Sue is a Melbourne-based whale and dolphin biologist, communicator and science educator.
Sue’s PhD research focused on common dolphins, one of two species of dolphins that reside year-round in Port Phillip. She has worked on humpback whale projects as a volunteer and scientist in Australia and Hawaii, and has presented her research at international conferences and journals.
As the Research Director at the Dolphin Research Institute, Sue founded the Two Bays Whale Project with two colleagues. This social media-based citizen science project validates and documents sightings of whales in Port Phillip, Western Port and the Bass Coast. Increased numbers of whale sightings reported to the project since it began in 2015 led the Two Bays Whale Project Team to launch the Island Whale Festival. This increasingly-popular annual event is now a winter highlight for both Phillip Island locals and tourists. The festival celebrates and highlights the presence of whales and other marine megafauna in the waters around the island, especially humpback whales during their northern and southern migrations.
Sue is passionate about encouraging girls to engage with and understand science. She is currently teaching enthusiastic and promising young scientists at Camberwell Girls Grammar School. As she says “Science is about being curious. Science is about asking questions and understanding the world around us.”
Combining her passions for whale and dolphin research, citizen science, education, and wanting girls to experience science beyond the classroom, Sue recently formed the social enterprise, Cetacean Science Connections. Beyond it all is Sue’s clear love for whales, dolphins, the marine environment, science, and the future.