Professor Stephen van Leeuwen is a botanical ecologist, executive manager and respected Wadandi Noongar leader with links to Country in the Busselton and Margaret River regions of southwest Western Australia. Stephen builds collaborative relationships with Traditional Custodians and other land managers to deliver novel and enduring outcomes for biodiversity conservation, bio-cultural land management, and the stewardship of Country.

Professor van Leeuwen is Australia’s first Indigenous Chair of Biodiversity and Environmental Science at Curtin University. His position is supported by Curtin University, BHP and the National Environmental Science Program. Stephen has a diverse research pedigree developed over 40 years of applied research, principally in the rangelands (Pilbara and Western Desert) and the Kwongan sandplains of Western Australia. He embraces innovation and opportunistically engages and builds collaborative relationships with Traditional Owners, other land managers and collegial biodiversity research providers to deliver novel and enduring outcomes for nature conservation, Country and community.