Nook Core Crew

Mel is a seasoned storyteller, information designer, maker of useful products, connector of people and systems, and mentor.

She is a local and global advocate for transparency, open data, open process and many other initiatives to improve environmental impacts, social inclusion, government and private sector integrity and accountability, and public access to information and participation in decision making.

Mel was Chair of the Publish What You Pay Australia Steering Committee, having been a member since 2018. Now known as the Resource Justice Network, it is a global coalition of over 1000 organisations campaigning for extractive industries and energy transition transparency; making sure countries and communities benefit from their resources, and have what they need to mitigate and adapt to climate change - now and in the future.

Mel started out in entertainment marketing and the music industry back in the 80’s, before immersing herself in the world of musical theatre with Cameron Mackintosh Sydney, working on; Cats, Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, Five Guys Named Mo, and Miss Saigon. 

In London she freelanced in the advertising, TV series and feature film production for the BBC and Film Four, and as an agent representing film technicians at ICM. 

On return to Sydney she worked across story development and production on the films; Oscar & Lucinda, Two Hands, Strange Fits Of Passion, Ned Kelly, Gettin’ Square, The Square, The Three Stooges, New Zealand film NO.2. During the eight years she worked at at Fox Icon and Working Title Films with producer Tim White, she managed a slate of over 20 films and the assessment of over 7000 projects.  

In 2005, Mel decided she’d spent enough time with imaginary people in fictional circumstances. So, she shifted her focus to real world stories, documentaries - enhancing her skills to design software, engage and connect audiences using digital technology. 

Along this journey she managed a small boutique arts hotel (Regents Court) where she created an artist/writers residency supporting 23 projects, designed their community focused web site, and established sponsorships with Sydney Opera House, Company B, Message Sticks Indigenous Film Festival, and many others. She also assisted arts and eco travel enterprises such as the Freycinet Experience Walk with marketing strategies, made independent theatre, and was Executive Producer of a mobile TV show Street TV for Vodafone (before smart phones arrived and changed the world!).

Mel has also built teams and designed productivity tools for VFX, animation, and interactive digital media companies Rising Sun Pictures and Spinifex, and with Dr D Studios on films Happy Feet 2, Mad Max Fury Road. She worked on 3D projection mapping projects, and experience design for the Australian Maritime Museum, and was Executive Producer of documentary, The Last Impresario, which premiered at the London Film Festival.

Mel is passionate about the environmental sustainability and circular economy sector. She has shared resources and saved lots of almost-wasted-resources from creative industries going to landfill. She supported a community of resource recovery social enterprises, Zero Waste Network, pro bono for over 8 years.

These experiences helped Mel get well and truly in touch with her inner geek. She is now living her dream of making useful software and designing multi-media social impact content.

Mel introduced participatory design and an agile, collaborative making approach to the NSW Government back in 2012 when making Common Ground, a revolutionary mobile web app which has inspired people and governments around the world.

Since then, Mel has been dedicated to championing open government and designing engagement platforms and innovative data storytelling tools to help governments and companies better engage and connect with community audiences. She is a not-so-secret procurement nerd, has a passion for maps, and visualising laws and processes, and using her skills for social good.

Mel regularly speaks at international events. She loves leading our crew of like-minded makers and helping others make a difference and have a positive impact on our planet.

Steven is one of Australia’s most experienced government content strategists and designers.

He started his content journey as a globe trotting advertising creative and content strategist. Highlights include being part of the Global Creative Centre of Excellence in the EuroRSCG Worldwide London and delivering the content strategy for Australia.com at DT/Ogilvy.

His experience of working to the Government Digital Service Standard and the Service Design and Delivery Process dates back to 2016, as one of the first wave of content designers in the Digital Transformation Office. In this role he led content and growth for the Digital Marketplace Beta and contributed to the creation of the DTA Content Guide. 

Since then Steven has led and contributed to a number of successful digital transformation, agile content and engagement projects: Future Transport 2056 (Transport for NSW), buy.nsw website redevelopment and contract design (NSW Procurement, Treasury NSW), Medicare Beta (Department of Health), Find Export Markets (Austrade), Premier’s Priorities Life Journey Change of Name after Marriage and Digital Birth Certificate (NSW Department of Customer Service).

When not designing content, whipping up a process pathway or quoting the agile manifesto, Steven can be found working on his children’s books, or singing opera in the 'Bel Canto' style. 

Sophie is an accomplished communications specialist with a passion for evidence-based storytelling for collective action and positive social change.

She has over a decade of experience as a digital journalist and international campaigner for open societies and good governance.

Sophie’s work on politics, corruption, government reform, public procurement, open data, and civic engagement has been published by leading media outlets and agenda-setting organisations, including CNN International, Transparency International and the Open Contracting Partnership.

She is a representative of the Seek Initiative, a non-profit organisation dedicated to strengthening community-led research on issues in the public interest. Sophie holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications and International Studies from the University of Technology, Sydney, and a Master of Journalism from the University of Hong Kong.

Sophie returned to Australia in 2023 after 10 years living in Berlin. She has joined us at the Nook to work on all things open.

May is an independent advocate, researcher, strategist, and advisor.

She returned to Australia from the United States in 2018, where she was the Director, Governance and Transparency at The B Team, a not-for-profit initiative formed by a global group of business and civic leaders to catalyse a better way of doing business, for the wellbeing of people and the planet. She worked internationally with business and civic leaders on beneficial ownership transparency, open contracting, responsible taxation and civic rights.

Previously May was head of research for Oxfam Australia and led Oxfam International’s 12 country study on the human impacts of the global economic crisis, producing results used by governments and international institutions in their responses. She has advised CEOs, governments and non-profits on public policy and strategy. She serves on the global board of Gender at Work. She has a BA (First Class Honours – Politics and International Relations) and LLB from UNSW and an LLM from New York University. 

May served on the Australian Open Government Forum as a civil society member. She is a regular at the Nook, collaborating with us on open government advocacy and open data projects such as open contracting and open process. She worked with us on the Data Sharing and Participation project with NSW’s Chief Data Scientist and Data Analytics Centre, and lends a hand when we need on our story platform Making Open and collaboration tool, Make Paths.

May is part of Yuwaya Ngarra-li, a partnership between the Dharriwaa Elders Group of Walgett and the University of NSW. We have collaborated on two policy papers; Creating Better Futures with Contracts and Making Government Finances Make Sense for Communities.

Now living in New Zealand, May can be found supporting community-led development and social change leaders.

Dan has over 20 years’ experience leading digital transformation and delivery teams—enabling enterprise scale with startup agility.

He started his career as a journalist before diving into digital at Optus and then Telstra, where he spent seven years rising to General Manager of Digital Portfolio & Channel Delivery. He managed a $140m pipeline delivering 160+ projects annually and led the rebuild of Telstra's My Account portal, boosting online service transactions from 26% to 44%.

Dan moved into government digital transformation, becoming Head of Delivery at the Digital Transformation Agency where he led the rollout of the Digital Service Standard and the cloud.gov.au strategy. He then worked across Federal Health (redesigning Medicare claim flows, cutting registration times from 10 weeks to three days), NSW Department of Customer Service (leading the Government Made Easy program), and ReachOut, where he reported directly to the CEO implementing company-wide agile operational planning.

Most recently at IAG, Dan has led digital delivery across Claims, Customer Loyalty, and enterprise platforms, transitioning functional teams into high-performing cross-functional squads. Dan excels at helping teams design systems that enable effective communication—both internally within organisations and externally with users. He's passionate about building collaborative, multidisciplinary teams that put people at the centre of every solution.

Sefton is a policy analyst and community engagement specialist who works across governments, businesses, communities and NGOs in some of the world's most complex situations.

He grew up on the Otago Peninsula in New Zealand but started his career in the UK government where he was closely involved in establishing the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and negotiating with governments and multinationals across the Caucasus and Central Asia.

At the World Bank, Sefton led negotiations in challenging jurisdictions such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. He later established his own consultancy implementing natural resource governance programs across West Africa, Central Asia, and the Asia-Pacific.

After moving back to New Zealand, Sefton worked as External Affairs Manager at Newmont’s Waihi mine where he was responsible for all community engagement programs. He then became the National Manager of Minerals for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), where he led a team responsible for assessment of all exploration and mining permit applications.

Following a stint with KPMG Australia’s Social Impact and Human Rights Team, he became the Head of Advisory at Voconiq, a data science and community engagement start-up, leading projects including global project evaluations, community consultation for major renewable projects, and advising on community resettlement programs. 

He is the author of The Ground Between from BWB Books which explores tensions around resource extraction, social impact and climate change.

Lisann is a geospatial specialist who thrives on turning complex spatial data into meaningful insights and beautiful maps.

She started her journey studying Applied Earth Sciences at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, where she also completed a minor in Software Design and Application. This unique combination sparked her passion for merging geology with digital innovation.

Before making the move to Australia in 2012, Lisann worked as a GIS & Contamination Consultant at Buro Antares in the Netherlands, stationed at an oil refinery where she navigated strict safety protocols while managing contamination analysis and remediation projects. It was hands-on work that combined fieldwork with serious geospatial problem-solving.

Since landing in Sydney, Lisann has spent over three years at Aurecon, first as an Engineering Geologist and later as a GIS Consultant. She's worked on projects like the New England Renewable Energy Zone, performing spatial analysis for transmission line optimization, and the Namabunda Farm Koala Sanctuary, where she collaborated with environmental teams to create high-quality maps with lightning-fast turnaround times.

Lisann is passionate about optimising digital workflows and has a knack for making geotechnical databases human-friendly. She's fluent in ArcGIS, QGIS, FME, Leapfrog Works, and Python. When she's not wrangling spatial data, you might find her organising team activities, creating help guides or mentoring new starters as their go-to buddy.

Adeel thrives on a healthy dash of chaos and aims to develop designs that can make the world a better place.

He likes to dabble in many things, from interpretive signage to bio-design and everything in between. He hopes to use his design skills in meaningful ways that challenge the current limits of what design means. He has a particular interest in service design, design for social change and cross-cultural design. He is fluent in Hindi-Urdu, proficient in reading, writing, and speaking Japanese, and has a receptive understanding of Punjabi and Arabic. He is a highly collaborative designer and enjoys sharing ideas and learning from people to take concepts to the next level.

Adeel is a Visual Communications graduate and currently completing his Bachelor of Arts in International Studies (Japan) at University of Technology Sydney (UTS).  Adeel joined the Nook crew after a Shop Front collaboration on the Making Open project, which he is now lead designer on.

Back in the UK, Mark started out in graphic design, branding and communications. 

He spent many moons working direct with clients and on the agency curcuit. He worked with big pharmaceutical companies before moving to Sydney where he spent a wee while at digital agency, Protein-One, working on branding, campaigns, and apps for companies such as Vic's Meats, Victor Churchill, and Westpac.     

When not designing, Mark is now Mr Web and product dev. He loves making digital things.  He has a great eye and ear for story and  figuring hard stuff out. 

Mike is a designer, artist, photographer, and illustrator from Sydney.

He's into typography, lettering, infographics, data visualisation, maps (illustrated and technical), and coffee. He's usually figuring out a way how to combine some or all these things.

Mike is a bit of a nomad. He’s been to all sorts of wild and wonderful places for work and play. His passion for travel has led to some dream jobs, such as art director of Australian Geographic and International Traveller stories.  His most epic journey was during his time  at Australian Geographic where he was sent on a month-long journey to Antarctica to write and photograph a story. Cue penguins, whales, and icebergs galore; and a deep appreciation of the world's wild places....

Minnie brings over 25 years of experience in visual communication, publication design and strategic storytelling across government, nonprofit and corporate sectors.

Originally trained at the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute in China before graduating from the Enmore Design Centre in Sydney, Minnie has built a long-standing career creating thoughtful, engaging and highly effective communication design across both print and digital platforms.

After establishing her early career in China, Minnie moved to Australia and spent seven years with Designate Group, a Sydney-based brand and communications agency, where she worked as a Graphic & Digital Designer delivering branding, publication and campaign work across a diverse range of clients and industries. This studio experience laid the foundation for her collaborative, strategy-led approach to communication design.

In recent years, Minnie has worked independently as a freelance designer, partnering with government agencies, nonprofit organisations and corporate clients including NSW Land Registry Services, ChildFund Australia, YWCA Australia, Adopt Change and Head and Neck Cancer Australia, as well as major corporate brands through Phoenix Creative Management.

Her work spans annual reports, policy and research publications, advocacy campaigns, infographics, stakeholder communications, EDMs, social media content and large-scale event collateral. She is particularly experienced in translating complex information into clear, accessible and visually compelling communication.

Known for her calm, collaborative and detail-focused approach, Minnie brings extensive expertise in publication design, integrated campaign delivery and stakeholder communication, alongside advanced proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite, Canva and Microsoft Office.

Advisors

Margarita is an analytics professional with over 10 years experience across market research, financial services, digital, and commercial real estate. Her career to date has centred on enabling people to get more value out of their data – often through engaging and informative data visualisations. Her current projects centre on data viz best practice and growing a thriving enterprise data culture, supporting 100+ analysts across the globe.

Passionate about people, data and the positive social impact the two combined can achieve, she has 8 years Non-Executive Director experience within the Not-for-Profit sector and is a volunteer with grass roots organisations focused on data literacy, poverty alleviation, and supporting women and families in crisis. 

She spent nine years working with Engineers Without Borders Australia, including a role as Chair.

Born in the Philippines, Margarita and her family emigrated to Australia when she was a teenager. She holds a Bachelor degree in Engineering (Industrial Chemistry) and Bachelor of Arts (English) from the University of New South Wales (WNSW), Australia.

Dominik is a software engineer and Chief Technology Officer (CTO), based on the Gold Coast. He started his career as a photographer and documenting events and international development impacts.

Originally from Germany, he studied in the US before arriving in Australia in 2012. Over the last decade he has worked developing user interface (UI) frameworks and worked in different workplaces including Westpac (one of Australia’s four largest banks), The Working Party, Thinkmill, and held various engineering leadership roles at Shopify.

He worked with the Australian Federal Government Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) as tech lead where he conceived, set up the team and architected the Australian federal design system. A substantial part of his role was leading teams building government services and establishing collaborations with other departments.

During that time, he helped the DTA set up internal workflows to manage open-source platforms, issues and communication, code review of UI efforts for best practice and accessibility and manage community outreach and develop inner company champions. During his time at Thinkmill he created, led and delivered training to various Australian federal departments and oversaw the delivery of a few projects including the sports portal and improvements to myGov.

He has a passion for building great software and remains deeply connected to coding.

He dedicates his time to technical explorations and knowledge sharing through organising developer and code meetups, and conferences to bring together designers, design system lovers and developers around UI and system programming with rust.