Community Capacity Building Officer Social Enterprise, Parramatta City Council, Australia.

Joanne currently holds the position of Community Capacity Building Officer Social Enterprise at Parramatta City Council in Sydney, Australia. This role, the first of its kind in local government in Australia, is responsible for the development and implementation of a program to develop the growth and sustainability of social enterprise in the region, and to contribute to the national agenda in this area. Joanne has been involved with the social enterprise sector in Australia for almost ten years and is a passionate advocate of the model.

Prior to the move to Parramatta, Joanne was a Senior Communication & Consultation Specialist with Sinclair Knight Merz, managing consultation programs for environmental management and infrastructure development projects for a variety of public and private sector clients. Previously Joanne was the Network Relations Manager for the pilot of the Prime Minister’s Community Business Partnership initiative where she worked closely with a diverse range of stakeholders to stimulate the uptake of corporate social responsibility practice nationally. Joanne is currently undertaking a Master of Business (Research) focusing on impact assessment and social enterprise, and holds a Master of Arts in Communication Management and a Diploma in Management Studies. She has briefly worked in the not-for-profit sector, in events management and community theatre, and also spent two years living and working in Central America with her then young family.