• Who We Are

    Learn about our why, our values, and our people.

Why
We believe rivers and people need each other to thrive.

How
We combine science with experience to transform rivers by giving people the confidence to act.

What
We inspire, support and facilitate people to make a difference.

Our Values:

Optimism

We believe that when people are given the opportunity they want to make a difference by caring for the world around them.

Empathy

We believe empathy and kindness are the foundations for shared problem solving, creativity and joy.

Connection

We believe that when people are connected to each other and to nature they are happier, more resilient and full of hope.

We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and recognise their continuing connection with, and knowledge about, land, waters and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures; and to Elders past, present and emerging.

What We Do:

We work across six interconnected areas of activity:

Meet the team:

Siwan Lovett, Managing Director

Favourite waterway 🌊: Upper Murrumbidgee River, NSW

Inspiring, skilled and effective. Siwan is a familiar face in the Australian river restoration community, with her work in communications, public speaking, leadership and on-ground riparian rehabilitation well-known and respected. She enjoys facilitating and empowering others to value themselves and their knowledge so that rivers and waterways can be managed confidently, in partnership with nature.

Lori Gould, Rivers of Carbon Program Manager

Favourite waterway 🌊: Pudman Creek near Rye Park, NSW

Lori specialises in riparian rehabilitation projects that focus on engaging the community in improving biodiversity, linking vegetation, addressing salinity, etc. She is the on-ground Program Manager for Rivers of Carbon, a program she and Siwan co-founded six years ago Lori is practical, approachable and a great person to talk to about all things riparian. She is a skilled community practitioner and is always willing to share her experiences with others.

Pat Gudhka, Digital Marketing Manager

Favourite waterway 🌊: Cooks River, NSW

Pat is the digital marketing strategist, ensuring the science and the stories we share have clear audience and are distributed on the right channels. He enjoys getting to develop the digital ‘why’, ‘what’ and ‘how’ for every project, offering value to anyone working in natural resource management who wants to share knowledge and empower others.

Andy Lowes, Program Manager

Favourite waterway 🌊: Murrumbidgee River, NSW

Andy is passionate about improving river health through improved flow regimes. With over a decade of experience working with water for the environment in the Murray-Darling Basin, his focus is on the collaboration and communication required between First Nations, communities, scientists, industries and government agencies, to improve our rivers. Andy is also committed to strengthening the water industry network through programs which support mentoring and collaboration across agencies.

Matt Morrison, Chief Operating Officer

Favourite waterway 🌊: Cumberland River, VIC

Matt joins the team as an experienced business leader to help ARRC effectively represent our rivers. He is passionate about leveraging modern ways of working to equip people to bring their best.

Masha Artamonova, Social Media & Marketing

Favourite waterway 🌊: Never Never Creek, NSW

Masha is passionate about creating digital experiences that support relationships, communities and growth. She is super excited to bring what she knows about digital marketing into a field that she feels strongly about. Although not (yet) an expert when it comes to the technical aspects of rivers, she loves that she gets to educate and make an impact on herself, others, and the environment through her work.

Chris Walsh, Podcast & Content Producer

Favourite waterway 🌊: Queanbeyan River, NSW

Chris is passionate about bold, beautiful digital storytelling with heart. From photography and cinematography to content publishing and web design, Chris works on translating the ARRC’s heart work into stories, films, and websites that can be shared with the world. He cherishes opportunities to tell impactful stories about important topics, enjoys discussions about philosophy, meditation, and mental health, and loves nothing more than to curl up by his piano with a coffee and his pet rabbit Simon at the end of a good day’s work.

Jed Pearson, Project Officer

Favourite waterway 🌊: Macleay River, NSW

Jed is an avid conservationist with a background in agriculture and project management. Coming from a rural community, he brings his love for rural Australia, our unique natural landscapes and passion for river ecology to conservation and land management projects around the ACT.

Alex James, Project Officer

Favourite waterway 🌊: Snowy River near Charlotte Pass, NSW

Alex James is an enthusiastic advocate for farmers and communities embracing the challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss. She is a project manager for Rivers of Carbon Boorowa and community engagement specialist, bringing the science of river restoration and biodiversity conservation to individuals and groups through webinars, field days and river restoration plans.

Eden Design Studio

Eden Young, Designer & Web Developer

Favourite waterway 🌊: The River Derwent, Tasmania

Eden is a Canberra-based creative designer specializing in branding, web design, and illustration. With a passion for collaborating with start-ups and companies in the climate, sustainability, tech, and innovation sectors, she thrives on bringing visionary ideas to life.
With five years of professional design experience, Eden’s journey began as a side hustle during her Bachelor of UX & Web Design studies. A two-month internship with INTERNI Magazine in Beijing set the stage for her career, followed by roles at the Clean Energy Regulator and Climate200, where she honed her skills in web publishing, communications, and graphic design. In 2023, Eden co-founded SelfTherapy, an AI-powered therapy app, and serves as Head of Design. She also crafted the brand and website for SIX – Sustainable Investment Exchange. Eden is eager to continue this exciting adventure and explore new opportunities to make a positive impact through design.

Jimmy

Jimmy Hooper, Social Media & Marketing Assistant

Favourite waterway 🌊: Ovens River, Victoria

Jimmy has a love for the challenge of sharing informative content to as many people as possible in the most engaging and creative ways. An experienced storyteller and social media marketer, Jimmy is keen to grow the ARRC’s online reach to protect and restore Australia’s waterways. With previous experience working for local environmental campaigns, Jimmy shows nothing but enthusiasm to dig into the social media marketing work at the ARRC.

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