About Simon

Much of Simon’s work starts with assembling the right team. Over three decades he has built working relationships across government agencies, development banks, universities, consultancies and community organisations, in Australia and internationally.

When a challenge needs expertise he doesn’t hold himself, he knows who does, and he brings them together around a shared purpose. He has led international partnerships with local teams in five countries, convened specialist panels and workshops on four continents, and assembled multidisciplinary bid teams with universities and consulting firms.

Simon began as a researcher at the University of Queensland, studying how nutrients and contaminants move through rivers and coastal waters. At the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency he managed the South East Queensland estuarine and marine monitoring program and served as an expert witness in environmental harm prosecutions.

He has since held senior roles in international engineering consultancies, leading water science teams and advising on environmental approvals, climate risk and sustainability. From 2011 to 2019 he was Science Integrator at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, where he led the Healthy Rivers for All partnership with WWF. He has also designed and taught courses with the International Water Centre, and established Darwinian Consulting in 2019.