Steady, structured and human work.

Working with leaders, teams, and partnerships at moments of consequence - when direction is still forming, collaboration needs deliberate design, and the quality of the process shapes what becomes possible.

The organisations I work with usually have a sense of where they need to get to. What they're navigating is the gap between that intent and practice - how to get people working in the same direction, how to structure the work so it serves the intent, and how to build the kind of collaboration or engagement that delivers something real.

That gap is where I work. Bringing structure to what's unclear, process to what feels stuck, and the conditions for people to think well together and move forward with confidence.

A woman with brown hair, wearing a brown t-shirt and blue jeans, standing next to a whiteboard covered with colorful sticky notes, and placing a sticky note on the board.

AREAS OF PRACTICE

Strategic Facilitation & Organisational Alignment

Leadership teams do some of their most important work in conversation - when priorities are tested, direction is clarified, and the decisions that shape an organisation are made. I work with leaders, teams, and boards to design and facilitate those conversations, and to build the structures that give their outcomes effect.

Collaborative Design & Ways of Working

When teams or partnerships need to work together across boundaries, goodwill alone is rarely enough. I work with groups to design collaboration that is deliberate and purposeful - giving attention to how decisions are made, how shared effort is organised, and what happens when views differ.

Stakeholder & Community Engagement

The value of stakeholder and community engagement comes from how it's designed - not just whether it happens. I design and deliver engagement processes with clarity about purpose, care in how conversations are held, and transparency about how input will be used.

Enabling & Supporting Services

Alongside this work, I provide targeted support that strengthens capability, builds internal capacity, and reinforces the ways of working that help teams sustain momentum over time. These services are often woven into larger engagements but can also stand alone depending on context and need.

I’d recommend Abbey to any organisation looking to shift entrenched ways of working and lead more connected, future-oriented change.

Bernadette, Deputy Director-General (retired), Queensland Government

ABOUT ABBEY

Abbey is a facilitator and strategic advisor. She works with leaders, teams, and partnerships on the kind of work where how decisions are made matters as much as the decisions themselves.

Her practice draws on experience across government, community, and consulting, focusing on strategy, governance, and engagement in complex environments. With a background in law, and formal training in change management, engagement, and partnership brokering, Abbey supports groups to think clearly, engage well, and make decisions that hold in practice.

Her work is known for its calm presence and thoughtful structure - helping people stay oriented, work through difference, and move forward with confidence.

Abbey is flexible, organised, willing to listen and produces great corporate plans which synthesise the many difficult conversations involved in distilling a vision.

Tracey, CEO, Inala Primary Care

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE

Spanning government, not-for-profit, and private sector contexts.

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WORKING TOGETHER

If you’d like to explore whether this approach is right for your context, I’d be glad to talk.

Explore working together

A woman in a red blazer leads a team meeting in a bright conference room with large windows and white curtains. The group of five mixed-gender people listens attentively, standing around a wooden table with colored sticky notes and markers. On the wall behind them, there are large sheets of paper with various notes and diagrams.

I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which I live, work, and travel - beginning with the Dharawal people of Camden, where I was born; the Bundjalung people of the Northern Rivers, where I was raised; and the Taungurung and Dja Dja Wurrung peoples of Kyneton, where I now live - and acknowledge all First Nations peoples and Countries I work with and travel across

Acknowledgement of Country

I pay my deep respects to Elders past and present, and recognise the unbroken connection Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have to land, waters, community, and culture.

I recognise that the work I do takes place on Country, shaped by histories, relationships, and responsibilities that long pre-date our institutions, and commit to working in ways that support truth-telling, self-determination, and meaningful participation.