Celebrating Our Women In Science

This International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we’re shining a spotlight on the incredible women who uncover the health of our waterways.

From Cairns in the Wet Tropics to Gladstone in the Southern Great Barrier Reef, a network of Regional Report Card Partnerships paints a picture for their communities on the health of their waterways and the Great Barrier Reef.

Behind the five Report Cards is a powerhouse of partners from business, industry, research, education, community, Traditional Owners, and all levels of government who gather and analyse environmental data. The data is more than just numbers. It’s the brush that paints the picture of regional waterway health. For International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we celebrate the women holding those brushes across each Partnership.

Historically, women have had limited representation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Today, we’re focusing on our very own Women In Science, their STEM careers, and what they love about working in waterway health. From data analysts to project officers to executive officers – dive in and meet the trailblazing women across the Partnerships who are inspiring the next generation of STEM superstars.

Brie Sherow

Lead Technical Officer
Healthy Rivers to Reef Partnership (Mackay-Whitsunday-Isaac)

What is the most rewarding aspect of being a scientist for you?
I love working in a diverse team of people who deeply care about improving the health of our waterways. Sometimes this is linked to restoration projects, but it can also take the form of research and exploration, education and advocacy, or other types of involvement. I take any opportunity to get out in the ecosystems that I’m working in. I loved playing in the mud when I was a kid, and thankfully I still get to do that out in the estuaries and seagrass meadows!

What do you think is the most misunderstood aspect of science that you wish more people knew about?
The environment is not separate to us; we are a part of it even though we try to separate ourselves from it in many aspects of our lives. And we are reliant on it – everything that’s impacting the environment is also impacting us. One of my favourite author’s, Robin Wall Kimmerer, expresses this so beautifully when she writes “the relationship between self and the world is reciprocal… as we work to heal the earth, the earth heals us.”

What advice would you give to young people interested in science?
All knowledge is useful. Even if you don’t think it’s relevant, take opportunities to learn everything, because everything that you learn will be useful to you at some point, in some surprising way.
Just showing up is the most important part of the work. Even if you’re worried that you’re not good at something, if you keep trying, it’s going to get easier and you’re going to get better at it.
Be curious and respectful. It will make your life more interesting and more fun.
If there’s something that you’re passionate about, try to find a way to incorporate it into everything that you do.

Cinzia Cattaneo

Project Officer
Healthy Rivers to Reef Partnership (Mackay-Whitsunday-Isaac)

What inspired you to become a scientist?
I have been passionate about science since childhood because it has always provided me with logical and well-founded explanations for my questions about the world. While I am a deeply emotional person, driven by my feelings in many aspects of life, I still need the world around me to make sense – and I find that sense in science. Perhaps it is because I am so intuitive in my personal life, that I seek logical explanations for everything around me.

What is the most rewarding aspect of being a scientist for you?
Being an environmental scientist has taught me not just to be an observer of the world we live in, but to see myself as an integral part of it and work hard to make our planet a better place to live. Taking care of the environment we live in is a shared responsibility, and my work is driven by a commitment to protecting and improving our planet – not only out of gratitude for the home we have been given but also to contribute to a better future for generations to come.

What do you think is the most misunderstood aspect of science that you wish more people knew about?
One of the most overlooked aspects of science is how deeply interconnected everything in the world is. Through my role at Healthy Rivers to Reef Partnership, I’ve seen this firsthand while analysing catchment areas – what happens on land directly affects river systems, which in turn influences marine ecosystems. The environment coexists in a fragile balance between many factors, and when even one is disrupted, the entire system is affected.

What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learned as a scientist?
There’s a pufferfish that’s basically an underwater artist. The male Japanese pufferfish (Torquigener albomaculosus) spends days using his fins to carve intricate geometric patterns in the sand. Why? To impress a female! If she likes his masterpiece, she lays her eggs in the centre. How romantic…

Tania Skewis

Research Officer
Gladstone Healthy Harbour Partnership

What inspired you to become a scientist?
My inspiration to become a scientist stemmed from my time working on a mine site with a site remediation team. Seeing firsthand how data-driven decisions could positively impact environmental restoration showed me the meaningful contributions I could make. So I enrolled in a Bachelor of Environmental Science, then followed that with a Master of Applied Science! Since then, my career has taken some exciting turns, further solidifying my passion for scientific research.

What is the most rewarding aspect of being a scientist?
The most rewarding aspect of being a scientist for me is the opportunity to engage and communicate with the community and our partner organisations, working on projects that align with my personal values. Collaborating with passionate and dedicated colleagues makes the work even more fulfilling and impactful.

What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learned as a scientist?
The most surprising thing I’ve learned on my research journey is that no result is still a result, which can lead to new questions and insights, driving further research and discovery. In reality, many experiments don’t show the results you’d expect, which is so important for shaping our understanding of the world.

Myfina Healy

Project Officer
Fitzroy Partnership for River Health

What advice would you give to young people interested in science?
At times, it is still a battle to be taken seriously as a woman, and be as valued as your male counterparts are. But women in science are changing this, and many people will see you, support you, and cheer you on. Believe in yourself.

What kind of impact do you hope your work with Partnership will have?
I always try to keep the community’s perspective in mind. A huge reason we have Report Cards is so that the community has access to scientific information, and the ultimate reason we need to conserve our world is for the collective community of people, animals, plants, and our future. I hope that my work pushes the importance of community to the forefront.

What do you think is the most misunderstood aspect of science that you wish more people knew about?
Science is not all test tubes and numbers. Although methods and numbers are very important, we are also creative! We create new things and push the boundaries. We work with so many different people and professions, science is just one part of the job.

Hannah King

Project Officer
Gladstone Healthy Harbour Partnership

What inspired you to become a scientist?
Growing up, I was always fascinated by the natural world—the intricate ecosystems, the resilience of wildlife, and the delicate balance that sustains our environment. I was drawn to complete a Bachelor of Applied Science as it offered a powerful tool to contribute meaningfully to our future.

What advice would you give to young people interested in science?
Remember that science is incredibly diverse—whether you love the outdoors, working with data, solving problems, or collaborating with others, there’s a place for you. Surround yourself with people who inspire you and know that even small contributions can lead to big impacts.

What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learned as a scientist?
Small changes in one part of an ecosystem can ripple out in unexpected ways, creating impacts far beyond what you’d anticipate. The same goes for collaboration; working with a variety of scientists has shown me that diverse perspectives often lead to the most innovative solutions. It’s a reminder that even the smallest contributions can play a crucial role in creating lasting change.

Dinny Taylor

Senior Environmental Data Analyst
Healthy Waters Partnership for the Dry Tropics

What inspired you to become a data analyst?
I became interested in science at an early age. I wanted to understand how different components of our environment affected each other. As I grew older, I became aware of environmental issues, particularly salinisation of agricultural land. I wanted to understand not only what caused it, but also how to fix it. This led me to study environmental engineering.

Later in my career I studied statistics and data science (I always loved maths, which I know most people find weird). In part, I was frustrated with the lack of analysis I was seeing in my work, and I wanted to understand more to fix the problem. If we don’t understand what the data we are collecting is telling us, how can we solve the problems that we face?

What advice would you give to young people interested in science?
Science is a very broad topic, so find what really interests you and start there.  It can lead you down many paths. Sometimes your passion might be something that you least expect, so don’t discount something if you don’t understand it at first.

What do you think is the most misunderstood aspect of science that you wish more people knew about?
Everything that happens on a microscopic scale can have impacts on a global scale and vice versa.  Often the solution to a global problem must be implemented at a microscopic scale (even though it might not seem like it). The difficulty is in co-ordinating the effort to achieve it at a frequency that has a positive impact. If we break things into pieces that are easier to comprehend, and then don’t consider how they behave together again, we don’t necessarily find a solution to the whole problem. We are surrounded by complex systems that function on multiple scales. We must zoom in and zoom out to consider all of those scales to understand them.