STAFF
CHRIS STEWART
Executive Director
A science communicator and lapsed physicist, Chris is a passionate advocate for improving education, awareness and understanding of science.
After touring Australia with the Shell Questacon Science Circus in 1994, he moved to Toronto, Canada, to do a PhD in theoretical particle physics. Five years spent studying the private lives of quarks taught him that some people are destined to be great research physicists — and he wasn’t one of them.
Still excited by the stories of science, in 2001 Chris joined the Sydney University Physics Education Research (SUPER) group as a postdoctoral fellow. He remained at the University of Sydney’s School of Physics for seven years: first as Outreach Officer, then as Lecturer in Science Communication. In 2004 Chris was appointed Executive Officer of the Science Foundation for Physics within the University of Sydney, running programs such as the Professor Harry Messel International Science School.
Chris joined ASI as Executive Director in August 2007. He and his partner have a young daughter, who provides daily entertainment and teaches him about chaos theory.
MARY ANNE KING
Program Manager
Mary Anne is an education specialist with expertise in learning and development, management and communication. Completing her Bachelor of Education in the eighties Mary Anne worked in primary and secondary schools. Her interest in providing a challenging and enriched curriculum for students to develop to their full potential led her to complete a Masters in Education specialising in gifted education. For Mary Anne one of the privileges of teaching is witnessing the joy a student experiences when he or she learns.
In January 2007 Mary Anne was appointed Program Manager for Australian Science Innovations. She is keen to develop new opportunities to promote the ASI mission “to enhance the value that the community places on science.”
Mary Anne proudly proclaims she is a “native of Canberra”. As a child living on the banks of the Molonglo River she remembers watching the creation of Lake Burley Griffin. She enjoys the Canberra lifestyle, as well as reading, cycling, watching AFL and sharing good food and wine with friends.
KRISTI MAROC
Communications & Events Manager
Kristi has an extensive background within media, communications, marketing and events. She has worked with a number of large media companies, including as a Producer for ABC Local Radio, a Production Assistant at Channel Ten, and a Researcher with Havas Media in London. She has a Masters in Journalism, a Bachelor of Arts (Communications and Marketing) degree, and has also studied with the Australian Film, Television and Radio School.
An adventurous nature has seen Kristi travel independently to over thirty countries worldwide. She took off on her first round-the-world adventure at the tender age of eighteen...much to her parents concern! She has studied in Spain, taught in New York, and lived and worked in London.
Kristi has recently returned to her home-town of Canberra, after spending the past seven years enjoying a 'sea change' in the Illawarra. Her loyalty to the ACT has always been maintained, however, through her passionate following of the Canberra Raiders. She enjoys a mixed variety of hobbies, from Latin Dancing to Squash and Horse Riding, and has an eccentric taste in music, from Frank Sinatra to Garth Brooks...a mix that often has her friends, family and colleagues scratching their heads in confusion.
LARA COLE
Administration Assistant
Lara Cole joined the ASI Office as Administration Assistant in October 2006.
Her background in Administration includes working within the Insurance & Reinsurance Industries and Nuclear Physics Industry in Sydney NSW as well as various assignments in South Australia.
Lara has been exposed to all aspects of business administration including, secretarial, accounts, purchasing, travel, desktop publishing, events management, sales, office management, customer service, payroll, designing and implementing business systems, just to name a few!
Lara has grown up in the ACT, attending local schools. She enjoys horse riding as well as horse ownership, catching up with friends, traveling nationally & internationally.
Updated 21 February 2008