Siobhan McDonnell is a legal anthropologist with over 20 years of experience working with Indigenous people in Australia and the Pacific on land use, gender, and climate change. She is a Senior Lecturer at Crawford School of Public Policy, and has been a lead negotiator on climate change for the Vanuatu and Fiji governments.

Her commitment to the practice of engaged anthropology means that she produces research that contributes to high-impact policy and legal outcomes. She has contributed both research and policy outcomes in land reform, gender and natural resource management, climate change, disaster management, legal pluralism, and the operation of customary institutions.

Siobhan is currently engaged in a number of research projects, including on the displacement and resettlement in the context of climate change and disaster, disaster responses and planning in the Pacific, and how to adapt the family law system to better meet the needs of Indigenous, refugee, and migrant families.