Heidi is a chemical and environmental engineer and spatial ecologist with a PhD in environmental science. Heidi draws on her research and engagement background to contribute to BZE’s collaborative research, leading components of BZE’s Renewable Energy Industrial Precinct project, including for her hometown of Gladstone in Central Queensland. She is also a senior researcher on BZE’s National Action Plan Critical Success Criteria. Heidi also led key research areas for BZE’s Million Jobs Plan. Heidi is co-founder of Australian Parents for Climate Action.After working in materials and environmental engineering and then biodiversity assessment she completed her PhD in ecology and then worked in freelance climate resilience research. She then pivoted to work in driving climate solutions and renewable energy uptake and understanding sustainable industrial ecology. A mother of two young children, Heidi co-founded the Australian Parents for Climate Action and was a founding non-executive director of the organisation. She has written and collaborated on climate change articles and has been interviewed for online international press publications including the ABC, BBC and NBC as well as local publications like the Gladstone Observer and Gladstone's 4CC Radio. She has a PhD in spatial analysis of freshwater ecosystems. She is an experienced science communicator and researcher investigating climate solutions and ecological and societal resilience. Published academic articles focus on freshwater ecology, environmental management, climate change and climate vulnerability. Her research skills include spatial analysis through the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and coding in python, model selection and analysis using R, as well as ecological fieldwork, data analysis, science communication and scientific writing. She has also contributed to modelling renewable energy, storage and transmission requirements for large-scale projects as well as contributing to conversations about balancing the needs of nature and renewable energy. Her systems analysis and stakeholder engagement skills allow her to help find and articulate meaningful solutions with benefits to stakeholders, the economy and society. Background image by Scott Webb via @unsplash