Fiona Valesini
Seascapes Program Director
Australia
Fiona Valesini Program Director, Oceans © Annette Ruzicka
Areas of Expertise
Estuarine and marine ecology, fish and invertebrate communities, socio-ecological systems
Biography
Dr Fiona Valesini is an estuarine and marine ecologist and has worked across a spectrum of these ecosystems with a focus on understanding how they function and how to better sustain them alongside healthy societies. Before joining The Nature Conservancy, she worked as a Senior Research Scientist in the academic sector, undertaking applied research for government, industry and community agencies for about 20 years. Her core areas of interest were fish and invertebrate ecology, ecosystem health indices and optimising trade-offs across human-natural systems for sustainable development.
She joined TNC in 2019 as the Marine Coordinator for Western Australia, overseeing and delivering shellfish reef restoration projects across south-western WA and later South Australia, and progressed to Seascapes Program Director in 2022. She now leads a diverse national team focussed on restoring and sustaining Australia’s most critical coastal ecosystems for the benefit of people and nature.
Fiona has a Bachelor of Biological Sciences and a PhD in coastal ecology from Murdoch University in Western Australia. She started with TNC in 2019 and works from our Perth office.
Places We Protect
Swan Canning Estuary
Shellfish reefs were once abundant in Perth's Swan-Canning Estuary. With the loss of these natural water filters that historically lived there, the health of the estuary is at risk, but we’re bringing them back.