Our people
Briony Towers
(she/her)
Founder and Co-Director
Briony specialises in risk communication, community-based emergency management, and education for disaster risk reduction. Her research and practice draws on theories and concepts from psychology, geography, sociology and education to develop policies and programs that effectively address the needs, priorities and concerns of those at risk.
Briony has a special interest in school-based education for disaster risk reduction and youth-led approaches to understanding and managing risk. Prior to founding Leadrrr in 2022, she spent 8 years as a Research Fellow at RMIT University where she collaborated with schools, communities, emergency management agencies and non-government organisations on the design, implementation and evaluation of learner-centred education programs aimed at increasing child and youth participation in disaster risk reduction. During this period, she also collaborated on numerous international participatory action research projects with children and youth.
Briony holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) from the University of Tasmania and a Bachelor of Behavioural Science from Latrobe University. For her PhD in sociocultural psychology, completed in 2012 at the University of Tasmania, she developed a Grounded Theory of children’s knowledge of vulnerability and resilience to bushfire which has been used extensively by fire agencies and education departments around Australia. Briony is a member of the Australian Disaster Resilience Education Strategy Group, the National Infant and Child Disaster Mental Health Advisory Committee, and the Triple Zero Australia Working Group. She is also the co-convenor of the Australian Children and Disasters Community of Practice.
Download CV here.
Billy Tusker Haworth
(they/them or he/him)
Co-Director
Billy is a geographer with expertise uniquely positioned at the intersection of critical human geography, geographic information systems (GIS), and international disaster research, policy and practice. Central to all Billy’s work is the desire to expose and potentially empower marginalised voices, with emphasis on community engagement and knowledge exchange.
Their main research projects over the past decade have included:
queer disaster vulnerability and resilience, including studies of LGBTQIA+ experiences during Covid-19 in Brazil and the UK
the role of participatory mapping and social media in community bushfire preparedness in Australia
graffiti in conflict-affected societies (e.g., Cyprus)
environmental livelihood security and spatial planning in the Asia-Pacific region.
Billy holds a PhD in Geography, Master of Applied Science (Spatial Information Science) and Bachelor of Science (Geography, Geology & Geophysics), all from the University of Sydney. From 2017 to 2022 they were a Lecturer in GIS and International Disaster Management at the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute, University of Manchester (UK). Now back in Australia, they continue to work with universities, government and non-government organisations and communities on geography and disaster/humanitarian projects. In 2022, Billy volunteered at the Asylum Seekers Centre in Sydney, commenced a research and teaching role in the School of Geosciences, University of Sydney, and joined Leadrrr as Co-Director. Billy is also a member of a global consultative panel of experts advising the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction on gender, inclusion and disasters.
Download CV here.