The International Workshop with Invited Women Experts

Marit Brommer is the Executive Director of the IGA since 2017. She comes with 15 years of experience in the extractive industry where she has worked as subsurface portfolio manager. At the IGA she is focusing on creating strong partnerships with international operating organisations and industries. Marit is engaged in strategic initiatives, to consistently add value to the geothermal sector by creating opportunities for geothermal development underpinning the vision of achieving a net-zero future. The IGA stands for the International Geothermal Association, a global platform representing the geothermal sector serving 5500 members through 35 affiliated country members. The IGA mission is to facilitate and promote the uptake of geothermal resources. The IGA flagship, the World Geothermal Congress, takes place every three years, where it convenes the global geothermal sector and sets the future agenda.

Liv is a chartered geologist with 19 years’ experience in the extractives industries, supported by an MSc in Mineral Project Appraisal from Imperial College, a BSc (Hons) in Geology from Durham University, and an executive course in Behavioural Science from London School of Economics & Political Science. As Accenture’s Applied Intelligence Mining Lead, Liv works with C-suite and client teams to address specific business needs, define strategy, develop data-driven tools and transform working practices with the goals of improved safety, sustainability, ESG and productivity. She is actively driving the industry towards zero harm and zero carbon through analytics, artificial intelligence and autonomous operating models, and is developing critical capabilities, including Intelligent Tailings Management.

An engaged member of Global Mining Guidelines Group (GMG), Liv also scrutineers for chartership at the Geological Society and has been convening the London Mining Sundowner since 2007. Liv is Past President of MinSouth (London & Southern Counties branch of IOM3), past council member and Professional Secretary of the Geological Society and former committee member of the Pan-European Reserves & Resources Reporting Committee (PERC). She is passionate about resource stewardship and stakeholder engagement, and is a firm believer that mining can be a force for good. Dedicated to advocating for the industry, Liv is committed to creating a working environment that is diverse, inclusive, and attracts and retains the next-gen workforce.

Marie Cowan MRIA MIoD PGeo is the Director of the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland (GSNI), an office of the Department for the Economy staffed by scientists from the British Geological Survey. She is an elected Member of the Royal Irish Academy (RIA) and works on its Geosciences and Geographical Sciences Committee, North South Standing Committee and Higher Education Futures Group. Marie is a member of the Institute of Directors (IoD) and holds an IoD diploma in Company Direction. She is a Professional Geologist with the Institute of Geologists of Ireland and board member for the Irish Centre for Research in Applied Geosciences at University College Dublin. Marie is a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly All-Party Group for Science and Technology and the NI Learned Societies and Professional Bodies Forum. She holds a 1st Class Hons. B.Sc. Geology and Ph.D. in Geology from the Queen’s University of Belfast.

Marie Fleming is an Engineering Geologist leading Arup’s Applied Geology team in Europe and is the global Applied Geology Skills Network Lead. Along with the technical aspects of her job, Marie is particularly interested in project and team management and is a member of Arup’s People Executive focusing on a range of areas including employee engagement and inclusion, resourcing, mobility, learning and development, and communication. Marie is passionate about outreach and promoting geoscience and is Past President of the Institute of Geologists of Ireland and is proud to be a trustee of the charity Geology for Global Development. She is and has been the industry advisor on a number of Engineering Geology research projects and is a visiting lecturer in Engineering Geology. Outside of work she can often be found strolling across a headland somewhere, taking photos and/or spending time with friends and family.

Jodie is currently a Senior Earth Science technician at the University of Plymouth. Previously working as a post doc working on climate change in the geological record and the effect of volcanic events on biota using foraminifera and geochemistry, she has a background in both academia and support work, as well as contributing to outreach for which she feels very passionate. Running workshops for all ages, and developing events at the university, most successfully herself and Sarah Boulton founded Girls into Geoscience in 2014. Since then they have had over 550 girls attend events physically and this year, for the first time virtually! GiG Scotland, Ireland and Wales have also launched, along with GiG jr, engaging even more girls about the geoscience and where it could take them. They are looking forward to working with ENGIE to continue inspiring girls to discover the geosciences.

Hazel Gibson is the Communications Officer for the European Geosciences Union. She has previously worked extensively around public perceptions of geoscience and science communication, including studying geothermal power, subsurface visualisations and the influence of regional geological heritage. Combining experience in industry and science communication with an interdisciplinary research approach, Hazel has developed a whole new understanding of how expert and non-expert geoscientists conceptualise the geological subsurface and how that understanding can be used to improve the effectiveness of our communications.

Helen Glaves is a Senior Data Scientist at the British Geological Survey (BGS), with more than 30 years’ experience in marine geoscience and geoinformatics. Her current role focuses on the development and implementation of research infrastructures, which includes acting as Director of the Integrated Core Services (ICS-C) for the European Plate Observing System (EPOS). She is also actively involved in a number of national and international initiatives addressing various aspect of open science, including as a member of the Research Data Alliance (RDA) Technical Advisory Board and the steering committee for the International Geo Sample Number (IGSN) initiative. Helen recently took over as the Vice President of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) having previously served as the Earth and Space Science Informatics (ESSI) Division President for three years. She will transition into the role of EGU President in 2021 for a period of 2 years.

Karen holds a PhD in Geology from University of Copenhagen, and has worked with research on geological processes in the lower crust and mantle and their associated mineral deposits. Karen joined the BGS from EIT RawMaterials, and previous roles include Head of Department at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Research roles at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Columbia University, and consultant to the mineral exploration industry. She is a member of a range of international advisory committees and working groups.

Cecilie Hiorth is 47 – a mother of two, wife, geologist and dog owner. The order of these roles changes throughout the day… Cecilie grew up in Stavanger and her interest in skiing took her to the University of Tromsø where her interest in nature sciences made her choose geology studies. She finished her Master in structural geology in 1999 and joined Shell, working with exploration for 7 years. During this time, she founded an industry-wide group of young professionals focused towards increasing the geoscience interest in pupils and students. Cecilie has worked in several different oil and gas companies before joining Spirit Energy in 2010. Here she held the roles as Asset Manager and Project Lead for new developments for a few years. Six years ago, she decided to return to exploration as a geologist– and doesn’t regret that for a minute. Geology is her passion!

Sarah Gordon PhD is CEO and Co-founder of Satarla risk management.  Having completed her PhD in Meteoritics from Imperial College London, Sarah went back into mining (where she had completed an internship prior to her PhD) where she worked in exploration, on mine, sustainability, and risk and assurance.  Sarah has been lucky enough to live and work all over the world.  Satarla is now home to over 80 consultants and has entities registered in the UK, Australia, South Africa and Canada.  Specialising in making risk management practical and valuable to those who use it rather than a tickbox requirement, Sarah regularly finds herself in exciting situations during which objective thinking and facilitation is required.  An honorary visiting lecturer at Imperial College, research associate at the University of Johannesburg, Sarah also mentors a number of PhD students as well as sits as a Trustee on the board of Geology for Global Development.   

Malwina is, Ph.D., Eng., an assistant professor and Deputy Manager at the Project Support Department at KGHM CUPRUM Ltd Research and Development Centre, where several years engaged in technical and economic assessments of geological and mining projects for the purpose of evaluations for the investment involvement of KGHM Polska Miedz SA and monitoring of the global non-ferrous metals sector. For many years she has been involved in works related to the development of mining heritage objects for geotourism purposes. In 2015, obtained a PhD from the Wrocław University of Science and Technology in the Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining and Geology, specializing in environmental protection and utilization of mining heritage. Currently involved in the processes of submitting project proposals, R&D projects development and accounting for subsidized projects in the company.

Anjana Khatwa is an Earth Scientist and presenter specialising in bringing stories about the origins and formation of natural landscapes to life for a wide range of audiences. She is an established learning professional and has a highly regarded international reputation as an expert on Earth Science and World Heritage education. For 15 years, she has worked in the nature conservation and heritage sector leading on creating award winning sustainable learning and engagement programmes for the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. She has published numerous papers on glacial geology, developed award winning teaching resources and recently won the Royal Geographical Society Geographical Award for excellence in educating the public about the Jurassic Coast. She is a finalist in the UK National Diversity Awards 2020 as a Positive Role Model for Race, Religion and Faith for championing diversity in the Geosciences, Geography and Nature Conservation sector.

Chrysothemis is a Tunnel/Mining Engineer with post-graduate studies (MSc) in Tunnelling from NTUA (GR). In 2016, she completed her PhD which involved working in a joint Research Project between Queen’s University and ETH Zurich. In 2017 she was appointed Assistant Professor at the University of Leeds (UK) where in 2019 she got her tenure (permanent chair) in Tunnelling and Rock Engineering. She has been also appointed as visiting Lecturer at Warwick University in the UK and Adjunct Professor at Queen’s University in Canada. Her research deals with Underground Space, innovative design, resilient infrastructure, societal impact. She has published more than 40 papers in international journals and conferences She also works as an Independent Private Consultant and in the past as Tunnel Engineer. She is an active member in the British and Greek Tunnelling Society Young Members Group, ITACUS and ITA-CET. She is currently an EMBA candidate at Leeds University Business School. When not working you will find her spending time with friends and family at her Eden a magical place in Southern Greece.

Gabriela is a university professor at Wroclaw University of Science and Technology and vice dean of the Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining and Geology. She is a mining engineer with a PhD in Engineering and also holds an MBA diploma in International Business from Central Connecticut State University (USA). Her specialization is Mineral Economics and Financial Management. She does consultancy in this field for the industry. She teaches courses in this field for university students and post graduate non credit courses for universiy alumni as well as in-house trainings for companies. Since 2005 she has been responsible for interationalisation of education at her Faculty and coordinated teaching and organisation of European mining programmes offered partly in Wroclaw (European Geotechnical and Environmental Course and European Minerals Engineering Course). The programmes developed to earn the status of Erasmus Mundus.

Silvia is a researcher at the Italian Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, her scientific activity concerns natural hazards and their communication to society. Prominent international leader of geoethics, she is fully involved in the base research on philosophy and ethics of geosciences, focusing on concepts such as sustainability, prevention, inclusion, gender equity and education in geoscience. Professor at the University of Rome Sapienza (2008-2011), she is currently Secretary General of the International Association for Promoting Geoethics, Director of the School on Geoethics and Natural Issues, Councillor of the International Union of Geological Sciences (2018-2022), member of boards of several organizations (among them the International Council for Philosophy). Work package/task leader and member of advisory boards in European projects, she is Editor in Chief of the SpringerBrief on geoethics and editor of several volumes on geoethics. Science writer for Italian newspaper/magazines, she has been awarded in Italy with prize for natural literature.

Alina is a senior researcher at the Institute of Marine Sciences in Bologna (Italian National Research Council). Associate editor for the AGU “Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems” journal, and member of the Editorial board of the “Italian Journal of Geosciences” and “Mediterranean Geoscience Reviews”. She carries out researches in marine geology and geophysics dealing with tectonics and the geological record of submarine earthquakes and tsunamis. She has published more than 50 papers in international JCR journals, and leads a laboratory for the analysis of sediment samples collected in many seismically active regions worldwide. She is particularly interested in geo-hazards, with the final aim of reconstructing the seismic history of continental margins. For Alina, being a scientist also means to explore the unknown without preconceptions, with optimism and perseverance, facing the difficulties as a stimulus. She describes her work as a pleasure, and continues to have a great desire to learn.

Aurela Shtiza holds a Eng Degree from Politechnic University of Tirana (Albania) and a PhD in Geology from the Katholieke Universiteit of Leuven (Belgium). After working for Arcadis and Glencore in Regulatory affairs & Sustainability, she joined IMA-Europe (Industrial Minerals Association Europe) in 2011 where she holds the position of Policy Director. She is the general secretary of the European Specialty Minerals (ESMA). She oversees policy and trade developments and preparation of the advocacy for IMA-Europe. On behalf of industrial minerals, she is the Vice-President in the Board of SPIRE PPP (Sustainable Processing Industries for Resource & Energy Efficiency Public Private Partnership) and Sherpa in European Innovation Partnership in Raw Materials (EIP-RM). She is an expert in the Criticality exercise and works in the expert group following the Implementation of the Strategic Implementation plan (SIP) through the different innovation projects. Aurela is coordinating projects in the frame of the EIP-RM and SIP implementation and advisory board member in EU-funded projects.