Our market-leading Social Impact practice supports the growing social enterprise and business for-purpose sector, where business models, discipline and purpose converge. I bring a finance and projects background to this work, having acted for sponsors, intermediaries and funders across the financial capital spectrum in sectors including real estate, infrastructure and technology.

This commercial experience and interest in responsible business, social justice and sustainability inform my current work with corporates, not-for-profit, social enterprise and for purpose business clients. I enjoy cross-sector collaborating working to develop innovative shared value approaches to tackling social and environmental issues and the mobilisation of human and financial capital to achieve positive social impact, recognising that business can be a catalyst for the development of social foundations within ecological constraints (in line with Doughnut Economics principles).

As part of the firm's ESG Advisory Group, I work with corporate and government clients on sustainable finance, impact investment, climate risk and social and governance issues and this work has been recognised with Environmental Finance's 2020 Impact Award - Global Law Firm of the Year and Australian Impact Investment - Individual Outstanding Achievement Award 2023.

The team works with a large cohort of for-purpose business, Indigenous and social enterprise clients on projects and transactions so that they can take advantage of capital and funding streams and corporate and government partnerships. We are active participants in the social enterprise and impact investment ecosystem, including supporting peak bodies and intermediaries and seek to build sector capacity through our work. 

ESG factors and stakeholder considerations continue to be mainstreamed as society and business recognise the importance of ethical and sustainable operations across upstream and downstream supply chains as part of the social licence equation.

Career highlights

• Heading up the Sustainable Finance team, acting on social finance, sustainability linked loans, green loans and other themed products and funds, including product design and review against impact frameworks and standards
• Impact investing initiatives, including co-developed Impact Investment Toolkit with Social Impact Hub, Social Impact Bonds, Payment by Outcomes contracting, Impact Investment Readiness grants, Social Debt Funds, Collaborative Grant Programs, B Corp advice, Crowd Sourced Equity Funding and other capital initiatives
• Supporting over 100 social enterprises and Indigenous businesses, including formation and scale up initiatives, M&A transactions, franchising and distribution and financing, including White Box Enterprise's Payment by Outcomes (PBO) fund and Social Enterprise Loan Fund and Beacon Laundry project; acting for Social Enterprise Finance Australia, Many Rivers and First Australians Capital on its financing transactions; and establishing social enterprise precincts across Australia.
• Social and Affordable housing and Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) projects with Community Housing Providers, including Mission Australia, YWCA, Nightingale and others and working with Social Ventures Australia on 10-year loan facility for SDA acquisition and development, as well as Build to Rent joint venture including SDA components
• Establishment of Social Enterprise Australia, SECNA (Social Enterprise Council NSW &ACT); SENVIC (Social Enterprise Vic), SENTas and WASEC and working with other peak bodies on governance and capacity building initiatives, including Social Traders and Social Impact Hub.
• Supported RIAA with establishment of Australian Sustainable Finance Institute to roll out the ASFI Sustainable Finance Roadmap and on AFSL advice in relation to product and fund certification and ratings. Supporting Climate KIC on Climate Measurement Standards Initiative, Small Giants with Regen Melbourne; STREAT and others with Moving Feast and Open Sauce initiatives, as well as many other collaborations and alliances
• Capacity building programs, including Westpac Board Observership Program mobilising human capital support to the NFP and social enterprise sectors, with Westpac and MinterEllison members supported through a leadership development program
• Worked on landmark real estate projects, including King Street Wharf, Central Barangaroo, Luna Park and World Square in Sydney, and Melbourne Convention Centre
• Assisted with market-leading transactions, including Morgan Stanley’s $4 billion takeover of Investa, the Melbourne Convention Centre public–private partnership (PPP), the South East Queensland schools PPP, the sale of Macarthur Intermodal Shipping Terminal to Qube Logistics, and major shopping centre developments, such as Top Ryde and Claremont, WA
• Advised on major corporate financings, including Singtel Optus’s $1.5 billion syndicated Sustainability Linked Loan financing; Brookfield’s C$360 million syndicated financing; and Alliance Pulse Processors Inc.’s C$363.5 million syndicated financing and related Canadian dollar bond issues
• Work with leading not-for-profit clients such as Adara Group, Mission Australia, and and corporate client foundations such as the Paul Ramsay Foundation, Minderoo, Macquarie Foundation, Westpac Foundation, AMP Foundation and family offices on governance and grant programs
• Combined my passion for football and law by serving on the Sydney Olympic Football Club board for many years and Football NSW’s Legal and Regulatory subcommittee, as well as work for Football Federation Australia on Women's Football Business Case

Current board positions

• Westpac Foundation, a leading foundation tackling educational disadvantage
• White Box Enterprises – chair of leading National social enterprise incubator, advocacy and advisory business
• Humanitix, chair of Australia's largest independent on-line event ticketing platform for good (established as a public benevolent institution)
• Brain Cancer Australia – a health promotion charity building research infrastructure aimed at improving survival rates for people with brain cancer
• Murray River Foundation – a health promotion charity promoting the prevention and control of mental illness in rural, regional and remote areas of Australia
• MothersBabies – acting chair of a health promotion charity, funding research with the Microbiome Research Centre and UNSW into the microbiome and impacts on the health of mothers and babies
• Australian Alliance to End Homelessness (incorporating End Street Sleeping Collaboration and The Constellation Project – a charity founded by Australian Red Cross, Centre for Social Impact, Mission Australia and PwC), building placed-based and National data infrastructure seeking to end homelessness in a generation
• Certified Sustainable – an environmental charity established by regenerative farmers developing certification methodology and standards for sustainable agricultural produce and processes
• Xceptional Academy – chair of organisation that supports organisations across Australia to create safe, inclusive and productive workplaces where neurodivergent employees can thrive
• Social Traders – chair of the Certification Expert Advisory Group
• MinterEllison Reconciliation Action Plan Steering Group
• NSW Law Society's Climate Change Working Group
• Member of International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and Standards Australia Technical Working Groups on Environmental Management Systems and Green and Sustainable Finance and Investment