Social Impact
In The Regions

Kerry Grace is the conference founder and producer

Kerry Grace is known for her authentic approach and ability to get things done in communities.

A passionate regional Australian she learned from a very young age that many skills are required to enable the social change she is passionate about, the most important one being the ability to build trust.

Like many entrepreneurs Kerry is multi-skilled and while her skills may broadly be defined as community and economic development, writing and community advisory, through her decades in the workforce she has honed a unique mix of practical skills, connections, deep understanding and abilities which make her a sought after person for facilitation, MC and community advisory services.

Kerry works with clients at every level of government, not for profits, Aboriginal Corporations and Corporates.

At the heart of her work she thoroughly believes in healthy and sustainable regional communities. The methodologies surrounding the delivery of this goal vary.

www.kerrygrace.com.au

Jo-Anne Kelly is the Partnership lead of Learning the Macleay, Kempsey's backbone organisation leading the Stronger Places, Stronger People Program.

Jo has experience working in the trauma informed space and family research with a demonstrated history of working with individuals and family services industry. She is skilled in Social Policy, Change Management, Leadership Development, Community Development, Engaging with Government, Culture & Heritage, Building Community Capacity and Program Management.

Jesse Taylor is dedicated to creating practical and inclusive solutions to societal challenges. With 25 years of experience leading place-based, co-design initiatives and reform campaigns across Australia, New York City, and the USA, Jesse excels in building high-performing collaborative teams and driving transformative change.

Sue has over 40 years’ experience in a range of community care and health settings and has been with Blue Sky Community Services since 2010. Sue holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences, a Certificate IV in Workplace Training and Assessment, an Advanced Diploma of Management: Social Enterprise. She is also a School for Social Entrepreneurs Australian Fellow and has completed the Challenge Of Leadership course through Leadership Management Australia (LMA). Sue has a passion for the principles of social justice and is a strong proponent of working collaboratively and in partnerships with communities and services within a strengths-based and inclusive model of practice. Sue is currently the Program Manager for the Families, Young People and Communities team and is based at the Groundworks Youth Centre.

With over 30 years of experience in culturally diverse community engagement, PR, and communications, Angela has a proven track record of successfully leading teams and delivering impactful programs that drive social impact.

Angela thrives in stakeholder engagement and strategic planning. Her expertise lies in fostering collaboration and partnerships between organisations, government agencies, and communities to drive collective action.

Angela’s passion lies in collaborating with likeminded people and organisations to develop activities that focus on the mental health and wellbeing of individuals and families, with the purpose of creating positive, meaningful, and sustainable systems change for the benefit of community and particularly for those disadvantaged as a result of complex, long-term systemic issues.

Jo has 25+ years of leading for-purpose organisations. Over her career, she has raised over $100m leading for-purpose organisations and has distributed more than $400m globally through philanthropic organisations. She knows how hard it is to fundraise, spend and donate money effectively if you want to create transformational change.

This experience has given Jo a deep understanding of the challenges of building resilient organisations focusing on impact and a burning passion for leaders to do their best work AND look after themselves. Jo has designed and led reflective leadership retreats and action learning programs for social change leaders, LGBTQI leaders, young leaders, social entrepreneurs, women, culturally and linguistically diverse leaders, directors and philanthropic leaders nationally and internationally.

Jo is the inaugural CEO of the Siddle Family Foundation, a non-executive director of the Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS) and Asthma Australia, the Chair of the Pay What it Takes coalition, a Leap Ambassador, an advisor to philanthropic organisations and a range of for-purpose organisations that are starting or deepening in their work. She lives in regional NSW with a partner, a tween and a teenager who keeps her engaged and a little bit exhausted.