The Governing Change research program combines the political and climate sciences with ecology and geography to understand and improve the design of complex environmental governance regimes.  The team works closely with a range of governments, NGOs and donors on co-creating solutions to environmental governance problems. Interdisciplinary science capacity and competitiveness is underpinned by partnerships with an international expert working group, involving co-tutelle PhD supervision and co-appointed postdoctoral fellowships at James Cook University, University of MelbourneWorldFish, the Australian Institute of Marine Science, and the University of Tasmania.

Meet the Team

  • Tiffany Morrison

    Lead Investigator

  • Gretta Pecl

    Chief Investigator

  • Pip Cohen

    Chief Investigator

  • Emily Ogier

    Senior Research Fellow

  • Terry Hughes

    Chief Investigator

  • Kirsty Nash

    Senior Research Fellow

  • Sarah Lawless

    Research Fellow

  • Lucy Holmes-McHugh

    Research Fellow

  • Robert Streit

    Research Fellow

  • Missaka Hettiarachchi

    Research Associate

  • Andrew Sullivan

    PhD Candidate

  • Navam Niles

    PhD Candidate

  • Pasha Morrison

    Pasha Morrison

    Senior Canine Fellow

  • Victor Huertas

    Communications Officer

Expert Working Group

Governing Changing Oceans Workshop held at Hobart, Tasmania in 2024. Click below to read more about the group:

Recently graduated PhD students and former postdoctoral researchers include:

  • Dr. Lucy McHugh

    JCU/University of Michigan

    In danger? Climate crisis frames in polycentric World Heritage governance

  • Dr. Jessica Spijkers

    JCU/Stockholm University PhD Graduate

    Navigating international conflicts in the governance of shared stocks

  • Dr. Sarah Lawless

    JCU PhD Graduate

    Assessing and orchestrating complex meta-norm diffusion in natural resource governance

  • Dr. Amber Datta

    JCU/University of Montana PhD Graduate

    Navigating extreme climate events: Uncovering the challenges of social-ecological system governance in the Anthropocene

  • Dr. Andrew Song

    JCU/WorldFish Postdoctoral Fellow

    Maritime security and regional governance of fisheries

  • Dr. Eduardo Gallo-Cajiao

    UQ PhD Graduate

    Global governance for conserving migratory shorebirds

  • Dr. Jon Day

    JCU PhD Graduate

    Transformative policy reform and the Great Barrier Reef

  • Dr Missaka Hettiarachchi

    UQ PhD Graduate

    Urban wetlands: a comparative analysis of ecological and governance transformation in South Asia

  • Assoc. Prof. Justine Bell

    UQ/ARC Super Science Postdoctoral Fellow

    Defend or retreat? Adapting to the impacts of sea level rise as a result of rapid climate change

  • Luisa Bedoya Taborda

    JCU MPhil Graduate

    Climate change adaptation and peace-building

  • And many more fabulous researchers from the former People & Ecosystems Program,

    ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies

    2015-2022