About

President

Yogi Vidyattama

Dr Yogi Vidyattama is an Associate Professor at the University of Canberra.

Yogi has been with University of Canberra starting with National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM) in 2008 before joining School of Politics Economics and Society (SchoPES) in 2023. Previously, he spent three years as a research assistant and tutor at the Research School of Pacific and Asia Studies and Crawford School, ANU (2005-2008) and five years at the Institute of Economic and Social Research, University of Indonesia (1999-2004). His main research interests are spatial impact of government policy; housing affordability; spatial distribution of inequality and disadvantage; and analysis of wealth.

Immediate Past President

 Delwar Akbar

Professor Delwar Akbar is a regional economists and a research leader in supply and value chain area. He has been working with rural and regional industries and businesses to improve their productivity and sustainability. His research during the last decade has focused predominantly on rural and regional economics, value chain analysis, property and health economics, economic impact assessment and regional development. Along with other researchers, he has received significant levels of funding support (about 7.5 million dollar) have been received through the Category 1-4 grants. He has integrated economic models with supply chain, services and planning models. Recently, he has been developing and testing collaborative business models that could boaster rural economic dynamics and international trade. Over his academic career, he has been involved with more than 60 research and consultancy projects, and published over 140 refereed papers and project reports.

Vice President Australia

 Karen Cain

Karen Cain is the Director of Transition & Recovery Australia an organisation that contributes to research on contemporary regional development and transition at a national level. She is also a fellow of Leadership Victoria’s Williamson Community Leadership Program and currently chairs an eminent panel for engagement on immediate forestry protection of important forestry sites across Victoria. Previously, she has held the positions of Chief Executive Officer at the Latrobe Valley Authority and then the Director Community Transition Forestry with the Department of Jobs Precincts and Regions, Victoria. She was awarded the Institute for Public Administration Australia Victorian Top 50 Public Sector Women Award in 2018 and was inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women in 2023 in recognition of her contribution to transition in the Latrobe Valley in Victoria.

Vice President New Zealand

Michael Cameron

Michael Cameron is a Professor in Economics and Research Fellow in Te Ngira – Institute for Population Research at the University of Waikato. His current research interests include population, health and development issues (including the social impacts of alcohol outlet density, the measurement of population ageing, migration, health applications of non-market valuation and discrete choice modelling, and cost-effectiveness analysis of public health interventions), population modelling and stochastic modelling, financial literacy and economics education.

Secretary

 Azizur Rahman

Professor Azizur Rahman, PhD, is an applied statistician and data scientist with expertise in developing and applying novel methodologies, models and technologies. He is the leader of Data Mining Research Group at Charles Sturt University, Australia.

Azizur is an expert in understanding and resolving multi-disciplinary research issues in various fields, including the statistical, regional and environmental sciences. He founded and runs the 'Data Analytics Lab' at Charles Sturt. Prof. Rahman has published over 212 scholarly publications, including several books and received various awards, including the SOCM Research Excellence Award 2018, the CSU-RED Achievement Award 2019, the ANZRSAI's 2023 Outstanding Service Award and the Charles Sturt Excellence Awards 2023 and 2024

Treasurer

 Greg Jones

Dr Greg Jones is a Lecturer in Accounting in the School of Commerce of the University of Southern Queensland (Toowoomba campus).

Greg recently completed his PhD examining investment in CDOs by local government in NSW. His main research interests are local government, policy-making, financial reporting, asset management and auditing.                 

Public Officer

 Tony Sorensen

Professor Tony Sorensen is Adjunct Professor in the School of Behavioural, Cognitive and Social Sciences at the University of New England.

Tony has been involved in regional science over a very long career and is widely respected for his contributions to the discipline. As a futurist, he is interested in strategies to facilitate regional adaptation to as yet unknown business opportunities in a fast moving and globalised world of commerce and technology. Another research strand focuses on urban planning theory and the economics of Australia's residential property markets.

Council Member

Rolf Gerritsen

Professor Rolf Gerritsen is currently a Professorial Research Fellow at Charles Darwin University. 

Rolf has taught at various universities, the longest period being a decade at ANU in the Graduate Program in Public Policy. He has also worked as Director of the Australian Centre for Regional and Local Government Studies, as a Ministerial staffer and ran his own research consultancy for a number of years. Between 2002 and 2006 he was Director Social/Economic Policy in the Chief Minister’s Department in Darwin. Rolf’s principal research interest is regional and northern development, with a focus on disadvantaged, remote and Indigenous areas. His secondary research area is government policy and service delivery. He is currently concentrating upon Indigenous peoples’ role in natural resource management and services.

Council Member

 Kim Houghton

Dr Kim Houghton is the Chief Economist at Regional Australia Institute.

Kim oversees the research, education and policy portfolios to ensure the Institute’s work has practical application and supports a better policy environment and more vibrant regional economies. Kim played a leading role in recent research on housing, population mobility in regional Australia, analysis of regional labour markets, and the impact of COVID-19 on regional economies.

Council Member

Paul McPhee

Dr Paul McPhee is currently a Lecturer in Economics at Federation University. He has a PhD from the University of Wollongong.

Paul's professional experience includes: developing and analysing economic indicators, survey design and analysis within the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS); policy advice and economic analysis within the Federal treasury; serving on Federal Government Economic Forecasting Committees;, and various teaching and research positions at the universities of Queensland and Wollongong. Prior appointments include modelling various demand and supply induced policy simulations which facilitate the networking and information sharing of regional small to medium sized firms and exporters within New South Wales. 

Council Member

Deanna Hutchinson

Dr. Deanna Hutchinson is a regional development researcher based in Tasmania, Australia. She is affiliated with Swinburne University of Technology 

Deanna’s research focuses on social change in non-capital city regions. Deanna has a longstanding interest in innovation-led change, moving from leadership roles in emerging technology sectors to undertake doctoral research on the agency of rural regional actors to realise their development goals. With a foot truly in two worlds, Deanna maintains an interest in technology development trajectories, bringing a critical perspective to the outcomes for society. Deanna lives in a small rural town with her husband and sons.

Council Member

Matthew Roskruge

Prof. Matthew Roskruge (Te Ātiawa and Ngāti Tama) is the Associate Dean Māori, Professor in the School of Economics and Finance and Director of Te Au Rangahau in the Massey Business School, Massey University (New Zealand).

Matt has broad research interests across the applied social sciences, with a particular focus on public sector economics and the Māori economy. In 2020 Matt was awarded a Rutherford Discovery Fellowship for five years to explore the western concept of social capital through a Māori and indigenous lens.  Outside of work he spends a lot of time parenting, a bit of time gardening and probably too much time gaming.

Council Member

Sarvjeet Kaur Chatrath

Dr Sarvjeet Kaur Chatrath is an award-winning scholar of management and leadership. She has over 26 years of extensive and diverse work experience academic and industry research including financial planning, marketing, and establishing institutions from start-up to sustainability. Her research agenda focuses on leadership, management, behavioural change, and consumers experiencing vulnerability. Her industry translation research harnesses academia-industry linkages she has sustained through her involvement with industry as a scholar/practitioner. This rich experience informs Dr Chatrath’s impact-driven approach to research by focusing on sound methodologies to deliver tangible societal change at the individual and institutional levels. Dr Chatrath’s research is internationally recognised through her publications leading international and national journals, a track-record of success in obtaining and successfully completing competitively funded research projects, and extensive involvement as an industry keynote speaker and invited assessor. Dr Chatrath has an extensive record of community and professional engagement where she has contributed to social change campaigns, international expert seminars, and shaped national prevention frameworks.

Council Member

Benjamin Vu

Dr. Benjamin Vu is an economist specialising in Economics and Data Analytics at the University of Canberra (UC), Australia. He holds a PhD Degree in Economics from Griffith University. His research interests are Applied Economics and Health Economics.

He has published 22 journal articles in prestigious journals such as Renewable Energy, Applied Economics, Economic Analysis and Policy, and Applied Health Economics and Health Policy. As a chief or co-investigator, he has completed nine industry/government projects/reports in Australia and overseas. His awarded grants were over $245,000.

Prior to the UC, he worked for Griffith University, University of Queensland, Vietnam National Academy of Politics and Public Administration, and consulting firms.

He possesses strong skills in tertiary teaching, research, economics, economic modeling, data analytics, cost-benefit analysis, economic evaluation, policy evaluation, public policy, project management, stakeholder engagement, econometrics, Stata, Eviews, SPSS, and Tableau.

Council Member

Shanaka Herath

Dr Shanaka Herath is a Senior Lecturer in Urban Economics and the Course Director for the on-campus Planning Program at the University of Technology Sydney, Australia. He regularly teaches urban economics, economics for policy analysis and infrastructure funding.

Shanaka’s research explores social issues such as housing affordability, urban disadvantage and willingness to pay for urban amenities, particularly from a spatial/regional perspective. His research has been published in leading international journals, including Health & Place, Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, Cities and Annals of Regional Science. Among his many accolades, Shanaka previously received the Peter Harrison Memorial Prize (State of Australian Cities Conference) and the Vice-Chancellor's Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship (University of Wollongong).