Lee is a science graduate (UNSW) and IT postgraduate (UCanberra) who has evolved from exploration geology (Cundill Meyers and Associates) to teaching and research (ANU, CSIRO) then inevitably to management (CSIRO, AAD). For the past 10 years, Lee has run Blatant Fabrications Pty Ltd, providing project management for, and advice to international and national biodiversity-related projects. Some say he is a just a surfer with a work problem.