Our Committee

Chair

Alan is a marsupial biologist and has been a member of the Gilbert's Potoroo Recovery Team since 1996, shortly after the potoroo's rediscovery at Two Peoples Bay. Public awareness of science has always been one of his priorities and he continues to give public lectures and talks on marsupials and other topics of biological interest. He retired from academic work in 2015 and now devotes his time to GPAG, raising orphaned native animals and directing musical theatre. He was elected Chair of GPAG in June 2020.

Deputy Chair

Leigh is an ecologist who was working as a (then) Department of Conservation and Land Management Technical Officer on the Noisy Scrub-bird Recovery program at Two Peoples Bay on the day that Gilbert's Potoroo was rediscovered. He was only the third person to see the newly captured Potoroo. He was temporarily seconded to the Gilbert's Potoroo program to assist with trapping and radio-tracking and designed and helped build the pens for the captive breeding colony. He has maintained an interest in the fate of the Potoroos ever since and became Deputy Chair of GPAG in June 2019.

Secretary

Jen is retired after a career in Business Administration and Accounting. She joined GPAG around 2006 and has been on the Committee in various roles since 2015. Since September 2019 she has been focusing on compliance and legislative requirements and as of June 2020 she has also taken on the Secretary role.

Treasurer

Val is partially retired after a long and varied career as a receptionist/secretary, enrolled nurse, businesswoman and disability support worker and coordinator. Australian flora and fauna have been dear to her heart for a lot of her life, especially threatened species, and her working life included 4 years of part-time feeding of captive Gilbert's and Long-nosed Potoroos. She has also done a lot of volunteer work for both the Gilbert's Potoroo and Numbat recovery programs. She was a founding member of GPAG and has been Treasurer since the group was incorporated in 2001.

Communications

Jackie is a conservation biologist who, as a fresh PhD graduate, worked as Research Scientist on the Gilbert's Potoroo Recovery project for about 2.5 years from 1996-1998. She has been on the Gilbert's Potoroo Recovery Team since April 1996 and was co-author with Tony Friend of the first Recovery Plan published in 2004. She became involved with GPAG in late 2015 to help with social media following the 2015 fire at Two Peoples Bay and formally took on the role of GPAG Communications in May 2017.

Ordinary Committee Member

Paul worked professionally in water management in NSW for government and as a consultant for some 35 years, specialising in environmental water management. He has a Master's Degree in Zoology via a Behavioural Ecology study of the Purple Swamphen in the Sydney area. He has lived in Albany / Kinjarling since 2013 and was immediately attracted to the amazing biodiversity and beauty of the region to which he is strongly committed to its conservation, especially endangered species. Paul was elected to the committee in May 2024.

Ordinary Committee Member

Javier is a passionate explorer of digital media, sustainable solutions, and creative expression. He was born in Madrid, Spain where he studied fine arts and imaging during the early 1980s. After a successful career in commercial and fashion photography, Javier moved to the UK in the late 1990s. He earned a BSc (Hons) in Biological Imaging and worked on various projects for the British Museum, the Natural History Museum, and the European Union. He served as the New Media Manager for the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia for nearly 20 years where he was responsible for knowledge dissemination and new media outputs. He continues to serve the centre in an advisory role. Javier’s unique fusion of visual storytelling and a love for natural history is captured through his photography and filming. His journeys into wildlife, ecological processes, and environmental conservation have earned him recognition as a multi-award-winning photographer. After years of travelling back and forth to Australia, Javier and his wife, Lisa, settled in Kinjarling / Albany in late 2023. Javier was elected to the committee in May 2024.