Advocating to
elevate engagement
as a practice

A transformational leader with almost 20 years’ experience as a CEO in the not-for-profit sector, coupled with extensive senior management experience in the private sector and over 20 years’ experience working within collaborative models.

Marion joined the Engagement Institute (then IAP2 Australasia) in August 2017. Under her leadership, the organisation focused on delivering a suite of valued initiatives to members which has resulted in tremendous growth, membership has more than tripled to almost 16,000 and revenues have likewise increased.

Marion has an MBA from Henley Management College, UK. She has been married to Kevin for over 30 years and is enormously proud of her two adult sons.

A resourceful optimist, she grew up in the Northern Territory, and much of her life has been shaped by her dad’s words “well it can’t be that hard”.

Leading the Social Sustainability and Planning practice at Just Add Lime, Julie has a passion for working with organisations to build and develop connections with communities. With a collaborative approach and creative leadership skills, Julie brings together the right people and the right tools at the right time in a winning formula.

As a qualified Environmental Planner, Community Engagement and Social Impact Assessment specialist with formal Project Management qualifications and experience, Julie brings a uniquely broad range of skills and depth of experience to support project development and delivery. Having worked in the public and private sector as well as consultancy, Julie also understands what drives organisations and what that means for projects. She has worked in transportation, resources, defence, aviation and education sectors within both New Zealand and Australia. Julie is also responsible for guiding and supporting the company’s growth through people, planning, process and overall operational excellence.

Julie hatched the concept of the brain food cupboard at Just Add Lime. This is where you go to grab a snack before heading to the comfy seats to chill out or get the creative ideas flowing. She is also known for bringing baking into the office and if you get in early enough you might even be able to make a request.

Cass Erbs is a strategist and impact seeker, having held senior roles in Australia’s leading science and environment not-for-profit sectors and consultancies.

She currently serves as the Missions and Strategic Engagement Corporate Affairs lead at CSIRO, where her focus is developing mission-driven innovation that aims to tackle some of the most pressing challenges of our time, from transitioning to zero emissions or stopping the next pandemic to feeding our growing population or ending plastic waste.

With a background in science, business, and public policy, Cass’s work is part of CSIRO’s efforts to conduct impactful scientific research for societal benefits.

Cass has spent 20 years driving innovation across various sectors, making significant contributions in her field. From delivering $500 million initiatives to leading award-winning campaigns, her expertise lies in systems thinking, flexibility, and creativity.

She has a not-so-secret passion for all things science, climate, environment, tech, data, innovation, sport, and coffee.

Managing Director and Principal Stakeholder and Community Engagement Consultant at Comacon Pty Ltd. Author of Shine and A Difficult Woman (to be released late 2024). Podcast host Shine.

Donna is a community engagement specialist with 30 years’ experience delivering the stakeholder and community engagement for over 200 infrastructure and natural resources projects. She has owned and operated Comacon for 15 years and throughout her career has worked in senior stakeholder and community engagement roles for both Government and the private sector, including Infrastructure Australia.

Donna has a passion for supporting people and communities to own and share their stories, including how they are engaged with. The wellbeing of communities and people is at the core of her work and the focus of Comacon’s delivery of stakeholder and community engagement,

Donna is a passionate sportsperson and supporter. She is a current football (soccer) player, a retired netballer, a current netball coach and sits on the board of numerous sporting bodies. Wellbeing, community empowerment and supporting women in sport are what drives Donna.

Kate Kernaghan is the Director, Communications and Engagement at Sequana working with clients across Transport, Mining, Renewables and Water Infrastructure.

Among other projects, Kate is currently the Independent Chair of a community advisory panel for a mining project, ensuring the engagement remains authentic, transparent, accountable and productive for all parties involved.

From State Significant Infrastructure planning and delivery to stakeholder relationship rehabilitation (and a great many tangents in between), Kate has two decades of government, interagency and private sector experience under her belt. She is well equipped to navigate the approvals, social and political licence, and stakeholder management aspects of any project.

Having recently completed an Executive MBA , outside of work, Kate is happy to have traded reading lists and highlighters for taxi-ing around her three “spirited” daughters and mediating spotify or front seat disputes.

Helen has over 25 years’ industry experience across community, government and business sectors including five years as Executive Director of the Canberra Business Council. During her tenure as Managing Director at Communication Link, the company has been involved in some of the most significant discussions in Canberra, from the establishment of infrastructure such as light rail, major city-centre renewal projects, bushfire recovery, the creation of the ACT’s wellbeing indicators and Canberra’s energy transition towards net zero by 2045. Helen is a passionate advocate for stakeholders, believing in active listening to inform meaningful engagement. She is an experienced facilitator that loves a room full of passionate and engaged people.

Claire Paddison is a strategic communications, engagement, and facilitation specialist, with a demonstrated 25+ year history facilitating large and often complex and controversial projects for major public and private sector projects across all levels of government, resources, infrastructure, land development and the not-for-profit sector.

Playing a key leadership role across several businesses, Claire has been responsible for building internal capacity and leading and facilitating the design and implementation of strategic organisational planning, change management and stakeholder engagement and communications, to achieve both corporate and operational business outcomes. Claire’s achievements have been recognised at the national and international level by IAP2.

Claire is passionate about building relationships with and between people. As a facilitator she enjoys designing processes which enable participation and gives people a voice through respectful and purposeful conversations. Claire is comfortable and confident working with and between cultures.

Louise is a government relations consultant with more than two decades of experience working across government as a political adviser and public servant.

Louise has a deep understanding of the political and policy landscape at both the Federal and ACT levels, having worked as an adviser to Federal Labor MPs, and held senior positions in the Barr Labor Government, including as the Senior Planning Adviser to the then-Minister for Planning and Land Management.

During her extensive career Louise was responsible for delivering a number of major national reforms that required the agreement and consensus of all states and territories. She is regularly called on for her campaigning experience and has been central to a number of state, territory and federal elections.

Louise was the first elected President of the ACT branch of the Labor Party and a former Labor candidate for Brindabella in the ACT. Louise has a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws from the Australian National University, and Masters of Employment Relations from Griffith University.