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Bring your guests and join us for our first Club Lunch in 2026, filled with good food and good conversation with guest speaker Dr Vanessa Pirotta.
Speaker bio
Vanessa is one of Australia’s most renowned wildlife scientists, pioneering innovative technologies to transform wildlife conservation across marine (whale snot drones) and terrestrial environments (AI to detect illegal wildlife trafficking). A globally recognised science communicator, she is driven by a passion for making science accessible, influential, and inclusive- earning recognition as one of the Australian Financial Review’s Top 100 Women of Influence and Science & Technology Australia’s Superstars of STEM. Her leadership has been honoured through major accolades including the NSW Premier’s Woman of Excellence, an Australian Eureka Prize for Promoting Understanding of Science, the Australian Institute of Policy and Science Young Tall Poppy Science Award, French-Australian Excellence Awards, and the National Academies Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications.
Vanessa leads impactful, cross-generational research that empowers communities through wildlife, including the Tongan Whale Tourism Project in the Kingdom of Tonga and the creation of the Wild Sydney Harbour citizen science program collaborating with First Nations Gamay Rangers to unite Indigenous Knowledge with cutting-edge science. A celebrated author of acclaimed wildlife books for children and adults, a trusted media voice, and an invited MC for the Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science, Vanessa stands at the forefront of conservation, communication, and leadership—shaping how science is understood, valued, and used to protect our natural world.
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