Keynote Speakers

Professor Marta Yebra is Director of the Bushfire Research Centre of Excellence and a Professor at the Australian National University. Her research focuses on using Earth observation and remote sensing to improve bushfire preparedness and response, particularly through monitoring vegetation moisture, fuel flammability and fire risk. She is also the Science Lead for the OzFuel satellite mission, an Australian mission designed to provide dedicated space-based observations of vegetation fuel properties and flammability to support bushfire preparedness and management.

She has authored more than 100 research publications and has served on several Australian government and scientific advisory bodies in Earth observation, space and natural hazards.

Matthew Hanson is a Principal Applied AI Engineer at LGND, where he works on geospatial data infrastructure, processing, and semantic search for Earth Observation. He has more than 30 years of experience in remote sensing, cloud-native and open-source geospatial technologies, with previous roles at Element 84 and Development Seed.

Matt is a member of the STAC Steering Committee and has been an active contributor to the open geospatial community through work on STAC and standards,cloud-native geospatial architectures, and open-source software. He is a frequent speaker at FOSS4G and other international geospatial conferences, where he enjoys sharing practical lessons from building large-scale Earth observation systems.

Leyla Alpaslan is a senior leader with experience across military operations, law, geospatial intelligence and Earth observation. At Geoscience Australia, she leads national Earth analysis capabilities that transform satellite imagery into trusted data, products and insights about Australia’s changing land, water and coasts. Drawing on senior roles across government, Defence and the private sector, Leyla is focused on strengthening the science, systems and partnerships needed to advance the next generation of Earth observation for Australia and our regional and global partners.

David Borges

David Borges works in NASA’s Earth Science Division, where he focuses on Earth observation strategy, geospatial systems engineering, and international coordination. He supports NASA’s engagement with the global Earth observation community through the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS), working across government, research, and commercial partners to improve the interoperability, accessibility, and practical use of Earth observation data.

Sebastian Robertson OAM is the co-founder and CEO of Birdi, an aerial intelligence platform that makes geospatial data practical for businesses. He is immediate Past President of Earth Observation Australia, where he worked to embed Earth observation in Australian decision making, and a Director of Australian Philanthropic Services. In 2026 he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for service to community health and to aerial sciences.

Paddy Brennan is Senior Director, Australia and New Zealand at EarthDaily Analytics, where he leads the company's work with government, mining, agriculture and insurance customers across the region. Based in Perth, he moved into Earth observation with Descartes Labs and joined EarthDaily through its acquisition in 2024, after a career in the UK bringing new technology to market, from enterprise software to AI-driven analytics. He holds an MBA in Digital Transformation and leads EarthDaily's Flagship Partnership of the AEO Forum 2026.