Quick Facts
Biography
Deborah Tabart, OAM is the CEO of the Australian Koala Foundation. She has worked with this organisation since 1988 and is known internationally as the Koala Woman.
Career and Achievements
In 1988, Deborah Tabart was asked by the Australian Koala Foundation Board of Directors to “raise funds to save the koala”. She quickly realised that the world of koala conservation was much more complicated than that. She faced a steep learning curve in the worlds of science, politics, development and conservation.
Under her guidance, the Australian Koala Foundation has grown from a fledgling group of koala advocates into an award-winning, international scientific organisation that has funded millions of dollars worth of research and conservation.
In January 2008, Tabart was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in acknowledgement of her contributions to the protection and management koalas and their habitat, and her service to Australia and humanity.
She has led the Australian Koala Foundation in its key achievements of the Koala Habitat Atlas and Koala Beach, and is currently formulating a National Koala Act in the hope of legislating protection for koala habitat.
Deborah Tabart now resides in Queensland, Australia. Besides her day job at the AKF, she also practices permaculture and grows her own vegetables.