Our people

Brenton Prosser is Professor of Public Policy and Leadership at UNSW Canberra. He has a deep and practical understanding of the relationship between parliament, public sector leadership and policy. Brenton has led numerous multi-million-dollar national evaluations of defence, health and social policy for Commonwealth departments. Brenton was Chief of Staff to Senator Nick Xenophon during the period when the Senator first held the balance of power from 2008-2011. Most recently, he was Director of an internationally recognized centre for social and economic modelling (NATSEM). His deep policy experience across government, parliament, private, public sectors and NGOs made him the ideal leader for the UNSW Public Partnerships and Impact Hub.

Brendan McCaffrie is a Senior Lecturer and Deputy Director of the Public Partnerships and Impact Hub. He has more than a decade of experience teaching postgraduate public policy and public governance courses. He has co-designed and managed several large, contracted programs with Australian Public Service agencies, and has developed expertise in designing and delivering courses that fit public sector workplace needs. His research has focused on political leadership, political participation and public policy.

Ian Drayton is the Manager for Government Partnerships for the Hub. His work focuses on building sustainable and productive client relationships across government and business to support direct commissioning and partnerships in research, education and innovation related to the public sector. Ian brings his broad experience in tertiary education, the private sector and defence to his work. Before joining the Hub, Ian was Deputy Director of Innovation and Business Development at the University of Canberra, and he was a former senior leader with United Airlines in the USA, where he developed strong business and client management skills. In 2016, he became a Churchill Fellow, leading a project using the Creative Arts to assist Australian Defence Force personnel in the recovery from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) which continues today. Ian holds a Bachelor of Business from Victoria University and a Master of Tertiary Education Management, Educational Leadership and Administration from the University of Melbourne.

Gabriel Helleren-Simpson has worked in a variety of research roles and environments, ranging from research in academia to data analysis for social services. Gabriel’s work focusses on quantitative and qualitative research, and codesign methodologies. His research has spanned projects in psychology, sociology, and public policy, at the Australian National University, the University of Canberra, and several social services and advocacy organisations such as Catholic Social Services Australia, where he helped run Mapping the Potential, a codesigned project that investigated the drivers of disadvantage across Australia. A natural writer and good communicator, Gabriel will be central to liaison with the APS in support of the codesign program.

Trish Bergin is a well-respected former senior public servant providing consultancy services to APS leadership. She was the co-director of the 50/50 by 2030 Gender Equity Foundation and formerly served as First Assistant Secretary in the Office for Women at the Office of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Trish has worked at the Senior Executive Service level in the Finance, Employment and Education portfolios. In the private sector, she has exemplified women's leadership by running her own consulting business and holding senior roles with SMS Management & Technology and Hudson Global Resources in Canberra. With deep experience delivering codesign across the public and private sectors, Trish is primed to understand and codesign around the needs of the Australian Public Service.

Phil Brown has over 30 years’ experience in the Australian Public Service, including over 15 years in the Senior Executive Service. Phil's career has encompassed a wide range of roles in the social policy sphere. Working in both rural and national policy contexts, Phil has successfully led policy development, implementation, research and evaluation, audit and compliance, regulatory and legislative reform, and complaints, reviews and appeals processes. Since leaving the APS in April 2020, he has led a taskforce to reform the Health Department network, which is a vocal and active advocate for the renewal of public trust in the APS, a key element of the Hub’s mission. Phil is an Adjunct with UNSW.

Dr John Butcher has deep knowledge in public policy design and administration, as well extensive experience as a ministerial adviser at both national and state levels. His scholarly work focuses on state/territory initiatives to support capacity development in the not-for-profit sector around social impact investment and creative coalitions. John’s research is primarily focussed on the interface between government and civil society, particularly the public and not for profit sectors. With his extensive experience in public sector collaboration, John’s expertise will be a vital resource to the Hub’s codesign, coproduction and consultation work, as well as the contexts needed for success. John is an Adjunct with UNSW.

Kate Carnell AO is a former ACT Chief Minister, leader of the ACT Liberal Party (from 1993 to 2000), and CEO of BeyondBlue. She is highly active on news and current affairs media, and a vocal advocate for a robust public sector, a responsive political arena and for quality services to the community of the ACT. With a history that includes Ministerial portfolios in Health Care, Multicultural and International Affairs, Business and Employment, and Tourism and the Arts, Kate’s breadth of political and policy experience will be vital. An active supporter of Canberra as a knowledge capital, and UNSW Canberra’s vital place within it, she will be a strategic and guiding force for the Hub.

Dr Jen Cleary is CEO of Centacare Country SA, which provides social services to communities across much of regional South Australia. She is a human geographer, with a background spanning social services and social policy; vocational and higher education; and regional, rural and remote research and development. Dr Cleary is also a Board Member of the South Australian Council of Social Services (SACOSS), a peak body for health and social services agencies in South Australia. She actively engages in practice-based research to contribute to evidence-driven policy for regional Australia, while she is an expert in inclusive consultation and codesign approaches in practice and service settings. Jen will be an important asset to the Hub’s codesign and leadership in effective policy stewardship. Jen is an Adjunct with UNSW.

(Frmr) RADM Simon Cullen AO had a career in the Royal Australian Navy spanning 38-years, with career highlights including command at sea and ashore, extensive operational service and appointments to key senior positions in the United States. During his military career Simon was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross and two United States Legions of Merit. Since leaving the Navy, Simon’s focus has remained on defence and national security issues. Simon is a Strategic Defence Advisor to the Government of Queensland. Through this work he regularly interacts with the federal government and defence. Simon will play a key role for the Hub through high-level strategic advice and input into the Hub’s leadership offerings to the private sector.

Dr Richard Denniss is a leader in economic and social policy analysis and debate in Australia. A high profile and active media contributor, Richard is the CEO of the Australia Institute. He also has extensive experience as a CoS in parliament with the Greens and Australian Democrats, while he continues to support cross-bench and independent members in their policy work. A former Associate Professor at ANU, Richard has spent the last twenty years moving between policy-focused roles in academia, federal politics and think-tanks. Richard is currently writing a book on post-neo-Liberal economics with Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz. As a strategic thinker and constructive provocateur, Richard will be a vibrant resources for the Hub’s politics and policy teaching. 

Steffen Faurby GAICD M. Psychol (Org) has extensive experience as a senior public servant in the NSW government, including successfully implementing government policy with strong outcomes for the public, driving meaningful change and spearheading large-scale reform programs. Most recently, he was the Managing Director/CEO of TAFE NSW. Prior to that, he led two large public transport organisations: Sydney Ferries, operated through the NSW Government’s first franchise, and State Transit Authority. Steffen also previously served as Managing Director in PwC’s Integrated Infrastructure business. Before migrating to Australia in 2010 Steffen held senior executive positions in Maersk, a globally renowned shipping and freight conglomerate, both in his home country of Denmark and in the United States. Steffen is the owner of Agility House Pty Ltd, a boutique advisory firm that provides guidance to public and private sector clients in various sectors, including public transport, integrated infrastructure, education, freight, maritime and ports. Steffen holds degrees and postgraduate degrees in Business Psychology, Engineering and International Business, and is a graduate of Australian Institute of Company Directors. Steffen is an Adjunct with UNSW.

Sean Innis has more than 20 years of senior experience across government and university sectors. He has worked in almost all areas of public policy and delivery from Indigenous affairs to the development of international agreements. Sean was Inaugural Director of the Public Policy and Societal Impact Hub at the ANU. He has been Special Adviser to Australia’s Productivity Commission and chaired a prime ministerial task force on welfare reform. As a senior public servant, Sean led development of an energy white paper and established the Policy Office in the Department of Social Services. Sean writes regular columns in The Mandarin AFR, Australian and Canberra Times. A big strategic thinker, he is an important guiding force for the Hub.

Amy Kilpatrick brings deep experience in law and social justice as well as connections in politics and the community and public sectors. An expert in governance, risk, workplace investigations and gender policy mainstreaming, Amy has held CEO and Directorships in the NFP sector, Ministerial advisory roles, senior management positions in the higher education sector, and was the Director of Pathways to Politics for Women and the 50/50 by 2030 Gender Equity Foundation. She is also a member of the ACT Ministerial Advisory Council for Women. A seasoned lawyer, public speaker and media commentator, she is regularly commissioned by health services, public and private entities as an expert advisor and independent investigator. Amy is an adaptive leader and big picture thinker.  As a CEO in the NFP sector and as Deputy General Counsel in the higher education sector, her energetic and collaborative approach delivered whole of organisation transformations. Amy brings her experience achieving law reform, in service creation and policy implementation to capability building. Amy is an Adjunct with UNSW.

Dr Chris McDonald has experience in a range of leadership roles in government and academia. Holding an undergraduate qualification in urban and regional planning, and a PhD in regional development from Monash University, he has published on these subjects in peer review journals. He has undertaken teaching and lecturing roles in public policy, regional development and economic geography and is also currently an Honorary Associate Professor to the First Nations Portfolio at the Australian National University. Chris currently works as a senior executive in the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, and has held previous senior positions in the Victorian Public Service and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. He is an Adjunct Fellow at UNSW and brings his expertise in public policy to the Hub.

Dr Andy Mycock is Chief Policy Fellow of the Yorkshire and Humber Policy Engagement and Research Network (Y-PERN) based at the University of Leeds (UK). Y-PERN is a network-based approach to inclusive and place-based academic policy engagement and research, working in partnership with local and regional governments. He is political scientist with extensive experience of research-led policy engagement, collaborating with a wide range of government and non-government stakeholders across the UK and internationally. He sits on the executive committee of the University Policy Engagement Network and is an elected trustee and former Vice-Chair of the UK Political Studies Association.

Dr Paul Porteous has extensive public leadership experience, including work as a senior diplomat and international lawyer. He has been both Visiting Faculty at Harvard Kennedy School and a Fellow at Harvard’s Center for Public Leadership where he received the ‘Dean’s Award for Excellence in Student Teaching’. Paul is also Director of the Centre for Social Leadership, developing innovative programs across government, business and the community. He has deep experience working in the Australian government including foreign affairs, regional development, transport and industrial relations. Paul specialises in community-based policy and social leadership and will bring this real-world and applied expertise to the design of the Hub’s leadership programs. Paul is an Adjunct UNSW.

Camilla Rowland (EMBA GAICD) has worked in the Australian health and community service sectors in CEO, executive, allied health clinical, and educational roles.  Camilla is currently CEO of Palliative Care Australia and has formerly held CEO positions in health and community sector service delivery agencies, as well as a number of sector Board and Committee positions.

Camilla brings a wealth of experience to UNSW with a background that has included education design in palliative care, aged care, disability, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, child youth and family sectors leadership, human resources, and has managed sector educational institutions.

Nick Sellars (CF FRSA) is a Canberra-based governance consultant for Integrity Partners Australia, whose 15 years’ experience as an Executive and Senior Executive Service officer in Australian Government anti-corruption and integrity oversight agencies and more than five years in private practice will be invaluable to the Hub’s public sector work. He is recognised internationally as a specialist in public sector governance, with strategic capabilities in integrity framework design (including whistle-blowing), sensitive case investigation, asset protection methods (counter-fraud and corruption prevention), probity advising and independent review. In 2023, Nick was made a Churchill Fellow (CF) for his research Optimising good decision-making and probity in government grant administration. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (FRSA) in 2021, for services to establishing integrity systems in government.

Niki Strachan has over 20 years’ experience in private and public sector leadership. Currently, she is Director – External Budget Strategy – with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. Her day-to-day work involves understanding the nature of work, measuring work and costing work, as well as authoring compelling narratives to tell the story behind the numbers. To do this, she draws on experience in the disciplines of leadership, problem solving, risk, strategy, governance, financial management and change management. Previously, she worked with the Australian Public Service Commission to lead digital strategy, operations, and procurement. Niki is an experienced and insightful public service leader, who also provides provide independent and current insight into APS leadership needs.

Dr James Weinberg is an academic in the Department of Politics at the University of Sheffield (UK) with an international reputation in the field of political behaviour.  His ground-breaking research into politicians and public trust has appeared in print, radio and television including the BBC, the Washington Post and the Guardian, as well as some of the discipline’s most respected peer-reviewed journals (including the British Journal of Political Science and Comparative Political Studies). In 2024, he was awarded the Richard Rose Prize for Outstanding Contributions to Advancing Knowledge by the UK Political Studies Association and in 2022, he was named on a global list of ‘50 influential researchers whose work might help to shape 21st century politicians’ (Apolitical Foundation). James is a Visiting Scholar with UNSW.

Professor Catherine Althaus is the ANZSOG Chair of Public Service Leadership and Reform at the University of New South Wales in Canberra and Deputy Dean (Teaching and Learning) at the Australia and New Zealand School of Government. She was previously Director of the School of Public Administration at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, an Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne, and held policy posts as a practitioner in the Queensland government. Her academic training is in economics, politics and public policy. She specialises in working with First People’s communities on the leadership contributions of Indigenous public servants and opportunities to learn from and enact Indigenous ways of knowing and being in policymaking. She is also co-author of the popular policy textbook The Australian Policy Handbook (with Glyn Davis). Catherine will be an important contributor to our policy and leadership training, particularly in the area of Adaptive Leadership. 

Professor Deborah Blackman is the Head of the School of Business, and a member of the Public Service Research Group at UNSW Canberra. Her academic work spans Public Sector Policy Implementation, Systems Level change, Employee Performance Management, Organisational Learning; Soft Knowledge Management; Organisational Effectiveness; Psychological Contract; and Governance. Deborah’s passion lies in applying philosophical and systems thinking to the understanding of why theory sometimes fails when applied in real world policy contexts. Deborah was the lead researcher on the joint project with the Australian Public Service Commission, which resulted in a framework for the diagnosis of effective performance management systems. Deborah’s vast experience within UNSW and the APS is a vital pillar to the Hub’s governance and teaching.

Professor Meredith Edwards AM has had a career as a professor, researcher, and senior policy analyst. She is best known for her role in developing social and labour market policies for the Australian government and was a Deputy Secretary in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, 1993-97.  Meredith was appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Canberra in August 1997 and was then Director of the National Institute for Governance at the University of Canberra until 2004. Meredith trained as an economist, is a Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia, Fellow of ANZSOG, Fellow of the Academy of Social Science Australia and was a member of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration, United Nations 2010-2017. Meredith provides an independent and expert advisory role to the Hub, while she will provide mentorship to the proposed APS Industry Fellow. Meredith is an Adjunct with UNSW.

Professor Will Jennings is Professor of Political Science and Public Policy and Associate Dean (Research & Enterprise) for the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Southampton. He was a British Academy Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Research Fellow at the University of Manchester. Will is a specialist in research questions relating to public policy and political behaviour. Currently, he an international leader in the TrustGov project which seeks to track and address widespread concern commentators that citizens in Western democracies have grown increasingly distrustful of politicians, cynical about national institutions, and disillusioned with democratic processes (such as policy making). His involvement will integrate the Hub into this international research effort. Will is a Visiting Professor with UNSW.

Professor Craig Stockings is the Head of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, UNSW Canberra. His areas of academic interest concern general and Australian military history and operational analysis. He is an official military historian with the Department of Defence. He has published numerous high-profile Australian military histories. His most recent book, published by CUP, is an investigation of turn of the century imperial defence entitled: Britannia’s Shield: Lieutenant-General Sir Edward Hutton and Late Victorian Imperial Defence. An expert in leadership, and historical insights from it, his work and the work of his School, will be an important resource for the Hub’s teaching.

Professor Gerry Stoker is a Professor of Governance at the University of Southampton. He is a truly international scholar, with his publications 'Why Politics Matters: Making Democracy Work' and his book with co-author Mark Evans, ‘Evidence-Based Policy Making in the Social Sciences: Methods That Matter’ being recognised as seminal works in the field. Professor Stoker has provided advice to various parts of the UK government and civil services, while he is also an expert advisor to the Council of Europe on local government and participation issues. His work led to the development of a heuristic to help public authorities investigate their public participation strategies and identify how they might be improved. Gerry is both a central designer and thought leader with the Hub, which has already, and will further, benefit from his academic experience, networks, mentoring and leadership as it designs and delivers its teaching and research. Gerry is a Visiting Professor with UNSW.