Our facilitators and friends are committed to supporting Tasmanian Leaders and volunteer their time and expertise to support our strategic mission to cultivate leadership and connectivity across Tasmania.

Our facilitators work across our programs bringing deep expertise in leadership development, executive coaching and systems change.

Our friends are our regular supporters who continually volunteer to share their experience and expertise with our program participants.

Rosie Batty AO

Regular speaker

Rosie became an outspoken and dynamic crusader against domestic violence, which led her to be named Australian of the Year in January 2015. She was Chair of the first ever Victim Survivor’s Advisory Council for the Victorian Government and has also been inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women. Rosie is a recipient of The Pride of Australia National Courage Medal and received an Honorary Doctorate in 2017 from the University of the Sunshine Coast for her contribution to raising national awareness and action concerning Family Violence. Rosie received an Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday 2019 Honours List.

Katy Cooper

Facilitator

Katy is a dedicated and passionate individual who strives to unite people and build a sustainable future for her family and the Tasmanian community. Through her company, DisruptiveCo, she has successfully partnered with renowned Australian brands such as Blundstone, NRMA, and SBS, helping them share their visions and stories of the future. Her commitment to shaping how Tasmanians embrace and overcome future challenges has positioned her as an influential figure in shaping potential narratives for the state.

Zoë Coyle

Facilitator

Zoë Coyle is an author, film and theatre actor, Dare to Lead™ facilitator, highly sought after MC and keynote speaker. She has over twenty years’ experience in the corporate sector, creating and delivering workshops and facilitating people from all walks of life. Since 2008 her company Pilot Light has worked with individuals and companies such as Microsoft, Google, IBM and EO, to unleash self-awareness. 

Rodney Croome AM

Regular speaker

Rodney was the National Director of Australian Marriage Equality and co-authored the first book on the issue published in Australia. Rodney became a Member of the Order of Australia in 2003, was named Tasmanian Australian of the Year in 2015 and awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Tasmania in 2019. Currently, Rodney is President of Equality Tasmania and a board member of the Australian LGBTIQA+ advocacy group, Just.Equal.

Angela Driver

Facilitator

Angela has been employed with Tasmanian Leaders since 2011, becoming the CEO in 2021. During this tenure she completed the Art and Practice of Adaptive Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School of Executive Education in Boston and successfully completed a Brain Based Coaching certificate with the Neuro Leadership Institute. She established the Junction Arts Festival after completing a Churchill Fellowship into performance events for social change in 2007. In 2011 she was awarded the Northern Young Professional of the Year, through the Launceston Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards.

Naomi Edwards

Regular speaker

Naomi is a former senior partner of Deloitte where she ran the Australian financial services industry group in Sydney. She currently sits on 6 boards including TAL, Australia’s largest life insurance company. Until late 2022 she was Chair of Spirit Super (formerly Tasplan Super). She is the President of the Actuaries Institute of Australia.

Dale Elphinstone AO

Regular speaker

Dale is the founder and executive chairman of Elphinstone which has been designing, manufacturing and supplying heavy equipment to the mining industry for over 40 years. In 2019, Dale was named an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to business, particularly to the resources and manufacturing sectors, and to the community of Tasmania.

Lynda Jones

Facilitator

Lynda is an educator who moved to strategic communications and engagement. She is a skilled process designer and facilitator of groups of all sizes. She is also effective in organisational development processes, tools and programs particularly around change management through the Four Rooms of Change construct. She has worked with many groups to bring about common purpose and productivity improvements. In this work, her great love is working on managing the balance of accommodating change while maintaining what matters most to a community.

image of Dr Polly McGee

Dr Polly McGee

Facilitator

Dr Polly McGee is a trauma trained neuroleadership consultant, psychotherapist, author and speaker and Dare to Lead™ facilitator. They spend their time in organisations building trauma informed leadership capacity and psychologically safe, productive cultures; speaking and leading workshops; and working with clients in their private therapy practice. Polly specialises in making understanding the complex neuroscience of humans and leadership practical, entertaining and operational into organisations and cultures.

Ben Pangas

Facilitator

Ben is an accredited counsellor and developmental coach with 20 years’ experience working in international and community development. He has designed and delivered community-based projects in health, mental health and enterprise facilitation and is an accredited practitioner in the use of the Enneagram, Leadership Circle Profile and STAGES International's matrix for adult development assessment and intervention. In 2015 he was awarded the Allen Rowe Scholarship for his work in community development and his coaching service was the recipient of the Innovative Learning Tasmania Award in 2017.

Dr Tomas Remenyi

Facilitator

Dr Tomas Remenyi is a climate services professional expert at translating complex climate science into useful, accessible products, tools or advice. Tom focuses on meaningful engagement with stakeholders to rapidly determine the nexus of where their needs intersect with what known science can actually deliver. Tom has a dynamic mix of science and commerce training that allows him to view both the research and commercial sectors from a perspective that differs from others. As a ‘systems thinker’ Tom is always trying to figure out what the blockers are to positive change within society across multiple sectors. Tom has recently moved from academia into the climate services sector where he uses his abilities to help strategic decision makers plan for the coming challenges into the future.  

Simon Tyrrell

Regular speaker

Simon is the founder of Unlok, prior to this Simon was the Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer for the fast growing, publicly listed global software company LiveTiles. A technology expert with over eighteen years of experience, Simon works with some of the biggest brands to transform the way people approach innovation through their digital technology strategies. He currently works with organisations to understand and apply generative AI across a wide variety of use cases.

Steve Willing

Facilitator

Steve is a graduate of the 2009 Tasmanian Leaders Program. A trained facilitator and certified executive coach who has facilitated leadership, personal and organisational development for over 20 years. He has facilitated in complex environments in the primary industries, community, emergency services, government and private sectors. His background includes agricultural extension, outdoor leadership expeditions in USA, NZ and Australia and organisational development for the Tasmania Fire Service.