Our People
UWA Defence and Security Institute members
Institute Staff Advisory Board Executive Committee Institute Fellows Institute Internship Program
Institute Staff
Professor the Honourable Stephen Smith
Chair, UWA Defence and Security Institute
Professor Stephen Smith has been a Professor of Public International Law at the University of Western Australia since 2014. He is currently the Chairman of archTIS, Chairman of Sapien Cyber, Chair of the Advisory Board of the UWA Public Policy Institute, a member of the Board of the Perth USAsia Centre and a Member of the Board of the LNG Marine Fuel Institute.
Professor Peter Dean
Director, UWA Defence and Security Institute
Professor Peter J. Dean is Chair of Defence Studies, Director of the UWA Defence and Security Institute and a Senior Fellow at the Perth USAsia Centre. Prior to the commencement of this role Professor Dean was Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education) at UWA.
Fiona Considine
Business Manager
Fiona joined as an inaugural member of the UWA Defence and Security Program in November 2020. As Business Manager, she is responsible for the high-level planning, coordinating and execution of all of the Institutes programs, stakeholder engagement and outreach activities. Prior to this role she was the Events Manager for the Perth USAsia Centre for over 6 years.
Dr Troy Lee-Brown
Senior Research Officer
Dr Troy Lee-Brown is a political scientist, researcher and sessional academic in security and International Relations.
Troy’s PhD research was undertaken at the University of Western Australia and his dissertation titled ‘The Rise and Strategic Significance of the Indo-Pacific’ analysed the emergence and significance of the new regional construct.
Clare Senior
Project Officer
Clare Senior is an experienced project manager with a history of managing strategic projects from conception through to completion and evaluation. Clare has worked in the tertiary education sector in Australia and the UK and prior to this, she worked in the Government’s Department of Health. Clare has a Bachelor of Science (Psychology) and a Graduate Certificate in Business Leadership.
Marcus Schultz
Research Assistant
Marcus is currently completing a Master of International Relations by research at the University of Western Australia. His professional interests include Australian foreign policy, political economy, defence and military diplomacy, regional security, and alliance politics in the Indo-Pacific.
Advisory Board
Professor the Honourable Stephen Smith
Chair, Advisory Board
Chair, Executive Committee
Professor Stephen Smith has been a Professor of Public International Law at the University of Western Australia since 2014. He is currently the Chairman of archTIS, Chairman of Sapien Cyber, Chair of the Advisory Board of the UWA Public Policy Institute, a member of the Board of the Perth USAsia Centre and a Member of the Board of the LNG Marine Fuel Institute.
Professor Peter Dean
Advisory Board Member
Executive Committee Member
Professor Peter J. Dean is Chair of Defence Studies, Director of the UWA Defence and Security Institute and a Senior Fellow at the Perth USAsia Centre. Prior to the commencement of this role Professor Dean was Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education) at UWA.
The Honourable Kim Beazley AC
Honorary Non-voting Advisory Board Member
The Honourable Kim Beazley AC is the 33rd Governor of Western Australia.
Prior to being installed as Governor on the 1st May 2018, Mr Beazley had dedicated almost three decades to a career in Federal Parliament, representing the WA seats of Brand and Swan.
Professor Amit Chakma
Advisory Board Member
Professor Amit Chakma is the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Western Australia. He has served as President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Western Ontario from 2009-2019. Prior to his tenure at Western, he served as Provost and Vice-President Academic at the University of Waterloo from 2001-2009.
The Honourable David Johnston
Advisory Board Member
The Honourable David Johnston was educated in Perth in Western Australia, David attended Wesley College from 1967–1973 and then graduated from The University of Western Australia in 1981 with the law degrees B.Juris and LLB. David was elected to the Australian Parliament as a Senator for Western Australia in 2001 and served in that role for 15 years.
Hayley Channer
Advisory Board Member
Ms Hayley Channer is the Senior Policy Fellow at the Perth USAsia Centre. Based in Canberra, Hayley produces analysis on foreign and defence policy in the Indo-Pacific, engages with key Australian Government agencies and other policy stakeholders, and builds and sustains the Centre’s domestic and international network.
Professor Gordon Flake
Advisory Board Member
Professor Gordon Flake is the founding Chief Executive Officer of the Perth USAsia Centre at The University of Western Australia.
Professor Flake is one of world’s leading authorities on strategic developments in the Indo-Pacific. Having spent twenty-five years in the US foreign policy community focused on the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia and now seven years in Australia’s Indian Ocean capital he is an expert on key strategic relationships in the broader Indo-Pacific.
Linda Dawson
Advisory Board Member
Linda Dawson is the Deputy Director General, Industry, Science and Innovation at the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation. She is a senior executive with more than 25 years’ experience working in large Australian and multinational organisations across the resources and utilities sectors. Over Linda’s career she has led corporate services, community development, human resources, health safety and environment, corporate affairs and operational functions.
Samantha Tough
Advisory Board Member
Samantha has a broad and varied career in many sectors including energy, resources, engineering and agriculture. She also has a 20 plus year career serving on boards.
Samantha is Pro Vice-Chancellor Industry Engagement at the University of Western Australia and currently serves as Chair of Horizon Power, Director of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Chair COAG National Energy Selection Panel and Director Fluence Ltd.
Rear Admiral Wendy Malcolm
Advisory Board Member
Wendy Malcolm joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1987, graduating as a Midshipman from the Australian Defence Force Academy in 1989 having completed a Bachelor of Science majoring in Physics.
Wendy was awarded a Conspicuous Service Medal (CSM) in the 2015 Australia Day Honours List “for meritorious devotion to duty as the Anzac System Program Office Director”, and promoted Rear Admiral on 7 December 2018.
Professor Gia Parish
Advisory Board Member
Deputy Chair, Executive Committee
Giacinta (Gia) Parish is Associate Dean, Research, and Professor in the School of Engineering, at The University of Western Australia. She joined UWA in 2001 as an Australian Postdoctoral Fellow after completing a PhD at the University of California, Santa Barbara as a Fulbright Scholar.
David Norman
Advisory Board Member
Executive Committee Member
David Norman is Senior Policy Advisor to the Vice-Chancellor at the University of Western Australia. He leads the UWA’s counter foreign interference work and is the Secretary of UWA’s Defence and Security Committee.
Executive Committee
Professor the Honourable Stephen Smith
Chair, Advisory Board
Chair, Executive Committee
Professor Stephen Smith has been a Professor of Public International Law at the University of Western Australia since 2014. He is currently the Chairman of archTIS, Chairman of Sapien Cyber, Chair of the Advisory Board of the UWA Public Policy Institute, a member of the Board of the Perth USAsia Centre and a Member of the Board of the LNG Marine Fuel Institute.
Professor Peter Dean
Advisory Board Member
Executive Committee Member
Professor Peter J. Dean is Chair of Defence Studies, Director of the UWA Defence and Security Institute and a Senior Fellow at the Perth USAsia Centre. Prior to the commencement of this role Professor Dean was Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education) at UWA.
Professor Gia Parish
Advisory Board Member
Deputy Chair, Executive Committee
Giacinta (Gia) Parish is Associate Dean, Research, and Professor in the School of Engineering, at The University of Western Australia. She joined UWA in 2001 as an Australian Postdoctoral Fellow after completing a PhD at the University of California, Santa Barbara as a Fulbright Scholar.
Fiona Considine
Executive Committee Member
Fiona joined as an inaugural member of the UWA Defence and Security Program in November 2020. As Business Manager, she is responsible for the high-level planning, coordinating and execution of all of the Institutes programs, stakeholder engagement and outreach activities. Prior to this role she was the Events Manager for the Perth USAsia Centre for over 6 years.
Professor Shayne Loft
Executive Committee Member
Professor Shayne Loft is an expert in Human Factors (Applied Cognitive Psychology) and is currently an Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Research Fellow (2021-2024) and the Director of the Human Factors and Applied Cognition Laboratory (http://www.hufac.net).
Professor Benjamin Reilly
Executive Committee Member
Professor Benjamin Reilly is a political scientist and academic at the UWA School of Social Sciences whose work focuses on democratisation and electoral reform in ethnically divided societies.
Dr Caroline Chapman
Executive Committee Member
Caroline is a Research Development Advisor in the Office of Research, UWA where she brings together her passion for research and her interest in supporting researchers to develop not only their careers but also to create real world impact with their ideas.
David Norman
Advisory Board Member
Executive Committee Member
David Norman is Senior Policy Advisor to the Vice-Chancellor at the University of Western Australia. He leads the UWA’s counter foreign interference work and is the Secretary of UWA’s Defence and Security Committee.
Lee Patterson
Executive Committee Member
Lee Patterson leads the Cyber Security and Technology Risk Management team at the University of Western Australia. His function is responsible for providing governance and oversight over technology and cyber risks, detecting and responding to cyber events, developing capabilities to improve the protection against and detection of cyber attacks and raising awareness of cyber security issues to staff and students.
Associate Professor Tim Inglis
Executive Committee Member
Associate Professor Tim Inglis (Pathology) is the Head of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, UWA and Consultant Medical Microbiologist, Department of Microbiology, PathWest Laboratory Medicine, QEII Medical Campus, Nedlands. Other appointments: W.A. representative, Public Health Laboratory Network, Australia; Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Medical Microbiology.
Paul Collings
Executive Committee Member
Paul Collings is a member of the Innovation and Industry Engagement (IIE) team at UWA. His team is responsible for driving a culture of industry engagement and innovation deep into the University structures, processes and people.
Fatima Moosa
Executive Committee Member
Fatima Moosa is the International Compliance Officer at the Office of Research at the University of Western Australia (UWA). She is a member of the executive team of the UWA Defence and Security Institute and who’s key focus is the countering of foreign interference at UWA.
Institute Fellows
Natalie Sambhi
Visiting Fellow
Through her research, presentations and publications, Natalie Sambhi is committed to helping people gain a more nuanced understanding of Indonesian civil-military relations, Indonesian defence policy and Southeast Asian security.
Matt Moran
Visiting Fellow
Matt is the Head of Strategy and Government Relations for Luerssen Australia. Prior to joining Luerssen Australia, he was the inaugural Executive Director of Defence West. He is an Australian Army Afghanistan veteran and a Walkley Award winner. Matt deployed to Afghanistan as a public affairs officer in 2009 and East Timor in 2007.
Institute Internship Program
Bridget Davis
Research Analyst Intern
Bridget is currently completing a Bachelor of Economics in Professional Economics at the University of Western Australia. She is passionate about political economy, international development and defence economics, with a special interest in diplomacy and security across the Indo-Pacific.
Fraser Wipp
Research Analyst Intern
Fraser is currently studying a Master of International Relations. He is interested in Australian national security policy, Indo-Pacific security, foreign affairs, WA public policy and political consultancy. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and Cultural Studies and Art History.
The Defence and Security Institute is an initiative by The University of Western Australia.
The University of Western Australia acknowledges that its campus is situated on Noongar land, and that Noongar people remain the spiritual and cultural custodians of their land, and continue to practise their values, languages, beliefs and knowledge.