Dr Mike Joy is a scientist at Massey University, an outspoken advocate for environmental protection and freshwater in New Zealand, and a thorn in the side of government. Well respected, he was named 2009 Environmental New Zealander of the Year by North and South magazine and named 2012 Person of the Year by the Manawatu Evening Standard.

Dr Joy was a speaker at Strange Baroque Ecologies in November 2013. A similar talk was given in September 2013 at the RMLA Conference  – (Joy, 2013), and a 2011 TV interview also details some of his expertise (Joy, 2011).