Dr Gillian Howell is a musician, researcher and educator who leads and investigates participatory music projects in diverse and complex settings. A leading scholar in the social impact of music-making and community music, she is a Dean’s Research Fellow in the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, University of Melbourne, where she researches music-based approaches to peace and reconciliation and music education in post-war settings. She has worked in music development programs in the Balkans, the Caucasus, Sri Lanka and Timor-Leste and is an associate artist with Tura New Music, with whom she won an APRA/AMCOS Art Music Award in 2020 for their collaborative music work in the Kimberley.