Simone is a Woi-Wurrung Wurundjeri and Yorta-Yorta Traditional Owner and Artist based in Naarm (Melbourne) who has been engaged to undertake an artwork for Steelcase’s new location. She draws inspiration through her ancestral bonds to the sacred waterways of the Birrarung (Yarra River) and Dhungala (the Murray River) and her spiritual connection to Country. She works to carry the language, stories and ancestral oral history and knowledge passed down to her from her mother and grandmother.

Christine is an active part of Australia’s architecture culture through her practice OoPLA, which includes writing, broadcasting, curating and exhibiting. Her work as a lecturer in Architecture at RMIT University has focussed on creating a design discourse about place, and connectivity with our first nations peoples.

Vanessa is a working group member on Steelcase Australia’s first Reconciliation Action Plan. She is embarking on this journey to learn and to bring awareness to the disadvantages of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia and to support growth, opportunity and a brighter future for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Critical thinker, storyteller and innovator, Tim Giles leads the national design team at peckvonhartel. With a distinctive approach formulated over his 20 years’ in the design industry, Tim is passionate about designing through maintaining core respect for the commercial drivers of the clients he works with. In using design ‘as a business tool’ Tim’s focus is on creating design that lasts.

Mark initiated Manapan, a self-sufficient and self-funded enterprise owned and operated by the Yolngu people 500kms east of Darwin in Arnhem Land on Milingimbi Island.

Manapan is a furniture factory that aims to connect designers to makers and support traditional cabinet making craft, using timber locally sourced and blended with sustainably harvested, specialty Australian timbers by Yolngu people.

The craftspeople are now collaborating with some Melbourne furniture designers to produce complex handcrafted furniture aimed at the top of the domestic and commercial markets.

Having property-related roles for leading financial institutions in Australia, client-side project management for professional services and recently government departments.

Margaret advocates for bringing concepts to reality through a commitment to the longevity of design and product selections. Now, with a microscopic eye to sustainability, considered investments in fit-outs, reportable emissions, consumptions, and waste there is a greater challenge ahead in the property portfolio.

Ian brings a wealth of experience and insight into the technology and application of light and regularly contributes as a subject matter expert on energy efficiency, sustainability and lighting education syllabus development to various organisations, peak industry bodies and government agencies. He has more recently focused his professional development interests towards the biological impact of light, the emotional aspects of light and the emerging science of the influence that light has on human well-being.

Andrew is passionate about providing solutions that help to drive impact and augment wellbeing through Steelcase’s dedication to research and development. Leading Steelcase Australia’s team, Andrew is focused on an inclusive design process and delivering a product solution addressing environmental, social and governance parameters.

As an Architect with over 20 years in the industry, Rebecca’s approach to transparent dialogue and strategic processes aims to empower her clients through design. She brings a unique aptitude for assimilating multiple stakeholder agendas to create powerful and insightful visions for projects and the commitment to realise them to finality. Rebecca is passionate about creating forums for dialogue about improving our structure and processes for better design.