Selected work

From insight to influence and change.

A selection of work shaped with organisations, communities and collaborators.

Three women standing together at the water's edge

Featured work

Turning community-controlled expertise into national influence.

Working with Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations and subject-matter experts, I developed culturally grounded communications designed to strengthen the sector, build workforce capability and support healthier communities.

The work increased the visibility of First Nations health priorities and supported awareness and behaviour-change initiatives across COVID-19, diabetes, cancer, suicide prevention, communicable diseases, mental health, environmental health and aged care. It also helped promote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health careers and strengthen communications capability across the sector.

My contribution connected sector knowledge, policy priorities, executive leadership and public narrative. It included national strategy, policy translation, executive counsel, campaigns and a network through which communications teams could share knowledge, resources and effective approaches.

Strategic narrative · Policy translation · Executive counsel · Sector influence

National systems reform

Strengthening First Nations leadership within national reform.

I worked within a complex national reform environment involving senior Aboriginal leaders, community-controlled organisations, governments and policy institutions.

My role was to make the Closing the Gap reform agenda clearer and more accessible, strengthen the Coalition of Peaks’ strategic narrative and ensure community-controlled perspectives could travel into government processes and public debate.

Through strategic communications and advocacy, stakeholder engagement, policy translation, reports, speeches, messaging and thought leadership, I helped create greater coherence around the reform agenda during periods of political and reputational complexity.

The work strengthened the connections between organisations, community-controlled expertise and government decision-making - supporting a clearer understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led reform and the structural changes it requires.

National reform · Strategic communications · Advocacy · Policy translation

Selected project stories

From insight to practical change.

Improving education outcomes in disadvantaged schools

Strengthening the relationships around student learning

The situation

Three schools with high levels of disadvantage and diversity wanted to improve students’ educational outcomes. Early research indicated that students would benefit from stronger relationships between schools, families and community organisations.

The approach

Over three and a half years, I researched, evaluated and designed the collaboration, then supported its implementation and refinement through an iterative, human centred design process.

What changed

Family engagement was identified as a critical pathway to improving student outcomes. Dedicated family-engagement teams and community partnerships were established, and family engagement became part of each school’s strategy and everyday practice. The work increased parent participation and strengthened teachers’ ability to work across cultures and different worldviews. Early indicators also showed improvements in student attendance and test results.

3 schools · Three and a half years of research and implementation

East Kimberley service system

Mapping a service system around children and families

The situation

Children and young people were being missed as they moved through a fragmented and complex service system. Organisations often held only one part of the picture, making it difficult to see where children were falling through gaps, where services overlapped and where earlier support could prevent harm.

The approach

Local research, engagement and co-design with more than 50 community services and over 30 Aboriginal community members. Using a human-centred approach, we listened across the system to understand people’s experiences, relationships between services and the structural gaps affecting children and families.

What changed

The research brought the service system into view as a whole. It became a practical service-system map that made gaps, connections and opportunities for intervention more visible. The map continues to provide a shared foundation for continued co-design, stronger service relationships and better-informed decision-making around the needs of children, young people and families.

50+ services · 30+ Aboriginal community members · Service-system design

Cultural immersions and leadership development

Creating space to learn on Country

The situation

Organisations and private groups wanted to deepen their understanding of Aboriginal culture through immersive experiences on Country.

The approach

Each immersion is shaped around the purpose and needs of the group - whether cultural learning, leadership development, team building, hiking or adventure. Local Aboriginal guides lead the cultural experience and guide participants through Country. Depending on the program, we also bring together experienced facilitators, leadership practitioners and adventure professionals to support the group’s learning, wellbeing and journey. Held in the remote landscapes of the East Kimberley, the programs combine cultural learning, facilitated reflection, shared experience and time on Country.

What changed

Stepping outside their usual environments gives participants the time and space to listen differently and reflect on their leadership, relationships and responsibilities. Participants often tell us these experiences change their lives - reshaping not only how they relate to Aboriginal culture and Australian history, but also how they understand themselves, one another and the world around them.

Cultural immersion · Leadership development · Learning on Country · Facilitation

Kimberley early learning

Making the case for economically and socially viable programs

The situation

Two social-development and early-learning programs needed a rigorous assessment of their viability, value and future potential.

The approach

I brought together stakeholder interviews, organisational evidence and market research to assess each program’s economic, operational, social and cultural viability.

What changed

The research confirmed that both programs were viable and gave decision-makers a fuller account of their value than financial measures alone could provide. The resulting evidence helped both programs secure government funding for a further three years, allowing their work with children, families and communities to continue.

2 programs · Three further years of government funding

A wider body of work

Selected commissions.

Noongar Land Enterprises - corporate and communications strategy, incorporation and enterprise development; supported the organisation to secure $1 million in grant funding.
City of Albany - Aboriginal Employment and Training Strategy.
Remote programs - research into school attendance, employment and community development.
Leadership and culture - facilitation supporting leadership, cultural learning and individual change.
Policy and advocacy - position papers, policy reviews, advocacy strategies and funding proposals.

Start a conversation

I work with people, teams and organisations navigating culturally significant, strategically complex or high-stakes work. My experience spans Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations, government, not-for-profit and private sectors. You do not need to arrive with a finished brief.

Available for project-based and ongoing work across Australia.

Start a conversation