MESAC Committee
Ray Lewis, OAM, President is the founder of MESAC and ex-President of Marine Care Ricketts Point at the Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary, which was established in 2003. He is an ex RAAF navigator, high tech entrepreneur and public company chairman. His interests include DIY, marine science & wildlife care, diving, writing, environmental photography, educational video making, aged sector advocacy, disabilities sector support and business. Ray has lived in Beaumaris for decades, has worked tirelessly for the community, and cares and protects this beautiful place for future generations. He was the Victorian Senior Achiever of the year in 2007, was awarded a Coastal Heroes Medal in 2008 (marine environment sector advocacy) and an OAM in 2009. In 2014 he was appointed Bayside Council’s Environmentalist of the Year. E: ray@lewisfamily.com.au
Professor John Buckeridge, PhD, FGS lives 300 metres from Ricketts Point, Beaumaris with his wife, June. He is Professor and palaeobiologist at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. He is a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences; Past President of the International Union of Biological Sciences (Paris); President Emeritus of the International Society of Zoological Science (Beijing); past member of the Executive Board of the International Council for Science (Paris) and Honorarprofessor at Wismar University (Germany). E:john.buckeridge@rmit.edu.au
Dr Toni Roberts, PhD is a designer, researcher, educator and artist whose work focuses on shaping experiential, spatial and material environments that communicate ideas and values to audiences. Toni is a Bayside resident and loves to spend her free time below the surface exploring the beautiful aquatic environments around Melbourne, and also creates wonderful pieces of art often with a marine theme. Toni is the Editor of our new MESAC Marine Coastal Connections newsletter, as well as other educational and communications materials. She is also a Dive Leader in the beautiful Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary. To submit any worthy marine articles please email Toni: tonihatchling@gmail.com
Murray Orr, President of BESS, welcomes people from all over Melbourne to experience and learn all about local fossils. He educates to increase awareness about the unique fossil heritage area around Beaumaris Bay and Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary. Beaumaris Bay Geology/Fossils provides a common voice through citizen science, determined to have the valuable geological/fossil resource at Beaumaris sustained for current and future generations to access, study and interpret. E: pvaptyltd@bigpond.com
Peter Lamshed, divides his time between working as a counsellor/trauma therapist in a private psychiatric hospital and videography. Pete’s current quest is to create films of our aquatic environment, showcasing the rich diversity and our ocean’s immense importance to human survival. He wants to show folks how spectacular and bizarre our undersea world is and what they can expect to find in their own backyard, Port Phillip Bay. Pete is the ‘one man band’ behind Salvage Films: www.salvagefilms.com. You can find his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf3WZXjV3GIsJVOL8I1qyYw.
Jade Pearson-Smith is an ocean lover, scuba diver and freediver and has a true passion for protecting our ocean. Jade has 20 years experience working in the not-for-profit and higher education sector and currently works in Advancement at Monash University where she manages a program for students to raise funds for students experiencing disadvantage. She is an expert in donor communication, philanthropy and tele-fundraising. Jade recently completed her certificate III in Marine Conservation and Restoration at Envirotech Education in QLD.
Richard Pensak BSc Molecular Biology is an aspiring Marine Biologist especially fascinated by tiny marine life such as porifera, anemones, jellies and nudibranch. As a champion of ocean health and biodiversity, would ultimately like to be involved in projects which focus on maintaining outstanding water quality and which promote the return of key native species to critical areas of Port Phillip Bay. E: rpensak@gmail.com
Debbie Rose is the MESAC secretary and web administrator. She worked for many years as a veterinary nurse throughout Melbourne and then as a Technical Assistant with Agriculture Victoria. After being engaged in creating presentations for the Department’s research findings she went onto work in graphics, photography and animation in the higher education sectors. Having grown up in the Kingston area and spending much of her childhood at the beach, she realises that our bay is fragile and precious. E: mesacoffice@gmail.com