AES Board

Ātiawa ki Whakarongotai, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Ruanui, Ngāi Tahu

Kiri is a Māori health research and evaluation contractor living on Kabi Kabi country, Sunshine Coast, Queensland. Kiri’s work is focused on advancing the health and wellbeing of indigenous populations. Her work predominantly takes her back to her homeland of Aotearoa New Zealand. A personal commitment to see her people flourish is what drives her enthusiasm for her work. Kiri a PhD candidate with Massey University, Aotearoa and is currently exploring ngā kaupapa tuku iho (values passed down from our ancestors) and how we can better express these important concepts in a modern world to maintain wellness. As manuhiri (a guest) in this beautiful land of Australia, Kiri is honoured to work alongside First Nations Australians and others from the South Pacific region to promote and strengthen the work of indigenous evaluators.

Dr Anne Stephens, (PhD, MBA) specialises in social evaluation and research. Anne has worked in senior positions with the Queensland and Victorian governments, as well as for Australian and International NGOs in evaluation consultancy. Anne is a sociologist who’s social and theoretical work has been used in community and government for family violence prevention; adult and infant head trauma prevention; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander vocational training for workforce development, and substance use harm reduction and treatment. Anne is the author of UN Women’s Inclusive Systemic Evaluation for Gender Equality, Environments and Marginalized Voices (ISE4GEMs): A New Approach for the SDG Era (2018) and over 50 journal articles, evaluation reports and conference papers. She is an Adjunct Senior Researcher at James Cook University, an Endeavour Research Fellow and was a Visiting Scholar at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, New York, in 2016.

Tony is a Central Arrernte man and Managing Director of Akaltye, a Supply Nation Certified Indigenous consulting business. He has worked extensively with First Nations communities and organisations in Australia, as well as across Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Tony is committed to advancing Indigenous evaluation practice and creating opportunities for emerging First Nations evaluators. He has supported the AES as a member of the Indigenous Culture and Diversity Committee (ICDC) since 2019. Through the ICDC, Tony has contributed to a range of initiatives to engage and support First Nations evaluators in the AES and connect Indigenous knowledge and evaluation practice, including support for co-design of the AES First Nations Cultural Safety Framework. Alongside consulting, Tony is also a PhD Scholar at the Australian National University School of Regulation and Global Governance and researching Indigenous participation and voice in Australian health policy. Tony holds undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in health policy and management.

Nicole Tujague is a First Nations woman of Australia, descendant of the Kabi Kabi people of Southeast Queensland and the South Sea Islander peoples of Gaua Island, Vanuatu. Nicole is the founder of The Seedling Group Consultancy, a 100% Indigenous owned company registered with Supply Nation. She is also Lecturer, First Nations Health, Department of Medical Education at Melbourne Medical School, The University of Melbourne.

Nicole is passionate about supporting the AES strategy to build First Nation peoples’ evaluation capacity in culturally safe evaluation theory, practice and use. As a recipient of the AES conference support grant Nicole understands the impact of the First Nations evaluator initiatives offered by the AES.

Recently, Nicole has been working with other AES Indigenous members to develop the AES First Nations Culture Safety Framework. Nicole's PhD research (due to be finished at the end of 2021) asks the question 'What do Aboriginal Peoples think is important to measure when evaluating projects and programs that affect their lives?'. Its findings will add another key piece of information that we can employ to improve Indigenous Evaluation in Australia and globally.

Jade is the Chief Executive Officer of ARTD, where she has worked for over 15 years.  

Jade works with government agencies, not-for-profits and citizens to co-design, communicate and evaluate social policies, regulatory systems and programs. Jade is passionate about ensuring citizens have a voice in shaping the policies that affect their lives, translating research into real world contexts, and ensuring evaluations are useful and used. She completed her Masters dissertation in evaluation use in the Australian context. She regularly works with lived experience researchers and is passionate about diversifying evaluation. 

Jade has contributed to the AES over many years, serving on the AES NSW committee, the inaugural AES blog committee and co-convening the AES Conference in 2019 and FestEval in 2020

Andrew is Chief Evaluator at ARTD Consultants, having been a dedicated full-time evaluator there since 2007.

In his career, Andrew has led or managed more than 235 major evaluation projects and dedicated over 18,000 hours of service for clients across a vast range of policy areas at both Commonwealth and state levels, including assignments with central agencies and units focused on building evaluation capabilities. He possesses a profound interest in the philosophy underpinning evaluation and is committed to delivering evaluations that are both practical and cost-efficient. Andrew views the role of evaluation as fundamental to well-reasoned action, strategic planning, and risk management in a complex and uncertain world.

Since 2007, Andrew has been an engaged member of the AES. Known for regularly leading and contributing to AES's diverse array of workshops and seminars, he is passionate about cultivating a respected and dynamic evaluation profession that can facilitate meaningful change. His active participation includes serving as co-Chair of the Realist Special Interest Group from 2012 to 2016, he established the Systems Evaluation Special Interest Group in 2020 and is also currently an Editorial Advisory Board member, Evaluation Journal of Australasia.

Matt is Principal Consultant at First Person Consulting.

Matt entered the world of evaluation practice in 2014 when he started in an entry level role in a small evaluation consulting firm. In 2015, he co-founded First Person Consulting (FPC) which he has helped grow in size, reputation and practice. Since that time, he has found his niche focusing on work that sits at the intersection of evaluation, systems, and design practices.

Matt has supported the work of the AES in the past through organising the 2018 and 2024 AES Conferences, different online learning opportunities, and co-convening the Design and Evaluation Special Interest Group.

Working with the rest of the Board and the wider AES community, Matt is passionate about fostering a sustainable professional community that equitably supports current and future members to learn, grow, and have a positive impact – whatever that means to them.

Jill Thomas (MEval, MBusSys) is the Director of Jill Thomas Evaluation, a collaborative consultancy dedicated to advancing social good through the development of effective evaluation systems, projects, and products. With extensive experience as a consultant evaluator and analyst, Jill has worked in the international development, health care, community, and higher education sectors. Jill specialises in designing and implementing robust monitoring and evaluation frameworks, projects, and organisational systems that support timely, credible, and evidence-based decision-making, good governance and capacity building. Jill has served as Chair of the Pathways Committee since 2023 and is based in eastern Victoria.