Crystal Taylor

Crystal Taylor has spent over 20 years working alongside communities across Australia — from remote communities to regional towns and urban hubs. She brings a breadth of hands-on experience across complementary sectors and is known for a contagious passion for social justice and bringing people together for innovative ideas.

As the National Communities of Focus Lead for Mission Australia, her work supports backbone teams navigating complexity, coaches emerging leaders, and designs approaches to help communities lead their own futures. Specialising in community development, community organising, place-based approaches and deep collaboration, she holds fast to the belief that young people should not only be heard — they should be leading. Whether she’s making a balloon animal as she conducts deep community listening at a BBQ, volunteering in her own local, or leading a system-change initiative, Crystal brings warmth, strategic thinking, and a whole lot of heart to the work of place-based, community-led change.

Crystal’s passion is contagious, rooted in social justice and grounded in the strengths of local people coming together for good. Outside of work, you’ll find her running up trails or jumping off cliffs (with a paraglider, don’t worry) — always chasing adventure, new opportunities and a great sunset picture.