Melbourne Development Circle aims to provide a warm, friendly forum, where people working, or interested in the development, social enterprise and humanitarian sectors in Australia and overseas, meet together regularly to do a combination of the following:
- Interact with engaging speakers from the sector
- Meet new friends and make professional connections
- Share information
- Possibly work together on useful outcomes for the development sector
The Melbourne Development Circle Theory of Change outlines what we want to achieve and how we can contribute towards that positive change in the development sector.
Events
To find out about our next event, sign up to the newsletter, or visit our Humanitix page.
You can also like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @TheDevCircle.
Past events have featured discussions about:
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With speakers from a wide range of agencies including:
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Tell us what topics want to hear about or contact us if you have any questions, would like to get involved or speak at an upcoming event.
Leadership Team 2022
Bardie Barclay-Sutton, President
Bardie has spent the past decade working with NGO’s focusing on social justice advocacy, including assignments with Australian Volunteers International (AVI) in Indonesia and Mongolia. To further her interest in gender-sensitive design and inclusive practice she is currently pursuing her Masters in Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development. Starting her career journey with volunteer-led organisations such as World Vision’s youth movement, Oaktree and AYCC, Bardie brings experience in volunteer management, project coordination and evaluation, and is motivated by her passion for deep conversations on everything development.
Danyel Walker, Secretary
Passionate and dedicated health promotion and communications professional, Danyel has a rich experience across a range of community environments including health, international development and not-for-profit sectors in Bangladesh and Australia. She is now working within the Victorian government and is a health promotion and public health teaching associate at Monash University. Danyel brings strong coordination and organisational skills to ensure the effective running of MDC.
Bec Joiner, Treasure / Collaboration Coordinator
Bec has a background in economics and law. She has worked in a range of policy positions in government and not-for-profit organisations, and is currently working in education policy. She is passionate about using economic policy as a driver to improve wellbeing and reduce inequality. Bec has also previously volunteered with not-for-profit organisations assisting recently arrived migrants and refugees, and has worked as a paralegal in immigration law.
Kristy Tong, Communications Manager
With a background in marketing and communications, Kristy has worked with a range of non-profit organisations focused on vulnerable communities, refugee and asylum seekers, children, and youth and social justice issues. She has volunteered with environmental groups and is driven by making a positive impact. Kristy brings her international expertise to MDC and is looking forward to learning more about the development sector and connecting with passionate change-makers.
Ellie Hewitt, Game Changer Convenor
Ellie is passionate about equality committed to creating innovation within the NFP sector. Through her role as Purpose and Impact Coordinator at The Funding Network, Ellie supports non-profits to build their capacity and provide new opportunities for growth whilst increasing collective giving and connection between sectors. Ellie has a background working within non-profits in a variety of capacities, focusing on social areas such as education, poverty, people seeking asylum, and people with disabilities.
Sanjna Ullal, Community Building Convenor
Sanjna brings experience in communications and community development in a South Asia context. Currently pursuing her Master of Environment and Sustainability at Monash University, and with an economics background, she intends to continue working internationally in sustainable community development in order to apply her MDC learnings. Previously she has volunteered with organisations working in food waste and food security, and improving waste collection systems in India, and with ACF in Australia.
Martin Pritchard, General Member
Martin’s motivation to work in development began with the inequities of global trade and finance systems. A career in IT and sustainability evolved to co-founding Pacific Research & Evaluation Associates which focuses on consulting on project design, training, and evaluation. Martin has held environment and social justice volunteer positions and now looks forward to making a difference in the development sphere as a member of MDC’s leadership team.
MDC Co-Founders
Lexi Randall-L’Estrange, Convenor and Event Manager 2011-2013, Treasurer 2014, 2017-2018
Kelly Rae, Co-Founder, Convenor 2014-2015, 2017
Ian Jones, Social Enterprise Guru 2011-2014, Co-Founder agiledg.com
Chris Piper, MDC Leader 2011-2013, Co-Founder Torqaid.com
Foundation Steering Committee
Lexi Randall-L’Estrange, Chris Piper, Kelly Rae, Ian Jones, Lucinda Hartley, Kirk Fisher, Dr. Simone Buzwell.
Leadership Alumni
Emily Steele, Lucy Norton, Ángela Estévez Megías, Blaise Murphet, Sophie O’Halloran, Dan A’Vard, Ian Jones, Chris Piper, Chloe Piper, Melissa Reid, Petr Svoboda, Felicity Sowerbutts, Tanya Francis, France Pitt, Ashleigh Peplow Ball, Susanne Newton, Rebecca Green, Chrissy de Silva, Charlotte Beresford, Jessica Plummer, Menaka Radhakrishnan, Megan Jones, Jess Kitchen, Dr Tanja Rosenqvist, Ju-Lin Lee, Rachael Wilken, Sophie Souchon and Toby Feldman.
Annual Reports
MDC Annual Report and Financial Statements FY20-21
The Development Circle 