Mazzella and Philippa

Mazzella recently completed a Master's degree of Science in Marine Biology and Ecology at James Cook University. Prior to taking up this opportunity, Mazzella was involved in marine research through the Motupore Island Research Centre (MIRC) at the University of Papua New Guinea, and at the World Wildlife Fund of Nature's Western Melanesian Program. As a research assistant at MIRC, she worked on the Mangrove Rehabilitation and Restoration Project. In Australia, Mazzella has interned and now works at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

On her return to Papua New Guinea, Mazzella is keen to develop and implement education programs on the marine environment and conservation in schools, communities and online. She would like the Papua New Guinean community to gain more awareness and appreciation for the marine environment and its preservation.

In Papua New Guinea, women scientist still struggle with stigma and respect and find that they are not taken seriously. Mazzella would like to actively work on debunking this myth and to act as a role model for other emerging women in her fields of marine biology and science.

Pip is the Research Leader of the Small-Scale Fisheries Program at WorldFish. She also is an Adjunct Research Fellow at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University. Pip has lived and work in the Pacific for the last 15 years.

Pip's research is interdisciplinary and applied, concentrating on improving human wellbeing outcomes through good governance of fisheries and natural resources. Her work is focused on the ground in the least developed countries of the Pacific, in particular Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Timor-Leste.

In addition to journal publications, her research is regularly translated into manuals and workshops for fisheries managers, and policy briefs and reports for governments and non-governmental organisations.

Working in highly biodiverse and economically developing country contexts demonstrates Pip's ongoing interest in the nexus between conservation and development agendas, and between goals of economic development and human wellbeing. Her role in WorldFish, and the organisation's emphasis on 'Research in Development', means that her research is commonly applied and conducted in partnership with local communities and governments. It is conducted concurrently with development activities and, as a result, is embedded in the development context.