Kieren Moffat is a social scientist dedicated to strengthening relationships between communities, companies, industries and governments. He co-founded Voconiq in 2019 with a team of applied social scientists, building on more than 15 years of research, industry practice and commercialisation to deliver innovative approaches to improving social performance. Before establishing Voconiq, Kieren was a Senior Research Scientist at CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency. Over the past fifteen years, he has worked across diverse industries in more than twenty countries, applying quantitative social-psychological methods to identify pathways to deeper community trust and ensure community voices are meaningfully included in decisions that affect them. Kieren holds a PhD in social and organisational psychology from The University of Queensland (2008)

Mellissa Case is a senior sustainability and ESG leader with over 25 years of global experience supporting major mining, energy, and infrastructure projects across Australia, the Americas, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific. She is currently Manager of Sustainable Development for Bechtel’s Mining & Metals Global Business Unit, where she provides strategic guidance on ESG risk, social performance, Indigenous participation, human rights, and local content delivery across the project lifecycle. Mellissa has worked extensively in complex, high‑impact environments, with experience spanning social impact assessment and management, stakeholder and community engagement, workforce and community interface management, modern slavery compliance, and regulatory and reputation risk management. She is a recognised subject matter expert within Bechtel and has been named a Distinguished Technical Specialist in Sustainability. An IAP2 Certified Practitioner, Mellissa has also held global leadership roles developing industry guidance on stakeholder engagement and Indigenous peoples, and has advised government and industry taskforces on social licence and participation strategies. She currently sits on the AusIMM Social and Environment Society Committee. Mellissa holds a Master of Public Relations, a Graduate Certificate in Community Relations (Mining and Resources), and a Certificate in Sustainability Management from the University of Cambridge.

Tira Foran leads and support interdisciplinary teams to address natural resource and regional development challenges. Since 2021, he has supported transitions for people and regions engaging in post-mining land use (PMLU) planning, and critical minerals development.

Riasat works at the intersection of energy transition, mining sector decarbonization, and climate change adaptation for over 10 years. He is particularly interested in theory-testing mining industry’s social transition issues at the ground level. His research focuses on the social dimensions of mining decarbonization, with emphasis on how Social Licence to Operate (SLO) is understood, experienced, and governed in Australia’s critical minerals sector. Riasat’s work spans South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Asia-Pacific. Prior to his PhD, he served as a Senior Environmental Affairs Officer at the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. He has also held research and policy roles with the Asian Development Bank Institute and the Energy Studies Institute at the National University of Singapore, working on energy policy, cross-border energy trading and maritime energy governance. Riasat is a research contributor to MIT Climate (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and serves as a peer reviewer for journals including Environmental Management and Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews. His recent works include climate vulnerability assessment in the Fleurieu Peninsula, energy efficiency financing and energy policy (re)mapping in ASEAN, and power sector investability indexing, alongside ongoing work on mining emissions and mining industry’s social transitionability and decarbonization challenges.