2024 Director Elections

Melissa is a highly respected communication and stakeholder engagement technical specialist, with global experience working for consultancies, government and the not-for-profit sector. Currently, Melissa is a Director with the Engagement and Change Advisory team at Aurecon. In addition to leading people and projects, Melissa drives her team’s capability in mitigating social risk and employing best practice engagement.

Melissa is a current Director of the IAP2 Australasia Board, having been appointed for a three-year term in 2021, and serves as the Chair of the Governance, Finance and Risk committee. Melissa is a champion for the young and emerging professionals within the membership, with a commitment to advancing the professionalism of the practice with diverse thinking, creativity and innovation. After seven years in Sydney, Melissa recently moved with her family to Singapore.

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.

With more than 15 years of non-executive board director experience, I am seeking my next board to make a strong contribution to in an area I am passionate about. I have more than 30 years’ experience in communications and engagement across various sectors. I was also on the audit, risk and governance committee of Visit Northern Tasmania and was Chair of Marketing on the Tourism Snowy Mountains board. I attended the IAP2 engagement leaders retreat in Uluru which inspired me to become further involved. I would welcome the opportunity to represent our members and stakeholders as a new board member.

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.

After more than 15 years in State Government across precinct management, road infrastructure, and then water infrastructure, Kate emerged from the public service with an incredibly rounded experience from which to launch her current venture, Factotum Communications.

Kate has driven engagement outcomes on strategic projects for Water NSW, Transport for NSW, Forestry Corp NSW, LendLease, and multiple clients within the Murray-Darling basin.

With an executive MBA, and a long association with IAP2 Australasia, most recently on the IAP2A Advocacy Committee, Kate is keen to build on her contribution to the industry she loves as a Director on the IAP2A Board.

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.

Margot Hammond is a leader in engagement and social performance in the energy sector, focused on embedding social performance and best practice engagement. For 20 years, she has been a strong advocate for stakeholder and community engagement, using communications and engagement to connect with people on important issues.

Margot is committed to advancing the practice of engagement and social performance, embedding these principles into government and industry to create lasting change. Her leadership and strategic thinking help her navigate complex challenges and foster innovation. She has worked with government, regulators, and industry to support reforms and improve social performance.

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.