Project Numbat Committee
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:
PRESIDENT: ROB HEMSWORTH. Rob has a lifelong interest in animals which has found him up trees with sloths, swimming with pink river dolphins, following tigers in India, watching lions hunt in Africa, cage diving with great whites, and, most importantly, finding numbats! Rob currently works as a Senior Zoologist for an environmental consultancy firm, where he travels to remote regions of the country conducting fauna surveys. He was previously employed at Perth Zoo in Supervisor, Senior Keeper, and Zookeeper roles, where he had had the privilege of working with an extensive range of Exotic and Australian fauna. Rob also worked as the Principal Researcher for a marine research program on Mafia Island in Tanzania. Rob has a double Major in Biological Science and Conservation and Wildlife Biology, a Masters in Marine Biology, and a Graduate Certificate in Project Management, which he hopes will come in handy for the group. Rob is excited to be working with such a passionate group of people who are dedicated to saving the elusive numbat.
Karen (Centre) representing Project numbat, PICTURED with Perth Zoo and PARKS AND WILDLIFE staff at the release of NUMBATS into the DRYANDRA WOODLAND.
VICE PRESIDENT: KAREN CAVANOUGH. A love of wildlife led Karen to a variety of studies including Certificates in Captive Animals and in Veterinary Nursing, a degree in Conservation & Wildlife Biology and a postgraduate degree in Captive Vertebrate Management. Karen works as a Zookeeper with our beloved numbats and other endangered species within the Native Species Breeding Program at Perth Zoo. She is also a long term volunteer at Kanyana Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in Lesmurdie. Karen joined the Committee in 2013 to assist in raising awareness and conservation efforts for WA's unique animal emblem. As Merchandise Officer she keeps our Webshop stocked with awesome numbat related merchandise and also helps to coordinate our events.
TREASURER. TANIA THOMPSON.
Tania’s bio to follow.
SECRETARY. CAROLA HOMBERG.
Carola’s bio to follow.
GENERAL COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
BRUNA CALMANOVICI. Bruna is a Marine Scientist with a strong passion for conservation and wildlife protection. She studied Marine Science at the University of Western Australia, and completed her Honors project focused on Marine Turtles. During her career, she gained field experience working with Flatback turtles in Barrow Island and Onslow. She also worked researching plastic pollution in the ocean, and later worked as a Waste Education Officer in different councils. Bruna currently works as a laboratory technician in a marine lab at a high school. As Membership Officer, Bruna assists in keeping the memberships up to date and enjoys being involved with passionate and like minded people in an organization that is dedicated to numbat conservation.
TRACY de VETTER. Tracy’s bio to follow.
BRIAN HADWIN. After working across the world in IT, Brian reflected on how to fills his days in retirement and began volunteering in animal conservation. Brian has since learnt a great deal about the animal kingdom and the need for both conservation and rehabilitation of the environment. As a past Secretary and current Committee Member, Brian shares his experiences assisting in raising community awareness of the numbat and supports the Numbat Recovery Program objectives. Brian is a Perth Zoo Docent assisting visitors and staff with their day-to-day operations as well as assisting the numbat breeding program by harvesting termites!
LOUISE MCKENNA. A keen interest in wildlife led Louise to go back to college following a long period of traveling to study captive wild animal management and start a career as a Zookeeper that has spanned the last 21 years. She started out in the UK where she is originally from and for the last 14 years was head keeper/coordinator role at a zoo in Taranaki, New Zealand. Louise was also a keen volunteer with the Taranaki Kiwi Trust and assisted kiwi rangers monitoring wild kiwi on Mt Taranaki which tied in well with her love of hiking. Louise relocated to Perth in September 2023 with her kiwi husband for his work. Louise was keen to continue to volunteer some of her time to wildlife conservation and had been made aware of Project Numbat through her friend Lainy (prior Vice President). She looks forward to being able to help raise awareness for this charismatic little marsupial!
JOANNE STEWART.
Joanne’s bio to follow…
