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Leadership. We spend billions trying to develop it, but what actually is it?

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Leadership is about navigating complex webs of relationships towards shared goals. It is what we do when we don’t know what to do. Authored by: Amber CY Tsai, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Tasmania, Toby Newstead, PhD, Leadership Scholar and Executive Leadership Coach, and Joseph Crawford, PhD, Organisational Behaviour Researcher  Against the backdrop of the multi-billion-dollar leadership […]

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Learning the Business of Being an Indigenous Woman Entrepreneur

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By Dr Cindy Reese Mitchell PhD, Good Return Program Director, Indigenous Women’s Entrepreneurship *As published in the Koori Mail, 17 July 2024 Right now, a movement is growing across Northern Australia to build leadership through self-employment and business for Indigenous women. Despite having venturing at its core, this movement is not driven by an individual

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Exploring Leadership Development; Menzies Foundation partners with UTAS for dynamic new series

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Albert Einstein’s view that “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them” underscores the need for a deeper consideration of the leadership we need for the future. The Menzies Foundation is delighted to announce a new partnership with the University of Tasmania; with “Talking Leadership Development” webinar series, a platform

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Leadership in Education; second Ed-Tech Pilot underway

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The Menzies Foundation, in collaboration with the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and Rising Team, is delighted to announce that the Rising Team for Schools Pilot 2024 is underway. This innovative initiative is developing a tech platform that supports leadership development for school teams in real time and at scale, transforming how teams operate

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Trauma Informed Approaches for System Change: Menzies Foundation launches new collaboration

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In further support and commitment to Indigenous women’s entrepreneurship, the Menzies Foundation is delighted to announce a partnership with Global collective change maker, the Collective Change Lab, focused on innovative collective healing and trauma informed systems change approaches. Founded by John Kania, the Collective Change Lab’s approach to trauma healing involves understanding and addressing the

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Community-led Responses to Climate Change: Discovering conditions for equity and social justice

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The compounding impacts of climate change has called attention to the importance of community resilience requiring us to rethink how diverse communities are supported to respond. The Menzies Foundation, in collaboration with Collaboration for Impact and Jesuit Social Services, is delighted to announce the release of the report titled “Community-led Responses to Climate Change: Discovering Conditions for Equity and Social

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Empowering Youth Leadership: Announcing the 2024 Menzies Foundation Global Voices Fellows

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With the aim to shape a new generation of leaders who will drive positive change, strengthen communities, and make a lasting impact on Australian society and the world, Menzies Foundation remains committed to extending the Global Voices reach to a National program. Menzies Foundation in partnership with Global Voices is delighted to announce the appointment of two 2024

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Reflections on the UN Commission on the Status of Women: Empowering Young Australians to Engage in International Diplomacy 

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By Kaylee Neil, Menzies Foundation Fellow for the UN Commission on the Status of Women In March 2024, I was supported by the Menzies Foundation to attend the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City as part of my fellowship with Global Voices. I

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Natasha Eskinja

Digital Communications Coordinator

Natasha is driven by a profound passion for both creativity and analytics, a synergy that fosters authentic storytelling in the digital realm with both innovation and integrity. 

Throughout her career, she has consistently integrated the overarching marketing and communications narrative with the emotional connections of audiences. She is currently pursuing a Certificate in Society and the Individual from Flinders University, furthering her exploration of human behaviour and the critical importance of connectedness between organisations, individuals, and communities.

LinkedIn | natasha.eskinja@menziesfoundation.org.au

Sarah Jenkins

Strategic Communications Manager

Sarah has more than 18 years’ experience in communications and marketing leadership across a range of sectors.

Communications strategy and organisational growth is a continuing theme in Sarah’s career. Most recently, she leads the development of a Leadership Movement, evaluated by Menzies Viral Co-efficient Model; a contribution to the NFP. 

Sarah’s early career centred around best practice in marketing and communications which later culminated into the establishment of her very own agency. This work extensively spanned across PR, traditional media, event management, strategy, digital marketing, graphic design and business development consultancy. 

In 2019, Sarah joined the lean and robust team at the Menzies Foundation. She has since crafted the Foundation’s narrative and communication strategy. The development of this strategic communications platform is essential for ‘movement building’ and requires a strong strategic, management and communication skills set. Sarah has brought so much to this important work, which sits at the forefront of communication practice. 

Sarah continues to contribute to the NFP sector through her commitment to Purpose; as she reflects on her own leadership, builds her own leadership capability and contributes to the greater good. 

LinkedIn | sarah.jenkins@menziesfoundation.org.au | 0401 880 071

Rohan Martyres

Director, Strategy and Partnerships

Rohan has 15 years’ experience in facilitating cross-sector collaborations to address complex social and health challenges.  He has worked with the World Economic Forum in Australia, led an international conflict resolution field team in Nepal, and directed a 10-year £40m initiative to reduce health inequity in London.

Most recently, Rohan was Major Grants Development Manager at the Ian Potter Foundation.  He refined the foundation’s major grants strategy, and co-developed a series of large scale initiatives, including joint philanthropic-government funding for a new national organization to support place-based approaches across Australia.

Rohan has held several non-executive roles, including with an international NGO and with London Funders, the peak body of independent foundations in London.  He holds several qualifications including a graduate degree in innovation and strategy from the Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.

When Rohan isn’t exploring Melbourne’s creeks with his partner and 6yo daughter, he’s working on his currently weak Australian accent (after 15 years in the UK).

LinkedIn | rohan.martyres@menziesfoundation.org.au | 0404 505 954

Trudy Morrison

Operations Manager

A marketing and communications specialist with over 20 years experience in government, corporate and consumer marketing, Trudy brings her adaptive and organisational project management skills to the Menzies Foundation team. 

With a BA degree in Public Relations, Trudy began her career with the City of Melbourne and in magazine publishing, before moving into marketing communications consulting. She has worked in strategic marketing leadership roles with retail brands and enjoys juggling many projects and tasks simultaneously. Her skills were further enhanced when managing her own communications business representing industries across private education, financial services, aviation, government and the health industry. 

Trudy is passionate about leadership and all people being encouraged to reach their full potential through research and educational initiatives and opportunities throughout Australia. A skilled and accomplished writer and editor Trudy is enthusiastic about bringing her variety of skills to the Menzies Foundation team. 

LinkedIn | trudy.morrison@menziesfoundation.org.au | 0402 361 878

Liz Gillies

Chief Executive Officer

Liz Gillies has had over 25 years experience in a range of fields focused on initiatives for social impact. She has held roles in multiple sectors and academia.

In 2018, Liz was appointed CEO of the Menzies Foundation which aspires to build a leadership movement that supports Australians to pivot to purpose, build their leadership capability and contribute to the ‘greater good’.

Liz joined the Melbourne Business School in 2009 and was instrumental in establishing the Asia Pacific Social Impact Centre (APSIC) and The Centre for Ethical Leadership. In November 2011 she was appointed as research fellow to lead a partnership focused on strategic philanthropy which culminated in the release of the reports: Philanthropy: Towards a Better Practice Model (2018) and the Philanthropy: The Continued Journey to Real Impact and better Practice (2021).

Liz has extensive governance experience, having served on the Board of the Publish Galleries Association of Victoria, Social Firms Australia, Uniting Care Community Options, United Way Australia and the Development Committee of the Towards a Just Society Foundation. She is currently on the Philanthropy Reference Group of Barmal Bijiril and a Director of Philanthropy Australia.

LinkedIn | liz.gillies@menziesfoundation.org.au | 0416 112 703

Natasha Eskinja

Digital Communications Coordinator

Natasha is driven by a profound passion for both creativity and analytics, a synergy that fosters authentic storytelling in the digital realm with both innovation and integrity. 

Throughout her career, she has consistently integrated the overarching marketing and communications narrative with the emotional connections of audiences. She is currently pursuing a Certificate in Society and the Individual from Flinders University, furthering her exploration of human behaviour and the critical importance of connectedness between organisations, individuals, and communities.

natasha.eskinja@menziesfoundation.org.au