Vanessa Cavanagh is a proud Aboriginal woman from the Bundjalung and Wonnarua nations. Vanessa was raised in a strong Aboriginal family in their home on the edge of national park in Colo Heights north-west of Sydney and attributes this upbringing to her ongoing success and career interest in combining Aboriginal culture with environmental management. For the past three years Vanessa has worked part-time as the project manager of the Aboriginal Riverkeeper Team. This project engaged eight Aboriginal people from south-western Sydney in Conservation and Land Management traineeships within the Georges River catchment. Vanessa holds an Associate Lecturer position at the school of School of Geography and Sustainable Communities at the University of Wollongong. Vanessa has a Bachelor of Science Honours (class 1) 2007 thesis The NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act and the Bundjalung Aboriginal Nation. Vanessa worked in the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage for over 16years in a variety of roles including park management and operations, Aboriginal joint management and cultural heritage research