In conversation with Helen MacDonald

On this ACCESStory issue, we had a chat with Helen McDonald, Team Lead of the  Regional & Coastal Oceans Modelling Team (CoastRI)

Where did you grow up and how did you come to be part of the ACCESS-NRI team?

I grew up in Australia, in the snowy mountains region just south of Canberra, where going skiing on a school days was considered a formal educational activity. I enjoy regional and coastal ocean modelling, and I joined ACCESS-NRI as I am excited about helping to spin up tools in this space.

Tell us a bit about your career before ACCESS-NRI

After high school, I moved to Sydney to study oceanography at UNSW before doing a postdoc at UWA. I have spent most of the last decade at NIWA in Aotearoa (New Zealand) developing and using regional and coastal models for a large variety of applications.

What do you do at ACCES-NRI and what excites you about this work?

At ACCESS-NRI I am team lead of Regional and Coastal Ocean. I am excited about working with a wide-range of people to develop tools in the regional and coastal ocean modelling space.

What do you like to do outside work?

I enjoy bushwalking, skiing and hanging out with friends and family.

Fun fact about you?

My favourite colour is yellow.