Zahra brings over 25 years of experience in marine restoration, environmental stewardship and stakeholder engagement. Her work spans science communication, environmental policy and partnership development, with a strong focus on connecting people, nature and decision-making. She currently serves as Strategic Stakeholder and Community Engagement Manager at the Environment Agency, where she leads cross-sector collaboration on climate resilience programmes across the North East of England.

Prior to joining the Environment Agency, Zahra spent more than a decade as Senior Aquarium Curator. In this role, she managed large-scale marine exhibits, conservation breeding programmes and public education campaigns. Her work included overseeing aquatic collections across the UK, developing visitor engagement strategies and collaborating with international conservation organisations to protect threatened marine species.

Zahra has led multimillion-pound programmes focused on reducing flood risk while supporting nature recovery and delivering wider social benefits. Drawing on her scientific expertise and partnership experience, she plays a key role in shaping relationships with regional leaders, academic institutions and industry stakeholders.

Alongside her role at the Environment Agency, Zahra is a Board member of the Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Project Stronger Shores and sits on the steering group for the Restoring Meadow, Marsh and Reef (ReMeMaRe) initiative. As a Trustee of the Coastal Partnerships Network Board, she brings valuable insight into collaboration, resilience and community engagement across the coastal sector.