Track Co-Chairs

Mark Limb

Mark is a qualified urban planner with more than a decade of experience in strategic and statutory land use planning, and a full member of the Planning Institute of Australia. His doctoral research evaluated the implementation of two decades of compact city policy in greater Brisbane. Mark currently coordinates and lectures undergraduate units in Planning and Design Practice, Urban Planning Practice, and Stakeholder Engagement. His ongoing research interests include policy evaluation, infill development, land use planning, and active transportation. Mark's current research projects are valued at more than $2.6m.

Dev Raj Paudyal

Dev is a lecturer at the School of Surveying and Built Environment, University of Southern Queensland, and has 10 years’ experience at the Survey Department of Nepal. His research expertise includes land administration, cadastre, geospatial data infrastructure, internet of things, and spatial decision support.

Paula Grant

University of Southern Queensland

Paula is a passionate planning executive and educator with extensive statutory and strategic experience in the planning sector. She enjoys a strong professional network with government, development industry and planning professionals. She is a Registered Planner and Fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA), a member of the QLD Government Architect’s Urban Design and Places Panel, the editorial board of the Australian Planner and the PIA National Education Committee. She has a strong attachment to and interest in the future of vibrant regional communities.

Stephanie Wyeth

The University of Queensland

Stephanie is a practicing urban and social planner, with a strong interest in ensuring city-makers and community builders (government, industry and community) have the knowledge and capabilities to plan and design a better future for our cities, towns and communities. In her current role as Professional Planner in Residence, she is focused on building and strengthening understanding and links between academia, students, industry, the professions and community through a range of teaching, research and engagement activities. Stephanie has significant industry and leadership experience, prior to joining The University of Queensland she held a senior position with a national multidisciplinary property, planning and design firm  where she was responsible for the social planning and engagement offer in Queensland.  Between 2016-2022, she was a non-Executive Director for South Bank Corporation Board, overseeing the planning, management and operation of Queensland's premier lifestyle, community and cultural precinct. Stephanie is a Fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia and is actively engaged in community-led initiatives across the city.

Sara Alidoust

The University of Queensland

Dr Sara Alidoust is a lecturer in Planning at the School of Architecture, Design, and Planning at The University of Queensland. Her research bridges Urban Planning and Public Health, with a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration and practical application. Applying Systems Thinking to complex planning challenges, Sara develops transdisciplinary solutions to pressing issues, including housing vulnerability and the health impacts of citymaking, to enhance community resilience and wellbeing. Her work examines the vital connections between urban planning and the physical, mental, and social health of communities, focusing on creating cities that maintain liveability and adaptability amidst disruptive events and shocks.

Debra Cushing

Queensland University of Technology

Deb Flanders Cushing is an Associate Professor in Landscape Architecture at QUT. Her research and teaching aims to improve outdoor environments, such as parklands, bikeways, streets, and urban plazas, by promoting evidence-based design and people and place theories. Working in interdisciplinary teams, her research covers critical urban topics including wayfinding, accessibility, heat mitigation, and pedestrian small-scale infrastructure to explore ways to increase community engagement and livaebility. She specifically focuses on creating more inclusive communities in which all people can thrive, including intergenerational groups and people experiencing disability. Cushing has written extensively for academic and industry audiences on a range of topics related to landscape architecture and creating health-promoting environments. 

Nick Osbaldiston

James Cook University

Nick Osbaldiston is an associate professor in sociology at James Cook University Cairns. He has published widely in the areas of internal/domestic migration, coastal adaptation, and in the sociology of place. Nick is specifically interested in livability, place attachment and population movement. He is the author of several books including Seeking Authenticity in Place, Culture and Self and Towards a Sociology of the Coast. 

Vuk Radovic

Curtin University 

Dr Vuk Radovic currently serves at Master of Architecture Course Coordinator at Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia. He is an Australian architect and Urban Designer who focuses on the potential for (super)tall residential skyscrapers to transcend architectural singularity and become urban multiplicities. He has taught on the subject in Australia, China and Japan and has previously worked in industry across Asia and Europe.

Liton Kamruzzaman

Monash University

Dr Liton Kamruzzaman is an Associate Professor of Transport at Monash University. Previously, he held academic positions at RMIT University and Queensland University of Technology (QUT). He co-developed the Sustainable Urban Mobility Lab at Monash and has been recognized twice as the top researcher in Urban Studies in Australia by The Australian newspaper. His research focuses on integrated transport and land use planning, shaping sustainable mobility policies and practice. Liton serves on the editorial boards of leading journals, including the Journal of Transport Geography, Journal of Transport and Land Use, and Journal of Cycling and Micromobility Research.

Anthony Kimpton

University of Southern Queensland

Anthony is a lecturer of urban and regional planning at the University of Southern Queensland, and former senior data specialist at the Australian Bureau of Statistics and transportation web application developer with the Australian Urban Research Infrastructure Network (AURIN). His mission is to improve sustainability and social equity in regional and metropolitan development, and his research expertise includes capitalising on big and open data to both: examine the efficacy and outcomes of land use and transport policy standards; and to develop PlanTech that supports effective decision making and prioritisation of our most disadvantaged neighbourhood communities.

Daniela Ottman

Bond University

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Daniela A. Ottmann is a respected expert in climate-responsive urbanism and architecture, currently an Associate Professor at Bond University. With extensive industry experience as architect and urban designer in Germany and the UAE, she has also held key academic positions at RWTH/GU-tech (DE/OM), UWA (AUS) and Zhejiang University (CN). Her work focuses on bio-climatic design, socio-cultural resilience, and human well-being. Author of books such as Urban Ecolution, Urban Correlator, Ecological Materials for Deserts and Drylands, and editor of SeaCities, serves as a DAAD Research Ambassador. Prof. Ottmann collaborates with UN-Habitat and consults for governments in Australia, UAE, Oman and KSA, contributing to the development of net-zero cities globally.

Alessio Russo

Queensland University of Technology

Dr Russo is a Senior Lecturer in Landscape Architecture in the School of Architecture and Built Environment.  A recognised expert in urban ecosystem services and green infrastructure, his research focuses on the critical intersection of these areas with human health and climate change. Prior to joining QUT, Dr Russo held senior academic positions at the University of Gloucestershire, UK (Senior Lecturer and Academic Course Leader, 2019-2024), RUDN University in Moscow, Russia (Associate Professor, 2018), and FEFU, Vladivostok (Professor and Head of Laboratory of Urban and Landscape Design, 2016-2018). Dr Russo serves on editorial boards of well-known peer-reviewed journals such as Urban Planning (Cogitatio Press), Discovering Cities (Springer Nature), Urban Resilience and Sustainability (AIMS Press), Journal of Parks (MDPI). He is also an associate editor of Urban Agriculture and Regional Food Systems (Wiley). 

Linda Carroli

Queensland University of Technology

Dr Linda Carroli has been involved in a diverse range of initiatives focused on place, policy, evaluation, engagement and regional development. Her research and employment has included cultural and community planning, communications, consultation and strategic planning. She previously held research fellow roles on two ARC Linkage projects examining the performance of social infrastructure and is currently a Visiting Fellow with QUT Design Lab and working in cultural policy and evaluation. Her PhD examined the relationship between policy narratives, regional planning and sustainable transitions and she continues to examine themes in relation to sustainable transition and foundational economy. She has received two grants from the Alastair Swayn Foundation to research: the first project examined rural design in Australia and the second is in progress examining the performance of Indigenous Art Centres as workplaces. She has served on several boards including Jacaranda Community Housing and as Deputy Chair of Regional Development Australia Brisbane and Chair of Australian Network for Art and Technology. She also serves as a member of the Dementia Friendly Communities Advisory Group and as a Dementia Advocate. She received a Centenary Medal for ‘long and distinguished service to the arts’ awarded by the Federal Government.

Lisa Law

James Cook University

A/Prof Lisa Law is an interdisciplinary researcher with a background in Geography and Urban Studies. Her research focuses on Southeast Asia and tropical Australia, crossing a wide spectrum: liveability and place-based urban design for the tropics, the meanings and uses of public space and the role of culture and the arts in placemaking. She is founder of JCU's Tropical Urbanism and Design Lab (TUDLab), a team of geographers, architects, sociologists and planners researching urbanism in the tropics. Prior to JCU, she was employed at the ANU, Western Sydney University, NUS Singapore and the University of St Andrews in Scotland.

Elizabeth Musgrave

Bond University

Dr Elizabeth Musgrave FRAIA is Associate Professor, Abedian School of Architecture, Bond University and the 2023 Australian Institute of Architects Dunbar Fellow. She is a former academic at the University of Queensland where she holds an honorary position and has been a visiting lecturer at Tokyo University of the Arts and the University of Technology Sydney. An architect registered to practice in Queensland, she has served on the Queensland Board of Architects and with the Architects Accreditation Council of Australia. Her book John Dalton: Subtropical Modernism and the Turn to Environment in Australian Architecture was published in 2023 by Bloomsbury Visual Arts.

Nick Stevens

University of the Sunshine Coast

Dr Nicholas Stevens is a social scientist and urbanist with qualifications and a practical background in horticulture, landscape architecture, town planning and infrastructure development. He is the undergraduate and postgraduate Program Coordinator for Urban Design and Town Planning at University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC), Queensland, Australia. He is Co-Lead of UniSCs Bioclimatic and Sociotechnical Cities Lab (BASC Lab), and the theme leader for Urban Design and Development in the Centre for Human Factors and Sociotechnical Systems. He has a track record of working with government and industry on projects focused on complexity and systems science.

Lena Henry

The University of Auckland

Lena Henry (Ngāti Hine, Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa tribal affiliations) is a Lecturer at Waipapa Taumata Rau | The University of Auckland, with over 25 years of experience advancing Indigenous-led planning in collaboration with local government, iwi authorities, and communities. Her expertise centres on Mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge systems), [post]colonial governance and treaty-centred relationships, and equitable urban planning frameworks that prioritise Indigenous sovereignty and cultural diversity. Her work in dual planning methodologies bridges Indigenous epistemologies with policy innovation.  Lena Henry designs courses and mentors emerging planners in decolonial approaches in her academic practice, emphasising Te Tiriti o Waitangi and community-driven design. Her collaborative partnerships with iwi, NGOs, and policymakers foster sustainable, culturally grounded urban futures.  A committed leader, Lena Henry is one of the leads for hosting the 2026 International Indigenous Planning Conference in Aotearoa New Zealand, a global event uniting Indigenous scholars, practitioners, and policymakers to amplify Indigenous voices in global planning discourse and advance decolonial planning frameworks. Beyond academia, her governance influence spans roles as a trustee of Te Piringatahi o te Maungaarongo Marae, a Board member of Aerospace Auckland Inc., and a key contributor to New Zealand’s National Science Challenge Building Better Homes, Towns, and Cities, driving innovation in culturally responsive urban policy. 

Charmaine ‘Ilaiū Talei 

The University of Auckland

Dr Charmaine ‘Ilaiū Talei is a Tongan Registered Architect (BOAQ, NZRAB), Researcher, and Educator at Waipapa Taumata Rau | The University of Auckland. Charmaine serves as the director of Fofonga, the University’s Platform for Pacific Research Excellence. Her research is concerned with how Indigenous peoples’ values shape space, and reciprocally, how those values are informed by space. Charmaine specialises in Tongan and Fijian architectures, Pacific architectural praxes, Indigenous design approaches, and the built environments of the Pacific diaspora. As an architect, Charmaine has practiced in Aotearoa New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, and Australia, and led projects in other Southwestern Pacific Islands. She works as a consultant Cultural Engagement Designer/Senior Architect at Guymer Bailey Alliance (GB-A), Brisbane Australia. She is director of Charmaine ‘Ilaiū Talei Architecture which is devoted to research-informed projects that are meaningful to Pacific communities. In 2025, Charmaine was selected as a co-leader of the Education Committee for the Commonwealth Association of Architects representing the Pacific Region from New Zealand Institute of Architects.

Pekeri Ruska

The University of Queensland

Pekeri Ruska is a Goenpul woman from North Stradbroke Island, Queensland. She holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Journalism. Currently a PhD candidate at The University of Queensland’s T.C. Beirne School of Law, she has recently submitted her thesis for examination titled Sovereignty Never Ceded: Quandamooka Embodied Acts of Sovereignty. In early 2025, she will begin her role as a postdoctoral research fellow at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Futures. In 2019, she completed a Fellowship with the Atlantic Fellows for Social Equity, where her project explored alternative models of home ownership for First Nations peoples. She previously served as the General Manager of the North Stradbroke Island Aboriginal Housing Co-op and is currently the Secretary of the One Mile Residents Aboriginal Corporation.