About Us - Grassland Earless Dragon Alliance

Who Are We?

Our team includes students, researchers and conservationists from various institutions. We welcome anyone to get involved and help promote our cause! The Alliance continues to grow its social media profile and engage like-minded ecologists and interested community members.

George Madani

George Madani is the founder and president of the Grassland Earless Dragon Alliance. A highly regarded wildlife ecologist with over 20 years of experience working with Australia’s unique fauna, George brings unparalleled expertise and dedication to the team. As the driving force behind our mission, he has led the monitoring and research efforts for the Monaro dragon since 2019 and remains passionately committed to rediscovering the elusive Bathurst dragon, ensuring the survival of these critically endangered species.

Chad Beranek

Chad is a conservation and ecological scientist with an adjunct associate position at the University of Newcastle and a postdoctoral fellow position at Southern Cross University. He teamed up with George to assist with monitoring the GEDs in 2021.

Since then, he has been focused the scientific aspects of furthering our understanding of GED ecology and conservation, which includes using the rich monitoring dataset of the MGED to better understand survey effort requirements, to formulating methods to enhance rediscovery of the Bathurst GED

Ryan Colley

Ryan has dedicated the past four years to studying Grassland Earless Dragons, combining his passion for conservation with research. Currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Canberra, his research delves into the population genetics of the Canberra and Monaro species. Through his research, Ryan aims to deepen our understanding of these fascinating reptiles and provide crucial insights to support their conservation.

Jesse Campbell

Jesse Campbell is our resident bloodhound. Obsessed with reptiles, Jesse spends an extraordinary amount of time searching for, finding and photographing them. Jesse is renowned for his captivating images of reptiles in the wild.

Jesse has been part of the alliance for several years and is currently an undergrad student at the University of Wollongong, who will no doubt do his honours on reptiles. If anyone rediscovers the Bathurst GED it’ll be Jesse!

Tim McGrath

Studying ecology at the University of Canberra in the early 2000’s under Dr Will Osborne (the living legend who rediscovered the Canberra and Monaro earless dragons!), Tim assessed the conservation and ecology of the Monaro grassland earless dragon as a part of his Masters of Applied Science. He spent five years wandering grasslands, turning rocks, and talking with farmers trying to understand the species and the landscape it lives in.

He has since been working with the Federal government and in recent times has played a pivotal role in progressing the formal listing of the four species under the EPBC Act.

Allan Wray

Our man on the ground in Bathurst, Allan serves as a Senior Land Services Officer at Central Tablelands Local Land Services. An expert in Natural Resource Management, Allan has dedicated himself to enhancing biodiversity and tackling environmental challenges in the region. He supports land managers in promoting best management practices with a focus on protecting threatened species, restoring ecological communities, and preserving riparian assets. He is passionate about and particularly enthusiastic about supporting efforts to rediscover the elusive Bathurst Earless Dragon.

Theodore Stein

Ted is an early career ecologist with a Diploma of Conservation & Land Management and Honours degree in Environmental Science & Management from the University of Newcastle. Passionate about science-informed conservation and herpetology, Ted’s Honours research focused on developing a predictive model to identify habitat for the Bathurst Grassland Earless Dragon.

Ted is currently working to restore temperate grassland and open woodland communities in the Monaro region, hoping to contribute to the conservation of GEDs through applied research and habitat recovery.

Sophie Frame

Sophie has a robust background in business management, with a proven track record of transforming struggling businesses into thriving successes. As the Alliance Secretary, she is instrumental in maintaining organized and effective administration, including spearheading the successful acquisition of charity status for the Alliance. Sophie also oversees the Alliance’s website, maintaining a smooth and professional online presence. In addition to her administrative expertise, she is a proficient field biologist who thrives in the field, relishing the opportunity to work hands-on with our beloved dragons.