Fiona Valesini

Fiona 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 Oceans 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.