established in 1989, Brentwood Fire has seen many amazing individuals over our 32 year history.

the alumni story pages RECOGNISE former club members who gave much to the success of Brentwood Fire and then have gone on to create life stories that we hope inspire the next generation.

WE WILL ENDEAVOR TO INDUCT TWO NEW MEMBERS EACH YEAR

EMMA CAMP

Emma began her basketball journey in year 4 at Saint Josephs primary school. She played and coached at Fire all the way up to Year 11 and was apart of the beginnings of Brentwood Fire National league girls teams. After year 11 she moved on to play for Southend Swifts for 2 years. Emma then attended Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina on Scholarship.

Emma completed her BSc (Hons) in Environmental Science and Chemistry at Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina, USA (2006). After this she returned to England to complete her MSc in Environmental Management and Business at Sheffield Hallam University (2011). During this time she completed several internships in Environmental Consultancy, and at the end of her MSc set up my own Environmental Consultancy Company: GAIA Environmental Services LTD. The company specialised in impact assessment and Environmental Management Plans.

In 2011 she was given the opportunity to travel to Little Cayman, Cayman Islands to work at the Central Caribbean Marine Institute. Here, she worked as the Lab Manager and in-house Researcher. Emma was awarded a Fellowship to undertake her PhD affiliated with the University of Essex, England. My PhD focused on the ecological and physiological response of corals to variations in seawater carbonate chemistry, specifically studying corals living in naturally ‘extreme’ coral environments (e.g. mangrove lagoons) (2015). At this point in her journey she played for the Essex Blades were she captained her side to a Division 1 women National Championship.

In 2016 she was awarded an Endeavour Research Fellowship by the Australian Department of Education and Training, to conduct the first-ever study investigating the physiological properties and symbiont communities of corals living in extreme mangrove habitats. After this Fellowship she was offered a Postdoctoral Research position with ARC Future Fellow Assoc. Prof. David Suggett in the Climate Change Cluster (C3), at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and his collaborator Assoc. Prof. Bill Leggat from James Cook University (JCU).

In 2017 Emma was named a National Geographic Explorer for her research endeavours looking into Super Corals of mangrove lagoons on the Great Barrier Reef.

In September 2018, Emma was announced as one of 17 Young Leaders for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the United Nations. This Honorary position has seen her work with the United Nations to help catalyse the achievement of the SDG Goals. In 2018 she also co-founded the Coral Nurture Program, establishing the first multi-species coral nurseries in partnership with tour operators on the Great Barrier Reef.

In January 2019, she was awarded a Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at UTS as well as an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Research Award (DECRA) to research the use of elemental diagnostics in identifying coral tolerance to environmental change. Emma was named the Assistant Team Leader for the Future Reefs Team at UTS and was recognised by Rolex as an Associate Laureate for her efforts in coral reef research and conservation.

Alongside her research she is passionate to champion the introduction and retention of women and girls in STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. In 2020 Emma was named an inaugural Australian Academy of Sciences STEM Women’s Gamechanger and received a Women in Science Fellowship from L’Oréal-UNESCO. Emma was named a 2020 Time Magazines Next Generation Leader.

In 2021 she established the Coral Biogeochemistry group within the Future Reefs Team at UTS.