of transformation, overseeing its evolution into an innovative contemporary centre for knowledge, learning and culture. From April 2009 Kate was Director of News at the ABC, leading 1400 journalists and production staff around Australia and in 11 international bureaus.
Thomas E. (Tom) Fiedler is a professor of the practice of journalism and the former Dean of the Boston University College of Communication, which he joined in 2008 following a distinguished career as an investigative reporter, a political columnist, the editorial page editor, and finally, the executive editor of The Miami Herald. He has earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and a master’s degree in journalism from Boston University.
Editor & Executive Director
Misha has been an editor and journalist for more than 25 years. He was previously founding editor of The Big Issue Australia and editor of Crikey, The Reader and The Melbourne Weekly. He was also a reporter and feature writer at The Age and spent several years at the ABC where he was a TV producer on Media Watch and The 7:30 Report and an editor on The Drum.
Director
Rob Moore is the Executive Director of the Gauteng City-Region Observator. Prior to this, he joined the University of the Witwatersrandin (Wits) in 2006 as Director of Strategic Planning, before being appointed as Deputy Vice Chancellor (2007-2014). Before joining Wits, he spent twelve years (1992–2004) at the University of Cape Town researching and teaching in higher education studies.
Director
Founder of The Conversation Spain, is responsible for 'Global Media Partnerships', for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He was special project manager with media for the Open Society Foundations. Training and education journalist, he has worked as a radio reporter, written press and ENG. He has also worked as a professional photographer and has been a visiting professor at the School of Human Sciences and Technology at IE University.
Vice-chancellor's fellow
Tony Walker is a vice chancellor's fellow at La Trobe University. He is a columnist for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. He is a dual Walkley Award winner for commentary, and recipient of the Paul Lyneham Award for Excellence in Press Gallery Journalism. He is a former foreign correspondent for Fairfax and the Financial Times in China, the Middle East and North America. Publications include Arafat:The Biography and The Peter Thomson Five.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic and Professor of Molecular Biology
Merlin Crossley is Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) at UNSW and Professor of Molecular Biology. He has also worked or studied at the Universities of Melbourne, Oxford, Harvard and Sydney. He has been recognized by numerous awards, including a Rhodes Scholarship, the Australian Academy of Science's Gottschalk Medal, and the NSW Premier's Prize for Excellence in Biomedical Sciences in 2020.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic and Professor of Molecular Biology
Merlin Crossley is Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) at UNSW and Professor of Molecular Biology. He has also worked or studied at the Universities of Melbourne, Oxford, Harvard and Sydney. He has been recognized by numerous awards, including a Rhodes Scholarship, the Australian Academy of Science's Gottschalk Medal, and the NSW Premier's Prize for Excellence in Biomedical Sciences in 2020.
DVC Innovation & Enterprise
Professor Glenn Wightwick is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Innovation and Enterprise) at the University of Technology, Sydney. He is responsible for UTS’ innovation, entrepreneurship and external engagement strategies. Most recently, Professor Wightwick was Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Research) where he led UTS’ research portfolio.
Professor of Architecture and Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, Building & Planning
Professor Julie Willis is Pro Vice Chancellor (Research Capability) at the University of Melbourne. She is a Professor of Architecture in the Faculty of Architecture, Building & Planning. She has extensive editorial and editorial board experience, including as editor of the Encyclopedia of Australian Architecture (2012).
Professor & Dean, School of Media and Communication
Lisa French is the Dean of RMIT's School of Media and Communication and Professor in Cinema Studies, Media and Communication. She is the co-author of the books 'Shining a Light: 50 Years of the Australian Film Institute' (2009 & 2014) and 'Womenvision: Women and the Moving Image in Australia' (2003). Lisa’s PhD and MA research were both centrally interested in gender and Australian film, and she has published widely in these fields in local and international journals. https://orcid.org/...
Professor and Director, Public Policy institute
Professor Shamit Saggar is the Director of the University Western Australia Public Policy Institute and Professor of Public Policy. The UWA Public Policy Institute was launched in 2018 as a new way for the University to share its world-class research and expertise with decision makers and community leaders to help shape the future of our society. Professor Saggar has held academic appointments at the universities of Liverpool, Queen Mary London, Sussex, UCLA, Yale and Toronto.
Provost
Professor Giselle Byrnes is Provost at Massey University, New Zealand, where she is responsible for leading the research and enterprise and the learning and teaching activities of the University. Reporting directly to the Vice-Chancellor and a member of Massey’s Senior Leadership Team, Giselle is responsible for supporting a high-quality research culture, further developing Massey’s national and international research collaborations and supporting excellence in teaching and academic development.
Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Professor Annamarie Jagose is Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Sydney, having previously held positions at the University of Auckland and the University of Melbourne. She is internationally known as a scholar in feminist studies, lesbian/gay studies and queer theory and is also an award-winning novelist and short story writer.
Director, Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research
Susan Forde is Director of the Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, and Professor of Journalism at Griffith University, Brisbane. She has authored or co-authored three books and more than 50 journal articles and book chapters on community and independent forms of media and journalism. She is Founding Editor with Professor Chris Atton of the Journal of Alternative and Community Media, and in 2018 she was a Visiting Scholar with the Membership Puzzle Project at New York Universi...
NHMRC Senior Research Fellow, Drug Discovery Biology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences & Department of Pharmacology
Arthur Christopoulos is the Professor of Analytical Pharmacology and Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University. Prior to this he was a Senior Principal Research Fellow of the NHMRC. He is an international leader in novel approaches to drug discovery, a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher in Pharmacology and Toxicology, and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.
Deputy Director, Astronomy and Space Science
Dr. Sarah Pearce is the Acting Chief Scientist of CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency and innovation catalyst. Dr. Pearce has been with CSIRO for 10 years as the Deputy Director of CSIRO Astronomy & Space Science. She became the third female Chief Scientist of CSIRO in January 2021. After completing her PhD in Physics, Dr. Pearce was a senior science advisor in the UK Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, where she gained an understanding of how science can come together ...
Founder
Andrew Jaspan is the creator and co-founder of The Conversation. He launched the project in Australia in 2011 and was instrumental in seeing it established in the UK two years later. The project was born out of concerns Andrew had about public access to reliable information amid a dramatic shift in the production and consumption of journalism internationally. Andrew has been Editor of The Observer, The Age (Melbourne), The Scotsman and the Sunday Herald (Glasgow), which he also founded.
Patron
Harrison Young was born in Pittsburgh, studied at Harvard University and worked on the Washington Post when Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein broke the Watergate scandal. Young served in Vietnam and then began a career in banking. He was a non-executive director of the Commonwealth Bank until late 2017, is an executive-in-residence at the University of Melbourne's Department of Finance and has written fiction books. Harrison was Chairman of The Conversation from 2017 to 2019.
Co-founder
Jack was co-founder, General Manager and Managing Director at The Conversation Media Group from 2009 to 2013 and defined the digital strategy, business plan and tiered-membership model that underpins The Conversation's funding. He worked closely with developers to create the real-time, safe publishing platform and social-impact dashboards for academic authors. Jack is currently Business Development Director - Research, Innovation & Commercialisation at the University of Melbourne.
Chief Executive
Lisa is CEO and Executive Director of The Conversation Media Group and is responsible for funding and operations, and the IT and Product teams who serve the international group. Previously Lisa was CEO of ArtsHub, CEO of a search marketing firm, and GM online employment for Fairfax Digital. Lisa has been a Director of Vertical Networks Group and Chair of Midsumma Festival. Lisa is a Deloitte Outstanding 50 LGBTI Leader.
Director of Foundation Relations
Damian came to The Conversation from the Victorian Department of Primary Industries, where he worked on programs to deliver services to the agriculture sector. He previously worked as a policy adviser to the Victorian Minister for Agriculture and Small Business Department.
Strategic Partnerships Manager
Susan Hornbeck is Strategic Partnerships Manager at The Conversation Media Group. Susan has extensive experience in publishing and was Associate Publisher at Griffith Review and Publicity Manager at Scribe Publishing.
Finance Manager
Maria is responsible for finance and operations and has extensive government experience, having previously worked as the Finance Manager at Arts Victoria within the Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet where she was responsible for reporting and managing large multi-million dollar operating and capital budgets. A qualified CPA, she also worked in the South Australian State Government in Services SA and the Auditor-General’s Department.
Management Accountant
A finance and accounting professional with global exposure, who is a qualified member of CPA Australia & a special degree in Business Administration with experience in the fields of financial & management accounting and auditing. He previously worked for KPMG and CITIC Resources Australia.
Sponsorship and University Services Manager
Felicity has a background in sales, administration and office support roles, having worked in a number of art galleries across Melbourne before starting at The Conversation. She has also worked in administration and office support roles in retail distribution and real estate. Felicity is a keen painter and has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Monash University- where she spent some of her degree studying in Florence, Italy.
Editorial Assistant
Prior to the Conversation, Samantha interned with Publish What You Pay as a Digital Campaigner. She’s previously worked as an Electorate Officer with the Parliament of Victoria and Research Assistant with Deakin’s School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences. She’s currently finishing up her Bachelor of Science and Arts at Deakin University majoring in Cell Biology and Professional and Creative Writing.
Head of Engineering
James studied computer science at UNSW. Since then his professional career has been equally split between Australia & the UK. James leads the platform team that supports the global operation of The Conversation.
Data Platform Technical Lead
A UNSW alumnus, Josh enjoys applying CompSci rigour to all manners of problems. Prior to joining The Conversation he worked on several large projects including the Bendigo Bank mobile app, the New Zealand Stock Exchange, the Clear Grain Exchange, and the WordPress iPhone app.
Developer
Nick studied computer science at RMIT University. He has worked in Australia, India, Hong Kong and America before joining The Conversation.
Commercial Platform Senior Developer
Taking a left turn after a BA majoring in Linguistics, narrowly avoiding a career in rock and roll, Ben studied Software Development at RMIT. He comes to The Conversation from working on the TalkBox platform at ImpactData, and is keen to contribute to shaping the future of journalism.
Developer
Tiago studied computer science at UFF (Universidade Federal Fluminense, Brazil). His motto is to write better software that people will love.
Design Lead
Zoe works across a variety of products to enhance The Conversation’s user experience. As a UX specialist and design thinker, Zoe is excited about technology’s ability to enable better human communication and collaboration. Zoe has previously managed the Wilderness Society’s brand and website launch to raise awareness of nature conservation; founded Ain’t no Planet B to inspire 12k loyalists to live waste free; and supported the launch of Redbubble’s first iOS app and new-look design system.
Senior Developer
Alex studied computer science at RMIT University. Before joining The Conversation he built software at SitePoint, Flippa, and Stax.