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Judith Reen is a senior education and development adviser with over 20 years’ experience in fragile, post-conflict, and complex development settings. Her expertise spans education sector reform, strategic leadership, governance, gender and social inclusion and crisis response. Judith has designed and led impactful programs in the Pacific, Southeast Asia and Australia, advising governments, donors, and civil society organisations on systemic reform, policy implementation and localisation strategies.

Rosemary Dent is an international development professional with experience across gender equality, disability and social inclusion (GEDSI), business growth and proposal writing, partnerships and strategy. She has a background in community engagement and facilitation on topics such as consent and healthy relationships, women’s leadership, and the intersection of climate and gender. 

Philippa Venning has more than 25 years of experience working in international development across the Asia Pacific for government, the private sector, multilateral organisations and NGOs.

Luisa Ryan has more than 20 years’ experience working in international development globally, working for government, the United Nations and NGOs. She is a skilled humanitarian and has completed several Australia Assists deployments. 

Sebastian has held various executive and senior leadership level roles with diverse organisations implementing a wide range of international development and international education programs.

Melanie Wilson is a strategic communications and engagement specialist with more than 20 years’ experience working across international development, government, NGO and corporate sectors.

Jane Pepperall is a senior health professional with over 30 years of experience in global health policy development and in supporting national health sector development in the Pacific, Asia, and Africa. She has focused on strategy and investments to strengthen health systems and health financing. Jane worked for the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) (now the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) for 20 years, including health adviser postings in Uganda, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Pakistan, and the Pacific. More recently she has been providing health strategy, policy, and technical advice to the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

Francesca Lawe-Davies is a senior development specialist with more than 18 years of experience in government, non-government, private sector, and multilateral development organisations. She has broad experience leading teams in complex development programs across Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Francesca has worked with government and civil society leaders at all levels, providing strategic and technical advice and guiding programmatic support on education policy and delivery, decentralisation, village governance, peacebuilding, and gender-based violence prevention and response services.

James Gilling, regional vice president, East Asia and Pacific, has almost 40 years of experience in social and economic development in low- and middle-income countries. He has overseen Australian aid programs worth hundreds of millions of dollars and managed large teams of Australian and overseas staff, including as head of the Australian aid program in Indonesia. James has worked for United Kingdom (UK) and Papua New Guinea governments as an agricultural economist. He has also worked as a consultant economist with Oxford Policy Management in the UK and was an economic analyst with the Office of National Assessments in Australia.

Graham Teskey leads Abt Global’s Global Governance practice out of Canberra, Australia. He has 40 years of experience in governance and international development. He has worked with (and for) for the U.K.’s Department for International Development, (the forerunner to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office), the World Bank, and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Graham has lived and worked in multiple countries, including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Fiji, Vanuatu, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Philippines, and Timor-Leste.