Meet Our Team
Andrew Harper
Executive Director, Founding Member
Andrews's background is in the pastoral industry, working for over 25 years in the stud merino industry in the NSW Riverina and western Queensland, as an overseer, professional woolclasser and contract stockman. He has worked as a photojournalist in Central and Southern Africa and in 1999 completed 'Capricorn Expedition', a solo 3800km walk across Australia raising money for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and charities in his home town of Deniliquin.
Since 2000 he has owned and operated the Outback Camel Company, a desert camel trekking business based in Central Australia.
He has completed twelve crossings of the Simpson Desert in various directions, the most recent being reconnXpedition2012, a 700 km solo journey with five camels.
In 2002, along with Kieran Kelly, he took part in the Central Australian Expedition which connected the 19th Century routes of explorers Augustus Gregory and John Stuart in the Tanami desert of Western Australia and the Northern Territory. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and actively supports and encourages the preservation of Australia's desert exploration history, Afghan cameleer heritage and the ecological surveying and exploring of remote desert regions.
In 2015 he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for services to environmental science, research and adventure tourism.
In 2017 Andrew completed the second leg of Capricorn Expedition, walking 960kms across the Andes in Chile and Argentina.
Fuchsia Sims
Fuchsia is a social impact entrepreneur, communications expert, and advocate for regenerative tourism.
With a background in strategic leadership, environmental stewardship, and adventure guiding, Fuchsia has been a lifelong adventurer. By age ten, she had visited 30 countries and knew how to say “I’m vegetarian” in 12 languages. After completing school, she ran away to the jungles of Costa Rica to become a river guide with Outward Bound where she helped at-risk youth reconnect with nature and build self-esteem. This unique start to life solidified her belief in the power of adventure and cultural connection to transform lives and communities.
Fuchsia co-founded Adventure Junky, a pioneering start-up that launched the world’s first app gamifying eco-travel and carbon offsetting. Under her guidance, it became the first Australian travel business to achieve Certified B Corp status and was recognised as one of the "50 most relevant sustainable travel startups on the planet” by the UNWTO. Through innovative marketing and strategic planning, Adventure Junky secured over 30 global partnerships, including Tourism Australia, and built a community of 120,000 eco-conscious travellers.
In 2019, Fuchsia was recognised as a Google Techmaker Scholar for her contributions to technology and sustainable travel.
Fuchsia holds a degree in International Business and the Experience Economy and is currently pursuing a PhD in Deep Tech Entrepreneurship. Her research focuses on co-designing regenerative tourism frameworks with local stakeholders to help travellers make real-time decisions that positively impact the local people and places they visit.
Her values align seamlessly with ADE’s mission to promote remote desert environmental research coupled with slow responsible travel, cultural exchange and education.
Fuchsia believes that fostering connections between people, indigenous practices, and Earth's wild places is the key to safeguarding our future. For her, there is no better place to cultivate this deep connection than in the Simpson Desert on our Songlines & Shared Journeys program,
Michael Wood
Raised in country Victoria, Michael is the founder of Madigan Capital and has almost 40 years’ experience in all facets of real estate including non-bank real estate lending, real estate investment, funds management and construction.​
​Prior to Madigan, he co-founded Quadrant Real Estate Advisors which focused on private placement of real estate debt investments in Australia, Europe and North America. ​​
​Michael was a Board Member, Executive Vice President and one of four Executive Vice Presidents of the Global Investment Committee of Quadrant,
and in his ten year tenure invested in excess of USD11bn of client
capital across multiple geographies.​ Michael was Group Executive at Lendlease Corporation for more than a decade and during this period, he held various roles in Australia, the United States and Singapore.
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Michael is a passionate advocate for the use of camels in remote desert research, and also recognises the immense value and mental health benefits that come from active participation in our expeditions.
Kalair McArthur
Liaison Officer
Growing up in Fiji, Jordan and Botswana, Kalair watched her father work with communities to explore new and innovative agricultural farming practices in line with sustainable social, economic and environmental outcomes.
Holding a Bachelor of Science and Graduate Certificate in Business Management, she has a background in marketing and economic development and has worked for both state and federal agencies with key roles in liaison, communication and business development, and is passionate about finding creative ways to sustain and grow remote businesses and communities.
Kalair is a previous Executive Officer of Regional Development Australia, Fitzroy and Central West where her role was to facilitate economic opportunities across the region. She now operates her own business supporting projects in rural and remote areas.
She is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and previously served on the Queensland Rural, Regional and Remote Women’s Network Board, holding the Communications Portfolio. Kalair also served on the Capricornia Chamber of Commerce as well as advising multiple boards on a regular basis regarding project investments and project due diligence.
Kalair is the current Chair of the Qantas Foundation Memorial Ltd (QFM), which is the parent company of the Qantas Founders Museum in Longreach, Queensland.