Dr Ilse Kiessling
Assistant Secretary, Protected Species & Ecological Communities Branch, Biodiversity Conservation Division
Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
Dr Kiessling joined the Australian public service in 2002, working principally in the environment portfolio as well as the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Her experience in the Commonwealth spans bushfire recovery and natural disaster resilience, species conservation, international wildlife trade, marine and terrestrial protected areas, Antarctic science, Commonwealth fisheries, Indigenous policy and engagement, waste management and recycling, policy and program design, and Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) regulation. She has held many senior many leadership roles, including in international fora on wildlife trafficking, marine pollution, fisheries and economic cooperation.
Prior to joining the public service, Dr Kiessling held an adjunct fellowship with Charles Darwin University and worked in the conservation sector, private consultant and biologist. She gained her PhD in oceans governance through the then Antarctic and Southern Ocean Cooperative Research Centre, University of Tasmania.