Dr Jess Melbourne-Thomas is the Director of Conservation Science with Parks Australia. She is a science leader specializing in the science-policy interface, helping connect knowledge to decision-making for conservation, climate adaptation, and sustainability. Over a career spanning more than 20 years, she has led interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research across marine, terrestrial, and social-ecological systems worldwide, from the tropics to the polar regions. Jess was one of Australia’s first 30 Superstars of STEM and was named Tasmania’s Young Tall Poppy of the Year in 2015 for her excellence in research, science communication and policy engagement. She co-founded the Homeward Bound project, which took the largest ever all female expedition on a leadership journey to Antarctica in 2016, and was a Lead Author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2019 Special Report on the Oceans & Cryosphere in a Changing Climate. She was also one of 12 female scientists globally to have her portrait featured as a constellation on the ceiling of New York’s Grand Central Station as part of GE’s 2017 Balance the Equation campaign. Jess was the 2020 Tasmanian Australian of the Year.