Node Research Manager capability has been boosted with the addition of two new and highly experience to Natural Hazards Research Australia’s (the Centre) team, boosting it to seven overall.
Kirsten Jackson and Philip Sen will manage a range of projects across Australia from the Sydney node.
Philip has witnessed the human face of emergencies around the world, from survivors of conflict in Liberia and South Sudan to hazard-exposed communities in Australia.
It drives his passion for disaster resilience.
Philip left defence and aerospace journalism in the UK to teach at a Shanghai university, earned a Master’s degree in International Relations in Amsterdam, then worked in stakeholder relations for the United Nations and international NGOs including Oxfam and WWF.
He then moved into an EU-funded disaster risk reduction program led by ActionAid, working with locals in flood-prone parts of Cambodia to prepare for the next deluge.
Philip met his Australian future wife in Cambodia. They settled in Sydney in 2016, where he returned to communications roles with, among others, Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) and the St Vincent de Paul Society.
He then became Community Disaster Resilience Program Manager with the NGO Habitat for Humanity Australia.
This exposed him to on-the-ground preparation, response and recovery in New South Wales, and during this period he met drought-stricken farmers and bushfire survivors who’d lost almost everything.
“I’m motivated by the big challenges facing people like them, and try to play a small part in solving those issues for us and for future generations,” Philip said. “And even though I’ve had a fairly unconventional career, there is that thread where I’ve supported the real experts at the frontline.”
He said the Centre ultimately helps people and organisations better understand Australia’s changing hazards landscape and adjust practices to improve resilience.
“I think it’s up to all of us to work together, as things change and emerge, to seek solutions,” Philip said.
“That’s part of what the Centre does. It’s about helping each other and looking after each other - whether it’s scientists, government, communities, firies and SES teams, or the First Nations peoples whom we have so much to learn from.
“Everybody has to play a part in meeting the natural hazards challenge. We’ve got to act, and I’m very privileged to play a part in that ecosystem.”
Kirsten Jackson needs only look over her back fence to remember the importance of the Centre’s work.
Her home, in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire, abuts the Royal National Park, the scene of many bushfires over the years.
Kirsten’s journey into research started with project roles at Cancer Council New South Wales, transitioning to become a Program Manager at the Digital Health
CRC and Senior Program Development Manager at the Sax Institute, a research body focussed on health and wellbeing.
A further research leadership role at the University of Sydney led Kirsten to the Sydney Environment Institute, a job that piqued her interest in climate crisis and disaster resilience following the impact of bushfires in NSW.
“I enjoy working with research that has an impact. In health, it was research that would actually help li- improve someone’s life, make the health system better, or get important research findings translated into practice,” she said.
“When I moved from health to disaster resilience, I wanted to continue to support research that would impact on things that are of the greatest importance to the community, and hopefully change the way we adapt and respond to natural disasters.”
Kirsten and her husband grew up in Sydney. They are renovating their mid-century bushland home and visit local cafes or the beach, but Kirsten said they’re aware of the risks around them.
“Every Australian has been through an awful summer, or a flood, or something disastrous. Unless governments and corporations do something quite urgently, we’re going to be in trouble” she said.