Chair, Steering Comittee
Professor Eileen Baldry is Deputy Vice-Chancellor Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and Professor of Criminology at UNSW Sydney. Professor Baldry has held senior positions in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, serving as Interim Dean, Associate Dean Education and Deputy Dean and was appointed the first female Deputy Vice-Chancellor at UNSW.
Professor Baldry has taught social policy, social development and criminology over the past 30 years. Her research and publications focus on social justice and include mental health and cognitive disability in the criminal justice system; criminalised women and Indigenous Australian women and youth; education, training and employment for prisoners and ex-prisoners; homelessness and transition from prison; Indigenous justice; Indigenous social work; community development and social housing; and disability services.
UNSW Steering Committee
Dr Andrew Dansie (Dansie) is a Senior Lecturer in Humanitarian Engineering. He has 13 years of experience in the water and development sector spanning the private sector, multilateral organisations, universities and an NGO. His time as a Research Fellow with the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health saw him work with projects and partners across six continents. As Project Director of a four-year global assessment of transboundary water projects, he coordinated over 100 scientists and stakeholders to better understand the scientific needs for managing the world’s rivers, lakes, aquifers, coastal and ocean environments.
Dansie completed his PhD at the University of Oxford. His research was on the marine fertilisation affect of dust originating from ephemeral rivers in Southern Africa. Dansie completed his Masters at the University of Adelaide, where was the Medal recipient for outstanding research, and holds a BSc from Flinders University in South Australia. He is an Honorary Research Associate at the University of Oxford and is on the UNDP vetted expert roster for international freshwater resources management.
As Vice-President, External Relations, Fiona Docherty is responsible for UNSW’s International, Marketing and Communications Service which supports the realisation of UNSW’s strategy through stronger student recruitment, international partnership development and global profiling activity. Fiona provides leadership across the following areas: recruitment of future students; support for the development of a small number of strategic international partnerships which enhance our ability to address contemporary challenges and make a positive impact in Australia and around the world; strengthening of the University’s branding, communications and marketing strategy.
Professor Stephen Foster is the Dean of UNSW Engineering and a researcher in the behaviour of structural systems (buildings and bridges) constructed of reinforced and prestressed concrete. He is currently looking at modelling for climate change: the behaviour of structures under extreme load states, whether fire, earthquake, or significant wind (eg. hurricane loading events). He is also focused on optimisation and design, using materials as efficiently as possible to develop efficient and safe structures.
Professor Greg Leslie is the Director of the UNSW Global Water Institute, and the Director of the UNESCO Centre for Membrane Science and Technology. Prior to joining UNSW, he worked in the public and private sector on water treatment, reuse and desalination projects in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong and the United States.
His experience includes work on the NEWater recycling projects for the Singapore Public Utilities Board and the Groundwater Water Replenishment System at the Orange County Water District in California. He served on the World Health Organisation Technical Committee that developed guidelines for desalination, the Water Issue Committee for the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council and the Independent Advisory Panel for the Orange County Groundwater Replenishment Project.
Professor Daniel Robinson has a background in human geography, environmental science and environmental law. Daniel's research focuses on the regulation of nature and knowledge. His papers and books cover themes including 'biopiracy', access and benefit-sharing relating to biological resources, appropriation and regulation of Indigenous knowledge, Indigenous/customary laws and biocultural protocols, ethical biotrade, political ecology, environmental policy and management. Daniel also has an interest in the environmental and social implications of multilateral, regional and bilateral trade rules and negotiations, and has several papers/chapters on the negotiation politics of these forums.
Michael is Chairman of the Committee for Sydney, an independent think tank that provides research, thought leadership and advocacy on economic, social, cultural and environmental issues relevant to Sydney. He is also Chairman of Greater Sydney Parklands, which is responsible for managing major urban parklands in Sydney. He also sits on the boards of the Westmead Institute for Medical Research and the Sydney Harbour Trust.
At UNSW, Michael chairs the Institute for Global Development and is a Senior Advisor in the Office of the President and Vice-Chancellor. He also sits as one of UNSW’s representatives on the board of the China Advanced Technology Industrial Research Institute.
In addition to chairing the Institute for Global Development, Michael’s experience in development includes eight years as Global Chairman of ChildFund Alliance, a development NGO with programs in more than 65 countries.
Professor David Sanderson is the Inaugural Judith Neilson Chair in Architecture. With over 25 years’ experience working in crises across the world, David engages with aid agencies and others about how we can improve humanitarian response and build resilience.
Much of his work focuses on poorer people living in fast-growing towns and cities, and how measures can be improved to reduce the impact of disasters, climate change and other crises. This often includes working to improve the quality of humanitarian aid, with a focus on how designers can work with others to better understand and respond to communities at risk.
Professor George Williams AO is the Dean, the Anthony Mason Professor, and a Scientia Professor at UNSW Law. He has held an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship, and visiting positions at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, Columbia University Law School in New York, and Durham University and University College London in the United Kingdom.
Professor Williams has written and edited 36 books, including Australian Constitutional Law and Theory, The Oxford Companion to the High Court of Australia and Human Rights under the Australian Constitution. He has appeared as a barrister in the High Court in many cases over the past two decades, including on freedom of speech, freedom from racial discrimination and the rule of law. He has also appeared in the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal of Fiji, including on the legality of the 2000 coup.