Laura Barnes

With a deep-seated belief that meaningful change is a collective effort, Laura has dedicated her career to harnessing the power of community voice, policy evidence, and collaborative leadership to drive impactful systems change. Over the years, Laura has honed her skills in uniting diverse groups—spanning government, non-government organizations, and community teams—to achieve shared goals and foster sustainable development.

Laura’s professional journey is characterized by a strong commitment to regional and community development. As an experienced public and community sector policy manager, has played a pivotal role in shaping strategic policies that aim to enhance social and economic outcomes for individuals and communities.  This includes leading policy and community development for QCOSS; leading whole of government employment policy at Qld Treasury and Department of Premier and Cabinet and leading workforce planning and development strategies for the health and community services industry.

Laura is currently employed at Collaboration for Impact as the Lead for ChangeFest, convening national and local partners to build the ChangeFest movement for community led systems change.