The Institute for Regional Conservation is pleased to announce the addition of Dr. Kingsley Dixon to our board of directors. Raised in Perth Australia, Kingsley developed a love for native plants at a young age and now has over 30 years experience with Australian native plants and ecosystems. As Director of Science at the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority (BGPA), and more recently a personal Chair at Curtin University, Kingsley has led a research team of over 40 members focusing on the restoration and conservation sciences. His personal research is focused on rare and threatened species, restoration of damaged landscapes, conservation of indigenous Australian plants, and orchid biology and conservation. Kingsley’s passion for orchids has resulted in publications in Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, Journal of Evolutionary Biology, Annals of Botany, and Biological Conservation in the year 2015 alone and over 300 publications in total throughout his career. Kingsley’s work has been highly recognized with awards from the Linnean Medal in Botany, the Australian Minerals Energy Environment Foundations Awards of Environmental Excellence in 1992 and 1996 and Golden Gecko Awards for Environmental Excellence in 1997 and 2000.

Kingsley is currently a professor at Curtin University’s Department of Environment and Agriculture, a visiting professor at Kings Park and Botanic Garden, a visiting professor at the University of Western Australia’s School of Plant Biology, and a research associate at the Missouri Botanic Garden, Missouri. He serves as Board member of international Society for Ecological Restoration, Immediate-Past President of Australian Network for Plant Conservation, Member of International Panel of Experts for the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation, Consulting Editor of In Vitro Cell and Developmental Biology. He also sits on several prestigious panels including the National Judging Panel for Eureka Awards, National Grant Advisory Panel for Australian Flora Foundation, Chairman of Research Committee for the Australian Orchid Foundation and Delegate of the Australian Network for Plant Conservation to the Council of Heads of Australian Botanic Gardens.