2024 Director Elections

Mel Hagedorn is an accomplished executive leader with close to two decades of experience in community engagement, communications, and service design across government, not-for-profit and private sectors. Mel excels in developing customer experience models and strategies that yield positive long-term outcomes for communities.

A passionate advocate for authentic engagement, digital transformation and truth-telling, Mel has made significant impacts within the digital- engagement industry. She was a finalist for the Women in Digital Indigenous Leadership Award and is seeking reappointment on the IAP2 Board. Mel’s notable achievements include implementing Qld’s first braille ballot paper for State elections and enhancing digital engagement across 300+ organisations in Australia and New Zealand.

Based in Ōtaki with her multicultural, bilingual whānau, Sarah is a principal and owner at Aurecon, leading Engagement and Change Advisory for Aotearoa. Her team helps clients and communities solve some of NZ’s most complex infrastructure problems.

Sarah’s 30-year career began in the arts, analysing and communicating complex ideas for diverse people doing ambitious things on tiny budgets! A good foundation for her eminence in navigating complex infrastructure development and management, supporting government and communities through change to find their common ground.

Through promoting IAP2 training and principles, Sarah has delivered great outcomes and unlocked opportunities for communities, decision-makers, technical experts, and engagement practitioners alike.

I am founder and Managing Director of Cultural Perspectives in 1994: sector leader in consulting to, researching and engaging with culturally and linguistically diverse communities in Australia.

I am distinguished in my pioneering work around multicultural and multilingual communications and engagement, applying communications and engagement theory and strategies to the fast growing and diversifying CALD segment in Australia, and keen to explore a more culturally inclusive IAP2.

I have significant governance experience across private and community structures spanning 40 years. I am a Fellow of the Communications and Public Relations Australia (CPRA), a Qualified Practicing Market Research (QPMR) and GAICD.

I am a motivated and strategic leader in the engagement and governance areas. I have over 30 years of governance leadership experience across the government and NFP sectors. I have six years’ experience on the board of IAP2, five years as Chair and have played an important role in shaping the evolution of IAP2 Australasia as a leading member organisation, effecting major transformations in governance practice and uplift in services to members.

I am enthusiastic about uplifting the profession into the C-Suite and gaining recognition of the technical skills. I also bring the great value of lived experience of disability.