Gillian is a previous chief executive of Antarctica New Zealand and of the Cawthron Institute. Her extensive Antarctic experience ranges from field work on the ice to chairing the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP) and being vice chair of the Antarctic Treaty Committee on Environmental Protection (CEP). She authored A Story of Antarctic Co-operation: 25 Years of the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs. Outside her Antarctic interests, Gillian has held a range of science and environment-related management and governance roles.