We are pleased to announce that Margaret Moreton, Executive Director at the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR) will give the 2024 Claire Zara Memorial Oration.
Margaret has held a number of roles in government, private sector and philanthropic organisations. Working in a range of social policy areas for successive federal governments over 33 years, she is most proud of her leadership at the Office for Women, where she was involved in establishing the National Women’s Alliances.
Margaret has also developed a strong reputation as a disaster resilience specialist, undertaking community-based research which identified factors that contribute to disaster recovery and resilience, working in paid and volunteer roles and working to build community resilience in partnership with a broad range of stakeholders and led by communities themselves.
As Executive Director at AIDR, and together with her team, Margaret is focussed on developing and sharing knowledge, resources, and experience across a range of sectors, to lead or contribute to efforts that enhance community and systemic resilience to natural hazards. She has a particular passion for bringing to this work, the voices of diverse groups who have lived experience and significant knowledge and expertise, and who have previously not been included ‘at the table’. She feels a sense of urgency about DRR work and strongly advocates for partnership approaches, on the basis that a sense of urgency, strong relationships and high levels of trust are essential elements of bringing about much needed systemic change.
