Claudia Long will join us as our MC for the day. Claudia is a federal politics reporter and investigative journalist with the ABC’s Parliament House bureau in Canberra. Since joining ABC news in 2016 she’s reported AM, Triple J Hack and Background Briefing among other programs. Claudia covers health, education, disability and women’s safety.

As the Founder and CEO, Jo leads our team at Fifty Acres and is involved with all projects. She offers 20 years’ experience in communications and a wealth of knowledge in public relations and project management.

Standing as one of Australia’s most highly sought-after strategic advisors, Jo has a proven reputation in the field across corporate and political advisory and journalism.

A respected former journalist in the UK and Australia, Jo has worked with ITV, Associated Press, Seven Network, SBS, ABC and Fairfax, and previously acted as a senior adviser in the Rudd and Gillard governments as well as the British Labour Party. Jo is a trained lawyer and is also a member of the NSW Council of the Public Relations Institute of Australia and acts as a board member for Fitted for Work and Hockey ACT.

Jo started Fifty Acres in 2010 because she wanted to create an agency motivated by strong values and work in the for-purpose sectors, in addition to supporting flexible work. Since then, Fifty Acres has grown into one of Australia’s leading completely remote, full-service communications agencies.

A leader in the for-purpose and social impact sector, Jo runs regular webinars for not-for-profit and community-based organisations, and is available to speak at public events.

Outside of work, you can find Jo baking banana bread, walking her dogs or dreaming up an ending for her final creative writing piece for her Master’s degree at the University of Hull.

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Dr Andrew Leigh MP will be speaking about connecting with Parliament: How non-profits can engage with politicians to shape better policy.

Andrew Leigh is the Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury, and Federal Member for Fenner in the ACT. Prior to being elected in 2010, Andrew was a professor of economics at the Australian National University. He holds a PhD in Public Policy from Harvard, having graduated from the University of Sydney with first class honours in Arts and Law. Andrew is a past recipient of the Economic Society of Australia’s Young Economist Award and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences. He has published several books, including Reconnected: A Community Builder’s Handbook (with Nick Terrell) (2020) and Fair Game: Lessons From Sport for a Fairer Society & a Stronger Economy (2022).

Andrew is the father of three sons – Sebastian, Theodore and Zachary, and lives with his wife Gweneth in Canberra. He has been a member of the Australian Labor Party since 1991.

Andrew Apostola will be presenting on how Portable can create transformational change and add value to government engagement clients through collaboration. 

Andrew is the CEO and co-founder of Portable, a purpose-driven B-Corporation with a mission to address social need and policy gaps in the community through mindful research, human-centred design and ethical technology solutions. 

Andrew’s main areas of focus include government, justice, mental health and education, actively engaging in these areas through his various roles at Portable and in the wider community. He is the author of a range of publications including Hacking the Bureaucracy, a guide to government innovation; Redesigning Work, a report into how design can respond to the changing workforce; and more.

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Jamie Wilson will be presenting on Supercurious’ story and brand, highlighting how organisations within the not-for-profit sector can utilise brand to stand out.

Jamie is the Founder and Director of Supercurious (formerly Coordinate), a creative communications agency based in Canberra. In 2019, the agency was recognised as the ACT Telstra Business of the Year.

Jamie served on the Board of HerCanberra, a prominent Canberra lifestyle website, for six years. During this time, he played a pivotal role in guiding the team through the challenges they faced in 2020. From 2014 to 2019, Jamie was a Co-Founder and director at CBR Brave, an Australian Ice Hockey Team. Before founding Coordinate, Jamie completed a Bachelor of Communication (Public Relations and Image Management) at the University of Canberra.

Outside of work, Jamie enjoys spending time with family and friends, and indulging in the city’s cafes and restaurants.

Darren Fittler will be discussing recent changes in charity regulation, reporting, deductible gift recipient endorsement, and more. 

Darren is the lead partner in Gilbert + Tobin’s Charities + Social Sector group. Darren specialises in the provision of legal assistance to charities, not-for-profits and social impact organisations, including large and small charities, overseas aid agencies, community organisations, environmental and cultural organisations, corporate foundations, religious organisations and congregations, industry associations and private families and individuals.

Darren’s expertise in laws and circumstances unique to charities, not-for-profits and social impact organisations and his generalist corporate and commercial law experience enables him to provide innovative, holistic, strategic and targeted legal advice and practical guidance.

Darren was the recipient of the 2014 Human Rights Commission Law Award in recognition of his long term commitment to assisting not-for-profit and charitable organisations. Darren is the author of two chapters in the Thomson Reuters NFP Best Practice Manual and the chapters on not-for-profit organisations and NSW incorporated associations in the NSW Lawyers Practice Manual.

He is a volunteer director of Vision Australia and has also attended meetings at the United Nations in New York, helping in the development of the international convention on the rights of persons with disability.

David Spriggs will be discussing how technology can help the sector to fulfill its mission. David will explore some of the most recent technology trends relevant for the sector and how organisations can embrace the use of technology as part of their strategy. David will also share tips on how to build cyber-resilience in the not-for-profit sector and explore what ‘best practice’ looks like in keeping organisations secure. 

David is the CEO of Infoxchange, a not-for-profit social enterprise with the vision of ‘technology for social justice’.  He is passionate about creating a more digitally inclusive society and the role technology can play in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the not-for-profit sector.  

With over 25 years of experience in the not-for-profit and technology sectors, David is a strong advocate for cross sector partnerships to tackle some of our biggest social challenges through the smart and creative use of technology.

In addition to his role at Infoxchange, David is Chair of the Australian Digital Inclusion Alliance (ADIA) and Deputy Chair of Specialisterne Australia, working to create careers for people on the autism spectrum.  David is also a Director of the Alannah & Madeline Foundation, a national not-for-profit organisation dedicated to keeping children and young people free from violence and trauma wherever they live, learn and play.

David holds a Bachelor of Information Technology from the University of Queensland, a Certificate in Theology from Trinity College at the University of Melbourne and is a Graduate of the Harvard Business School Executive Education Program and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

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Jessica Dharmasiri will be discussing breaking down the barriers to employment. 

Jessica leads the design, development and implementation of GA’s long-term strategy and key strategic projects. She spearheads GA’s work expanding training & employment programs to new communities such as First Nations people, designing new training delivery models, and launching new business models like GA’s Powered by Generation initiative. 

Prior to joining GA, Jessica was a management consultant at McKinsey & Company, where she specialised in growth strategy and operating model design. She was also Global CEO of 180 Degrees, a global youth-led non-profit. Jessica holds a Bachelor of Renewable Energy Engineering (Honours) from the University of NSW.

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Finn McHugh will be speaking on our Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery Panel. 

Finn McHugh has been the digital federal political reporter for SBS since November last year. He joined the Canberra Press Gallery in 2019 where he was executive producer of Sky News’s AM Agenda, before joining NCA NewsWire and then The Canberra Times as a federal political reporter. He has previously interned at the Kuwait Times.

Josh Butler will be speaking on our Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery Panel. 

Josh Butler is a political reporter with Guardian Australia in Canberra. He primarily covers health, social affairs, tech and online issues, and the Indigenous Voice referendum. He has previously reported for The New Daily, Network 10 and HuffPost Australia between Canberra and Sydney.

Amanda Copp will be speaking on our Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery Panel. 

Amanda is Political Reporter for National Radio News – broadcasting to community radio stations around Australia. Amanda is also the Co-Host and Producer of Bubble pop podcast, a podcast aiming to demystify the world of politics for those who are not familiar with the inner workings of the “Canberra Bubble”.

Peter Lewis will be presenting on how a strong research base underpins the importance of crafting a purpose narrative for government and stakeholders. Peter will provide insights into the new collaboration toolkit, Civility, and the role it has in The Voice to Parliament and the latest observations in Guardian Essential polling. 

Peter Lewis is executive director of the progressive strategic communications agency Essential Media, the founder of the collaborative engagement platform Civility and a fellow with the Australia Institute’s Centre for Responsible Technology. For more than two decades he was worked with progressive organisations including unions, NGOs, not-for-profits and responsible businesses to affect progressive social change. He is a regular columnist with Guardian Australian and Fairfax newspapers as well as the author of five books including Webtopia and The Public Square Project.