Meet our people

Paul has worked for the past 20 years with Aboriginal heritage and history.  He has comprehensive experience in all aspects of Aboriginal cultural heritage management, including Aboriginal community consultation, development assessment, strategic heritage planning, developing management plans for specific places, and all aspects of archaeological assessment such as survey, excavation and specialist analysis. Paul is also the author of the 2017 book Hidden In Plain View. The Aboriginal People of Coastal Sydney (winner of the 2018 NSW Premiers History Award for Community and Regional History), and has been collaboratively researching Sydney’s Aboriginal history for many years with members of the La Perouse Aboriginal community.

Michael has worked for the past 20 years in Aboriginal history, preparing expert reports for NSW native title claims, recording community genealogies and writing regional histories for local councils and government authorities.  More recently, he has recorded oral histories for the State Library of NSW and National Library of Australia.  He is the author of Pathfinders, A History of Aboriginal Trackers in NSW, published in 2020.  A website of the same name went live in 2016, the result of a collaborative project with NSW Police and the descendants of trackers.  Michael has also worked in communications for the NSW Aboriginal Land Council.

Fenella is a heritage consultant with over 20 years’ experience in Aboriginal and historical cultural heritage management, with a focus on archaeology. Most of her work has been in New South Wales, but she also has experience in Western Australia, Queensland, and Victoria. She has directed both Aboriginal and historical archaeological excavations, and she is qualified to direct excavations of historical archaeological sites according to the Heritage Division criteria.  Fenella is engaged in tertiary studies in anthropology. She is currently one of the national coordinators of National Archaeology Week and also Secretary of the NSW/ACT Chapter of the Australian Association of Consulting Archaeologists Inc.

Julia is a passionate heritage consultant and archaeologist with over six years’ experience in Aboriginal and historical cultural management. Julia has worked across NSW, with a particular focus on Sydney and the Northern Rivers region. She has also excavated over three seasons an early iron age settlement in Zagora, Greece. Julia began her career as a field archaeologist where she was able to hone her high-level fieldwork skills. Julia has extensive experience in supervising archaeological excavations ranging in size from small scale projects to large scale infrastructure sites. She has worked on projects for a range of clients from private developers to the state government for sites of local and state significance. She manages projects from the initial preparation of fee proposal through to permit application, fieldwork and authoring reports. Julia authors Aboriginal heritage due diligence assessments, technical reports, Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Assessment Reports, Statements of Heritage Impact and Archaeological Research Designs. Julia is committed to providing positive heritage solutions for complex projects while adhering to legislative requirements and advocating for clients and stakeholders. Julia is passionate about working in partnership with Aboriginal communities.

Gina is a graduate archaeologist with experience in Aboriginal heritage and bioarchaeological analysis. She completed her Honours in Archaeological Practice in 2020 at the Australian National University. She has field experience in the Sydney and Canberra regions in addition to overseas fieldwork in England, Germany and Vanuatu, developing skills in excavation, survey and community engagement. She has previously worked at AIATSIS as a researcher, gaining valuable skills and perspectives in historical research, object identification and knowledge in museum sphere. She has a focus on faunal and ceramic analysis. She also has some experience in bioarchaeology, primarily in an academic setting, and is focused on developing this specialisation.

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Dan is an archaeologist and heritage consultant who has been working in cultural heritage management for over 20 years. He has extensive experience in all aspects of heritage management including liaison and planning; site survey and assessment; archaeological monitoring and excavation; report writing and archival recording. Dan provides historic heritage input to Coast projects and typically prepares historic heritage appraisals, historical archaeological assessments, and statements of heritage impact. Dan is also a highly experienced historical researcher, and has written contextual and place-specific Aboriginal and European shared histories for a range of assessments and strategic planning studies.

Sophie Brettell is an archaeologist and heritage consultant with extensive experience in the management and assessment of heritage matters in both private and public sectors. She has worked in the heritage sector for over two decades with experience in archaeological assessment and excavation, heritage interpretation and assessment of heritage significance and preparation of Statements of heritage Impact. Her professional interests include built heritage conservation and planning, interpretation of heritage sites, assessing the significance of built, cultural and social environments including cultural landscapes, cultural landscape mapping and recording, and the management of archaeological sites under threat. She graduated from TAFE NSW in 2019 with a Certificate III in Horticulture, which has added a layer of botanical knowledge and practical skills to her work in interpretation of cultural and natural environments.

Nathan is a GIS Analyst and Archaeologist with more than 10 years working in Cultural Heritage management with 5 years experience in analysis of spatial data. Nathan specialises in providing GIS services, such as cartography, GIS training and spatial analysis, to the rest of the team at Coast. Having both a Master of Archaeology and a Master of GIS, Nathan has a keen interest in using GIS to help understand past land use by Aboriginal people.

Ana has a unique set of skills with professional experience in office management and education.She has a Bachelor of Arts majoring in History, Philosophy and Literature and a Master of Teaching.

Ana is passionate about history and genuinely enjoys helping others.

Allison has over 15 years experience working in the Cultural Heritage and Museums sector. She has extensive experience across the spectra of archaeological collections management in the Australian context, and has a deep interest in the management of and engagement with cultural collections. She has worked with many small teams on numerous excavations and cataloguing projects. She has prepared guidelines and procedures for the management of archaeology collection databases, ensuring that data integrity is maintained and that more complete records are created using digital data. She has an interest in archaeology and geomorphology and where it intersects’ having undertaken studies in this area while teaching at UNSW.