Suzette has a passion for working with people and science communication - turning complex science into something that everyone can understand and most importantly apply practically.

She was born and raised on a strawberry farm in South East Queensland. Her first job was based in Bundaberg as a Natural Resource Officer working to help farmers develop Land and Water Management Plans compliant under the Water Act 2000 so they could use irrigation water. Pursuing her passion for extension and landholder engagement, she then went on an exciting adventure in the Northern grains growing region to work on projects covering topics including climate change, soil organic matter and carbon, pasture rundown and zero tillage. Covering numerous topics gave her the opportunity to really hone her extension skills, before an innovative Healthy Waterways project in South East Queensland brought her back to horticulture for a few years.

Following a move to Far North Queensland and the Wet Tropics region, Suzette worked with sugarcane and banana growers on water quality improvement for the Great Barrier Reef, learning more about farm design and working with the landscape/climate to improve the quality of the water leaving a property. This gave her a great appreciation for working with the land and using natural processes on farm.

Taking a whole farm systems approach to her work, Suzette’s background and experience has taught her to work with the land and the local community to keep agricultural production going today and into the future.