Ocean Lovers Festival: International Women’s Day Cruise

Guest Speakers

Panel Host

Jessi Miley-Dyer

Jessi Miley-Dyer is a former Commissioner of the World Surf League (WSL) and a former World Junior Champion surfer, with more than a decade of experience at the highest level of professional surfing.

Throughout her career, both in the water and in leadership roles within the WSL, she has been a powerful advocate for women’s sport, equality and positive cultural change. Alongside her role in surfing, she is deeply connected to ocean conservation through her work with Surfrider Foundation Australia, bringing together sport, advocacy and stewardship to protect the coastlines that shape our communities and culture.

Aliah Banchik

Marine scientist, artist, underwater photographer  and breakout streaming star – Aliah Banchik is Co-founder of the not-for-profit FINstitute, launched in Qld as a global shark conservation organisation. As a shark and ray specialist, Aliah starred in the 2024 global Netflix reality series All the Sharks, traveling the world to photograph sharks. She has been recognised as one of the world’s leading “Young Women Making an Impact in Conservation”.

Prof. Melanie Bishop

Multi award-winning coastal ecologist, Prof Melanie Bishop is from the School of Natural Sciences at Macquarie University and co-founder of the acclaimed Living  Seawalls program. She is a previous NSW Scientist of the Year award recipient and was co-lead on the green engineering working group for the World Harbour Project. Melanie is currently driving the critically important restoration of oyster reefs to enhance the ecological and economic value of our coasts. She is also a core contributor to Project Restore — repairing the entire Sydney Harbour seascape.

Lisa Blair OAM

Multi world-record-holding solo sailor and climate action campaigner Lisa Blair OAM is an Australian adventurer, author and trailblazer, named Australian Geographic’s Adventurer of the Year in 2022, among numerous other awards. She is passionate about creating and breaking records and inspiring global action for the health of the ocean and the planet. She holds the record the fastest unassisted non -stop, solo circumnavigation of Antarctica. She also holds records for the fastest solo, non-stop and unassisted circumnavigation of Australia and New Zealand. Lisa is a fierce supporter of climate action with her boat aptly named ‘Climate Action Now’. She is an Ambassador for Ocean Lovers Festival and the Boating Industry Associations Sustainability Ambassador.

Wendy Tuck

Wendy ‘Wendo’ Tuck is a pioneering ocean racing skipper and a manager at Making Waves Foundation. She was the first woman to win an around the world yacht race taking overall victory as skipper in the 2017-18 Clipper ace. She has been Australian Offshore Sailor of the year and a class winner in the Rolex Sydney Hobart yacht race. Her lifelong love of the sea from early surfing days in Cronulla to her round the world adventures see her as a passionate advocate and citizen science campaigner for a healthy ocean.

Mariana Mayer-Pinto

UNSW Associate Prof. Mariana Mayer-Pinto is with the Centre for Marine Science and Innovation, a world leading marine research organisation creating real world impact. She is a co-founder of the highly awarded Living Seawalls program, an inspiring practical solution to environmental issues using ecological engineering. Her research has generated new insight critical to inform the successful conservation and management of coastal systems.

Adriana Vergés

Adriana Vergés is Professor in marine ecology and the Director of the Centre for Marine Science & Innovation at UNSW. Named a WINGS Women of Discovery Award recipient in 2024 among her many awards, her research focuses on climate change impacts and integrates rigorous science with novel ways of regenerating marine ecosystems. Her work is well known for involving the public with hands-on in marine restoration. She co-founded Operation Crayweed and Operation Posidonia, two projects that have been restoring missing seaweed forests and seagrass meadows over the last 15 years in Sydney.

Tully White

Surfers for Climate Ambassador Tully White is a professional Longboard surfer who competes on the World Surf League. She is a passionate ocean advocate with an environmental science degree specialising in climate and sustainability. Tully is passionate about surfers getting involved in positive climate action particularly the transition out of fossil fuels into renewable energy. She aims to use her platform as a surfer to inspire her followers to be environmentally conscious in all aspects of their lives.