FunGIS Executive
Desiree Gowell
Position: Chair
Desiree has been practicing GIS wizardry in the space of conservation and environmental management for five years. She has an eye for cartography and has used GIS in the context of pest management and eradication, state-wide planning and biodiversity assessment tools and web-based mapping solutions. Desiree is currently working at Niche Environment and Heritage in Cairns where she is focussing on streamlining field data collection through the development of centralised databases and mobile applications in ArcGIS Enterprise. Desiree joined FunGIS in 2017 to get involved with the local spatial community, then joined the Exec in 2018. She has a BSc in Zoology and MSc in Natural Resource Management - when not talking nerdy on GIS and conservation, she’s playing board games, camping or escaping to the rainforest to look for cool native critters.
Anne Stapledon
Position: Appointed Secretary
I’m a teacher, community development worker and demographer and the focus of my work is empowerment, particularly for those who are disadvantaged.
I was introduced to GIS in 2001 by FunGIS life member Bob Peever and I’ve maintained my interest because of its potentials for:
- communicating demographic statistics at a glance;
- providing a means of empowerment for Indigenous people, particularly teenagers; and
- providing a potent tool for community development in rural/regional areas.
While I’m a spatial fringe dweller (ie. definitely not a teckie) I have a great deal of fun using GIS software (when Bob is able to lend me his laptop) and I particularly enjoy participating in the FunGIS network - grouse bunch of people.
Hans Wurzel
Position: Deputy Chair
Do not let the title of ‘Fisheries Biologist’ fool you into thinking that Hans is not a keen spatial analyst. He is currently working with the Impact Assessment and Management (IAM) team in Fisheries Queensland and is tasked with updating the ‘Queensland Waterways for Waterway Barrier Works’ spatial data layer. Hans also assists the IAM team by preparing maps that aid in the planning assessment of development that could potentially impact on fisheries resources.
Melanie Stewart
Position: Treasurer
Mel is a Cairns local, born and educated in Far North Queensland. Studying environmental science at James Cook University, Mel was required to complete a course in GIS.. What on Earth is GIS? Fast forward, 12 Years and Mel has worked in both state and federal government positions in GIS roles. Starting as a volunteer on the local tramp ant eradication programs was Mel’s“foot in the door”. She quickly became the team's swiss army knife, supervising field operations and working behind the scenes to support the programs with GIS. Switching over to the federal government in 2012, she has enjoyed the role of GIS officer for the Torres Strait Regional Authorities, Land and Sea Management Unit. The role brings with it a variety of mapping opportunities and challenges and Mel enjoys supporting communities and rangers working on country. When Mel isn’t mapping she is either running for enjoyment or chasing her children.
Gary Searle
Position: Executive Committee Member
Gary is a Spatial Analyst and Town Planner who studied at James Cook University. Gary spent 7 years in Local Government on the Tablelands before joining Terrain NRM in 2013. Gary enjoys problem solving and finding ways to make and present maps that are meaningful and useful.
Tom Orr
Position: Executive Committee Member
Tom attended Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand where he gained a BSc in Zoology and a MSc in Geology. He has worked for more than 40 years as a geologist in Asia, Africa and Australia. These days he runs a small consultancy in Mission Beach together with his wife and fellow geologist Lisa. Most work revolves around the use of GIS which they have been using for more than 30 years. They have provided datasets to such organisations as the USGS, AGSO, BRGM, US National Hurricane Centre, and French Red Cross as well as numerous Universities and students. Tom is a keen sports photographer, drone pilot and gardener. Highlights of recent years include drone work for ABC Landline (his favourite TV show), nomination for Cairns Regional Council Volunteer of the year, being a Batonbearer for the Commonwealth Games Queen’s Baton Relay, building a Japanese Garden in his backyard and receiving the New Zealand Defence Force Service Medal.
Lola Visschers
Position: Executive Committee Member
Lola is a new recruit to the FunGIS Exec committee. Lola is a budding ecologist who recently completed an International Masters in Applied Ecology and dived into the spatial world during her thesis on mapping mangroves as an indicator of saltwater intrusion in northern Brazil. She now works for Arbormetrics - a startup that is using state-of-the-art terrestrial LiDAR technology to capture 3D images of forests with the goal of measuring and understanding forests for research, conservation and carbon offsetting. Lola is also looking forward to soon being out in the field part-time as an environmental consultant as she loves the great outdoors, hiking, and discovering weird and wonderful wildlife.
Alistair Hart
Position: Executive Committee Member
Alistair Hart, General Manager, Mangoesmapping. Initially commenced Mangoesmapping in 2002 and incorporated Mangoesmapping as a company in 2014.Prior to Mangoesmapping, Alistair managed ATGIS, a geospatial information profit centre owned by Tablelands Regional Council, helped lead the local spatial response to two severe tropical cyclones in far north Queensland and co-developed Australia’s first GIS-based outbreak management system to control Dengue Fever, a mosquito borne disease.
Geospatial projects managed by Alistair have accrued many industry awards, including for informing disaster response communications through geospatial information, enabling collaborative crowd-sourcing for wildfire mitigation through open-source web mapping, mapping sediment movement in complex gully structures and preserving Tree Kangaroo populations in the remote highlands of Papua New Guinea.
Neil Bryde
Position: Executive Committee Member
Neil is mostly retired somewhere in the hills and gullies of Herberton but occasionally
works in a small environmental consultancy firm. The geospatial aspect of this predominantly involves planning fieldwork transects and producing maps. For someone not involved every day in a geospatial working environment, being part of the FunGIS team is very rewarding.