The Resilience Canopy now has Online and In-Person Events running across Australia. Find out more

About Us

The Resilience Canopy is a nation-wide program with a growing network of partners and communities. ​Building and sharing knowledge about ways to build resilient communities, this evolving community of practice aims to create a ripple effect that will embed itself for generations.
The Resilience Canopy

The Resilience Canopy is an Australian for-purpose organisation.

With the dedicated support of our legacy philanthropic partners, we are committed to ensuring 100% of donations made to community projects goes directly to those communities.

Our Board

Angus Johnson
Angus Johnson
Chair
Angus has extensive private sector experience working more than 20 years with publicly listed property organisations. He has led business through complex, challenging and diverse environments. Angus’ work has had a focus on community development and creating connected communities.
Craig North
Deputy Chair (Joint)
Craig is currently Executive Director at the Firesticks Alliance Indigenous Corporation, Advisor with Mannifera to support First Nations economic inclusion initiatives and a member of the First Nations Reference Group with the Australian Sustainable Finance Institute.
Toby Kent
Deputy Chair (Joint)
As an expert in sustainability and societal resilience, Toby has worked globally in these fields, including as Melbourne's first Chief Resilience Officer. He is the incoming CEO of the Infrastructure Sustainability Council. Together with Brett Ellis in 2020, they established ResilientCo, a consultancy focused on solving tomorrow’s challenges.
Michelle Richards
Director
Michelle has worked in both state and local government for almost two decades, with extensive experience in delivering governance, risk, community, education, economic and recovery programs. 

Meet the team

Thegrowing team behind The Resilience Canopy brings together the organisation’s training, engagement, partnerships and resources.

A change leader and crisis management guru, Natalie’s extensive experience heading up state and local government teams has led to building the solid foundations for The Resilience Canopy’s community of practice and partner program.
Natalie Staaks
GM Marketing & Partnerships
Natalie has demonstrated accomplishments in senior leadership roles within state and local government in Victoria. She has a well-developed reputation as a strategic thinker driving corporate reputation through positioning, with a decades-long focus on disaster management and community resilience.
Founder of ResilientCo and The Resilience Canopy, Brett is well known and highly regarded for his positive impact on local and state government emergency management, public safety, environmental management, risk management and societal resilience. Brett is also independent director of Firesticks Alliance Indigenous Corporation.
Brett Ellis
Executive Director
Brett is well known for his positive impact on local and state government in emergency management, public safety and social resilience with strong strategic thinking and a demonstrable history of innovation and sound financial management. Brett is the Managing Director of resilience specialists ResilientCo and independent director of Firesticks Alliance Indigenous Corporation.
An established leader in community engagement for the past two decades, Sally’s ‘people-first’ approach has shaped the The Resilience Canopy’s approach to bringing all partners along the journey.
Sally Hutchinson
General Manager Communities
An established leader in community engagement for the past two decades, Sally’s ‘people-first’ approach has shaped The Resilience Canopy’s approach to bringing all partners along the journey. Her work is grounded in empathy, collaboration, and trust-building, helping to foster long-term relationships that support sustainable, community-led change.
As the resident expert in policy design, Tia’s knowledge of facilitating community connection and resilience through holistic approaches has shaped The Resilience Canopy’s training approach and program roll-out.
Tia Baptista
National Coordinator & Trainer
As the resident expert in policy design, Tia’s knowledge of facilitating community connection and resilience through holistic approaches has shaped The Resilience Canopy’s training approach and program roll-out.
Jeremy brings 14+ years designing and developing digital products to bring us Canopy House, our forthcoming program portal which will work as beautifully as it will look.
Jeremy O'Meara
Experience Lead
Jeremy brings 14+ years designing and developing digital products to bring us Canopy House, our forthcoming programme portal which will work as beautifully as it will look, combining thoughtful design with seamless, user-friendly functionality throughout.
A widely-respected name in resilience and community development circles, Maree brings her wide-ranging experience in co-design, facilitation and resilience building to designing The Resilience Canopy’s training program.
Maree Grenfell
Training and Facilitation
A widely-respected name in resilience and community development circles, Maree brings her wide-ranging experience in co-design, facilitation and resilience building to designing The Resilience Canopy’s training program.
Well-known for making the complex into the simple, Shannon brings 15+ years of strategic communications leadership from the issues-rich government and emergency sector to make the impact of The Resilience Canopy shine.
Shannon Bakker
Marketing
Well-known for making the complex into the simple, Shannon brings 15+ years of strategic communications leadership from the issues-rich government and emergency sector to make the impact of The Resilience Canopy shine.
Lyndal Harper
Resilience Project Manager Kempsey
Lyndal’s significant local government communications, engagement and disaster recovery experience will be valuable in guiding the communities of the Kempsey Shire to implement the Resilience Canopy model. Lyndal share's her time supporting Council activities and The Resilience Canopy from her base in Kempsey.
Ashleigh Black
Community Coordinator QLD
Ashleigh is a community development practitioner with a background in trauma-informed practice, creative facilitation and youth engagement. She has led place-based resilience initiatives and is passionate about supporting communities to feel resourced, connected and empowered to lead their own change.
Caitlin Wood
Community Coordinator VIC
Bringing over a decade of experience in Australia and the UK to deliver impactful training programs, strategic partnerships, and leading teams to drive social change, Catilin joins TRC as the front face to Victorian communities. Passionate about equity and empowerment, Caitlin will bring her rich experience to support the voices and rights of diverse communities.
Sam Bliss
Marketing and Communications Lead
Sam has been helping numerous organisations achieve their marketing and communications goals for well over a decade. Sam particularly loves working with non-profits, telling their compelling stories with a creative, analytical approach. He is passionate about equity and providing bespoke, localised support to communities who need it most.
Leanne Riggs
National Partnerships Lead
Recognised for aligning strategic vision, initiatives and creativity to partner with stakeholders and support sustainable communities. Leanne brings 10+ years experience in the public and not-for profit industries within the emergency management and environment sector.

Our partners in resilience

Resilient Co are experts in resilience strategy, disaster and climate adaptation, and community resilience practice. Brett Ellis pioneered the Six Step Future Ready Communities Engagement model while working with fire-affected communities inVictoria.

Visit www.resilientco.au for more info

The Minderoo Foundation takes on tough persistent issues with the potential to drive massive change. The Foundation incubates ideas, advocates for systems change and accelerates positive impact

Visit minderoo.org for more info