CONFERENCE COMMITTEE

SMM2024 ORGANIZING COMMITTEE CO-CHAIRS

Daniella Hanf

Conference Co-Chair

Growing up on Perth’s beaches, I am deeply committed to the protection of WA’s marine environment. I am currently a Principal Scientist and marine fauna Team Manager at a local environmental consultancy. My focus is on impact assessment, management, baseline and monitoring programs using drones and acoustics, and supporting Sea Country initiatives. I strive for meaningful collaborations, capacity building and sound science in decision-making. I have been a society member since 2010.

Dr Krista Nicholson

Conference Co-Chair

I moved to Perth in 2009 from Scotland and while I miss my home country of Finland, I now feel completely at home in Western Australia. The lifestyle, beautiful beaches and marine life here is second to none. I am a population ecologist currently working on ecology of estuarine and coastal Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins in Mandurah, a city located an hour south of Perth. Although I work on several projects, my main interest is applying and developing capture-recapture methods for estimating abundance and other demographic parameters for cetacean populations. I have previously served in the society’s Education Committee and co-founded the SMM Australia/New Zealand student chapter.

Dr Delphine Chabanne

Scientific Program Co-Chair

Originally from France, I have called Perth, Western Australia, home since 2007. I study population ecology, genetics, and animal behaviour and apply this information to better manage the conservation of coastal populations and their environments. I lead the Coastal and Estuarine Dolphin Project and am a principal collaborator of the citizen science-based Dolphin Watch project. I have been a member of the society since 2013 and assisted in the membership committee.

Dr Simon Allen

Scientific Program Co-Chair

While I currently reside in the UK, I was born in Perth and spend time in Western Australia every year. I am a Principal Investigator with Shark Bay Dolphin Research and, more broadly, study wildlife-human interactions through fisheries, tourism, and climate breakdown. I am a long-standing member of the Society for Marine Mammalogy, and I also serve on the Awards Committee.