MsMelissa Bungcaras

Melissa is an international development and climate resilience professional who has worked alongside communities, non-profit organisations, and government across the Asia-Pacific region over the past 15 years. She has a broad range of practical and research experience, from working directly with communities impacted by climate change and disasters to adapt their approaches to risk management, to authoring and presenting research and policy papers for advocacy to decision makers at UN climate and disaster risk conferences. Melissa's work has focused on climate change adaptation and resilience, disaster risk reduction, climate finance, gender-responsive approaches to climate change, and development effectiveness. 

Melissa's research is underpinned by a strong commitment to feminist and power-attuned approaches that challenge the colonial dynamics underpinning the international development sector. She is interested in the role of participatory research methods to unlock power dynamics and create opportunities for transformational change.

Melissa has engaged in research, evaluation and programming with partners including: ACFID, ActionAid, AusAID/DFAT, Australian Institute of Marine Science, CARE, Caritas, Climate Action Network Australia, CSIRO, The Economist Intelligence Unit, Monash University, Oxfam, University of Wollongong.