ImpactInstitute is led by a team of senior business leaders with impact advisory, brand strategy, storytelling production and event management expertise.

Purpose-oriented and impact-driven, our focus is to accelerate and scale the impact of your team.

Mark Jones
Mark Jones
Chief Storyteller

Mark is a learner and an includer. They’re strengths that lend themselves to innovation, leadership and momentum in client engagements and team leadership alike.

His experience as a journalist and editor led to a career in marketing communications for iconic brands in the commercial and social sectors.

He has 25 years of experience as a journalist, editor, publisher, keynote speaker, business leader and advisor in Australia and Silicon Valley. Clients include iconic brands like Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Google, IBM, Telstra, Adobe, and IDG.

His first book, Beliefonomics: Realise the True Value of Your Brand Story, was published in 2020, and details a proven brand storytelling framework that combines storytelling with customer belief systems.

Mark’s popular podcast The CMO Show won Best Content Marketing award, and Mark was finalist for Marketer of the Year, at the Australian Marketing Institute (AMI) awards in 2019.

Paula Cowan
Paula Cowan
Managing Director

Paula Cowan is a strategic communicator, project manager and capability builder with experience in government, education and community sectors.

She leads the firm’s operations, oversees client engagements and works with senior executives across a range of sectors.

An expert in change management, communications and organisational transformation, she helped establish and maintain the Redesign Network for NSW Health.

Paula has an eye for efficiency and effectiveness, a good sense of what motivates people to perform, and an ability to translate all that into useful policy and processes. She puts all this to good use developing teams and an organisation that support clients’ strategic vision.

Royden Howie
Royden Howie
Head of Advisory
Royden is a big picture thinker who believes we all have a role to play in shaping a better, fairer world.
 
As Head of Advisory, Royden is exceptionally skilled at bringing together people, data and insights to drive better decision making and unlock meaningful impact in communities.
 
Royden holds a Masters Degree in public health and spends his free time planning his next cycling adventure across some of the most remote and spectacular countryside in Australia.
Kathryn Carey
Kathryn Carey
Head of Events | Senior Account Director

Kathryn brings an analytical mind and a warm heart to partnerships for purpose.

As a team leader, Kathryn sets strategic direction, builds capability and drives process efficiency across marketing and events management. As a client lead, she provides clear insights based on credible data and gives the advice you need to hear.

Kathryn holds a Bachelor of Science (Molecular Biology) and a Master of Science (Medicine) and an MBA. Outside of work, she’s a spirited adventurer. We’ve seen photos of Kathryn hiking up mountains, getting up close to some grizzlies and even crossing the finish line of a half marathon.

Niall Hughes
Head of Brand Storytelling

A strategic thinker with a passion for driving high-performing teams, Niall oversees client engagement, campaigns and team capability building to deliver impactful work.  

He brings over 17 years of international PR & Comms experience in execute effective, award winning campaigns for clients across industries. Niall is an award-winning practitioner, holding the PRIA’s (now CPRA) Golden Target Awards: PR Professional of the Year (silver). He is also a CPRA NSW Council Member and an Assisterhood mentor.  

Niall’s strengths lie in his futuristic vision and strategic thinking to develop long-term integrated campaigns that drive real-world impacts. 

Kate Elks
Kate Elks
Senior Account Director, Client Engagement

Kate Elks loves stories, adventure and leading teams. Integrated brand storytelling is where her skills shine, an arena where she brings together client strategies, campaign execution plans and real-time problem solving.

As Head of Client Services and Senior Account Director, she leads a team of professional storytellers that span multiple disciplines including content marketing, PR, social, digital marketing, brand strategy and design.

Her experience includes work as a journalist, producer and content researcher in Australia and London.

Daniel Marr
Daniel Marr
Head of Production

Daniel Marr is a skilled digital professional has created and produced engaging stories across a variety of digital format for more than a decade.

As Head of Production, he leads team of talented creatives who craft inspiring videos, engaging podcasts, dynamic infographics, shareable artworks and informative animations for our clients.

Daniel has expertise in curriculum development, adult education, virtual event production, video and audio production, virtual event facilitation, and technical support.

Always curious, Daniel has a sharp eye for detail and is able to develop creative solutions for almost any challenge.

Sara Caspani
Sara Caspani
Impact Specialist
Sara is a deep-thinker who’s quick to connect with people who share her vision for a brighter future.
 
As our resident Impact Specialist (and Program Curator for Social Impact Summit), Sara is passionate about finding connections between people, systems and organisations to address the root causes of social challenges.
 
Sara holds a Bachelor’s Degree in International Studies, a Master’s Degree in International Business and a Graduate Certificate in Social Impact. In her spare time you’ll find Sara FaceTime-ing her family back in Italy, who all miss her (and her chestnut and chocolate tarts) terribly.
 
Rian Newman
Senior Account Director + Brand Experience
Rian is a considered and strategic comms professional who revels in the detail and is bored by the obvious. He loves to partner with clients to find unique threads in their stories.
 
A deft and experienced project manager, Rian understands the nuance of a good content strategy and how to utilise different platforms, mediums and channels to maximise the value of any one piece. He loves to create and discover creativity in other people.
 
Rian holds a BA in Public Communication and takes a week off every winter to enjoy the cold and watch movies at the Sydney Film Festival.
Julie Behrens
Account Director, Strategic Partnerships
Julie is an outcome-driven leader with a passion for connecting people, their talents and ideas to create positive social change.
 
A skilled project manager and all-round people person, Julie brings extensive experience in strategic planning, marketing and business development to help for-purpose brands create long-term impact in our communities.
 
Julie holds a Bachelor of Nursing, a Masters of Business Administration (Strategic Management), and is a CPM (Certified Practicing Marketer) with the Australian Marketing Insitute. Outside of work, Julie loves nothing more than spending quality time with her two loves: her grandkids and her garden.
Jessica Grattan
Jessica Grattan
Senior PR Manager

Jess is a media relations professional with a talent for connecting diverse audiences with stories that educate, inspire and delight. 

 She brings her curiosity, passion and results-driven mindset to a portfolio of clients across the education, property, disability support, finance and health sectors.  

 A mentor to some and a peer to many, Jess is a proud member of the PRIA Young Guns Committee and was recognised as an emerging leader in the 2022 PRIA Golden Target awards.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and doubles as a certified acrobatics instructor in her spare time. It’s safe to say, there isn’t a landing our resident PR pro can’t stick. 

Pamela Obeid
Account Manager, Content

Pamela combines a wide transferrable skillset with whip-smart time management and a passion for creating content that resonates.

Deeply skilled in digital marketing and content creation, Pamela blends the two to formulate and lead campaigns that integrate the right media with the right message.

Pamela has experience working in both the film & television industry and the aged care and disability sector, and has since written and produced content for some of Australia’s most iconic brands. 

Pamela’s strengths lie in finding a creative angle in anything and everything, and bringing an editorial sensibility to storytelling that’s appreciated by audiences small and large.

Ed Cheng
Video & Audio Producer
Deanne Ferguson
Graphic Designer
Matthew Botten
Events Manager
Heather Hopkins
Account Manager, Events
Mary Wahba
Bookings Manager, Events
Ibrahim Mohammed
Customer Service Coordinator
Lainey Pan
Events Coordinator