© Pint of Science, 2024. All rights reserved.
In the next instalment of our highlight series for our 10 year anniversary, we had a chat to Lisa Owens, who volunteered as our Director, Strategy and Policy for the 2024 festival!
Lisa Owens
Director, Strategy and Policy
What do you do for Pint of Science?
I am the Director, Strategy and Policy, which is a role responsible for providing strategic guidance and leadership to advance Pint of Science Australia’s mission of promoting research and science engagement across Australia in line with its Strategic Plan. I guide and support the Strategic Partnerships team who develop relationships with financial and in-kind supporters, develop strategies for volunteer recruitment and retention in conjunction with Operations, oversee post festival evaluation efforts, and develop policies, procedures and action plans for operationalisation, together with the Director, Operations.
The role is immensely interesting as we are undergoing a review and revamp of Pint of Science’s mission statement and supporting objectives to reflect what Pint of Science is in the mid 2020s, and what Pint of Science will look like between now and 2030. This has also meant articulating our values and behaviours. Being so instrumental in the ongoing development and review of the strategic path of an organisation as diverse as Pint of Science is not only exciting but an honour.
What does success look like in your Pint of Science Role?
Although my role tends to be “back of house” when it comes to the festival, success is working with other members of the Pint of Science family to develop partnerships and deliver events that are aligned with our values and our mission of elevating Australian research in a fun and inclusive way that engages the public.
Why PoS over other volunteer organisations?
Having been a regular audience member at festival events for several years, I have not only been impressed by the quality of the speakers but with the enthusiasm of the volunteers running the events. When a colleague suggested that I should apply for a role within Pint of Science, and after discussions with various members of the Leadership Team prior to my initial appointment as Strategic Partnerships Officer, I knew that I wanted to be part of such a passionate and committed group of people bringing research to the local community.
2024 celebrated the 10-year anniversary of PoS in Australia. What was the highlight of this year’s festival for you?
For various reasons I became the default City Coordinator for Melbourne a few weeks before the festival so my previously “back of house” role became much more “front of house” which was fantastic fun and a great learning experience.
What do you do as a day job?
I am a project manager for large capital projects in the processing and renewable energy industries.
In three "dot points", describe yourself?
- Energetic – sometimes I don’t know where I get the energy from (I’m no spring chicken)
- Meticulous – tend to be very process driven
- Eclectic – I’m nicely weird