Dr Liz Ota holds a PhD degree in Forestry and has over ten years of experience in forest and landscape restoration and livelihoods to support restoration in tropical countries. Liz has worked in conservation and restoration with socioeconomic and ecological goals in the Atlantic Forest in Brazil.

Liz has been working in restoration projects in the Philippines since 2014 under two ACIAR-funded projects, with focus on identifying and applying best practices related to improving governance and capacity of communities, providing livelihood support to enable restoration, and improving reforestation outcomes.

Liz has also worked in an ACIAR project in Vanuatu targeted at enhancing returns from high-value agroforestry species to smallholders.