Meet Our Team

Founder and Director

Prior to founding Banksia Strategic Partners, Steve enjoyed a diverse career spanning the private sector, politics and the law. He is a respected corporate adviser and an experienced campaign strategist who has worked on various national and political campaigns.

He was a key architect in the fight for marriage equality in Australia, and more recently, helped to establish the historic Rethink Addiction campaign, which is challenging the stigma around drug, alcohol and gambling addiction to help achieve better health outcomes.

After growing up in country Victoria, Steve completed a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws at the Australian National University in Canberra, where he was awarded a full CAS Hawker Scholarship.

He has since worked for the Victorian Department of Health and Maurice Blackburn Lawyers giving him an intimate understanding of employer, employee, private and public-sector issues.

He also spent six years as a trusted adviser to the Hon. Bill Shorten MP, then Leader of the Opposition.

As Director of Caucus and Stakeholder Relations, he provided advice regarding highly complex policy, political and communications issues, often in sensitive media environments, and built Australia wide networks with business, unions, the community sector and media.

Steve holds a Master of Laws from Melbourne Law School, where he was awarded the Frank Pinkerton Scholarship. He has also completed study at Harvard Business School.

Steve sits on a number of not-for-profit boards including the National Theatre. He is the proud Dad of two primary school aged kids and an avid member and supporter of the Geelong Football Club.

Director

Michelle Edmunds is a strategic communication professional with extensive experience as a consultant, agency leader and journalist. She has 20 years’ experience working with Boards, Councils, the private sector and not-for-profits to manage issues, engage with media and other stakeholders, and advocate to government.

Michelle specialises in communicating in highly regulated environments that attract public and media attention. She has worked for clients including industry peak bodies, health sector NFPs, international member-based organisations, superannuation funds, regulators and cultural institutions.

As an issues manager, Michelle has supported clients involved in Ombudsman’s investigations, Royal Commissions, parliamentary inquiries, organisational restructures and product recalls.

She has media-trained leaders from the world of sport, the arts, politics and the health sector, helping spokespeople develop the skills they need to communicate effectively under pressure.

Michelle has also led high-profile media and PR campaigns for government, statutory authorities and peak groups, including in the arts, tourism and childcare sectors.

She started her career in print journalism, where she covered state politics, industrial relations and education.

Director

James leads strategic communications campaigns for organisations that build public and stakeholder support around key social, economic and political issues.

Over the past fifteen years, James has planned and executed successful campaigns across the renewable energy, healthcare, disability, alcohol and other drug, financial and education sectors.

His experience is also steeped in crisis and issues management across Australia, the United Kingdom, and North America, having guided executive teams through high-profile responses to royal commissions, data breaches, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, court cases, policy developments, and local community campaigns.

James has prepared and supported a long list of clients in crisis communications and issues management, including Village Roadshow, Bakers Delight, Melbourne Airport, Senvion windfarms, RMIT, Deakin, Griffith, and Latrobe universities, Metro Trains, Tourism Victoria, Austin Hospital, the North Richmond Medically Supervised Injecting Room, Citipower & Powercor, Northwestern University Chicago, the Royal London Hospital and more.

Along with on-call response, he has facilitated media training and crisis simulations for organisations ranging from universities and tourism attractions to critical infrastructure and hospitals.

James is professionally trained in the Australasian Inter-service Incident Management System (AIIMS) and brings particular experience and expertise in how to communicate with internal and external stakeholders during a crisis or critical incident in order to help protect your people, strategic relationships, reputation, operations, and future.

Alongside his client work, James helps lead our team’s sustainable growth and long-term mission of results driven social impact.

He holds a master’s degree in media and communications, has completed executive courses at Harvard Business School, the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and Melbourne Business School, and is a sessional lecturer at RMIT University.

Outside of the corporate world, James co-founded an online sports magazine in 2016 that publishes long-form analytical journalism, podcasts, and feature documentaries on the emotive stories behind professional and amateur sport. He is also a board member of Mannix College and Pathways Response Victoria.

General Manager

Camilla Bale joins Banksia Strategic Partners as General Manager, bringing with her decades of experience effectively managing practical business challenges. 

Camilla has worked in large global matrix organisations, including Goldman Sachs Asset Management, as well as small entrepreneurial companies, and so has a vast understanding of how to effectively manage in different business environments.  

Camilla is an accomplished problem-solver with strong stakeholder management, team building, and leadership skills, which she uses to enhance performance, develop valuable business strategy, and effectively manage change during times of turbulence.  

At Banksia, Camilla is responsible for working with the team to maximise strategic growth, support effective client servicing, and achieve individual professional development. 

Camilla is crucial to Banksia’s day-to-day operations, and her invaluable expertise is essential to the team’s overall efficiency and effectiveness. 

Outside of work, Camilla is a proud mum of two young kids and, originally from Sweden, is a self-proclaimed foodie who shares Melbourne’s love for good quality cooking. 

Associate Director

Elyse is a senior corporate affairs specialist with experience providing expert policy and communications advice in highly regulated industries, with experience in corporate, government, and political organisations.

With over ten years’ experience in the energy industry, Elyse knows how to navigate the complex intersection of policy, social and political issues within the industry.

During her time as press secretary for the Minister for Resources and Energy, Elyse was responsible for engagement with the media during a period where Australia was balancing the economic benefits of resource extraction and trade, with the need to address to urgently address climate change.

Elyse joins MA from multinational energy company bp, where she helped to drive the Australia wide implementation of the company’s net-zero ambitions by developing and leading government relations and communications campaigns for low-carbon projects.

Elyse has a particular commitment to achieving social impact and is experienced at working with stakeholders from different spheres to achieve that end.

She has a Bachelor of Arts (Government and International Relations, and English) from the University of Sydney, and is a passionate member of several community organisations based in Melbourne’s inner north.

Special Adviser

Simone Gandur is a Special Adviser and brings more than 25 years’ experience in public affairs and communications to her advisory role at Banksia. 

She has led the communications functions for many large complex organisations, often during times of significant cultural or structural change. Her career has included key roles at: Telstra, Burson-Marsteller, Turnbull Porter Novelli, National Express Group Pty Ltd, the Department of Infrastructure, the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE). 

As Communications Director at DSE, Simone led some of Victoria’s most successful social change campaigns including Black Balloons, empowering the community to save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and the Our Water Our Future behaviour change program during the worst years of Victoria’s drought. This included the Target 155 campaign, which asked Melburnians to use 155 litres of water per person per day. 

Simone has designed and implemented crisis communications plans for highly complex organisations in highly regulated environments. In the private sector, Simone was the Director of Communications for three of Victoria’s transport businesses post-privatisation. In this role Simone managed multiple crises including train fatalities, train derailments, tram and bus accidents and a runaway train that captured international headlines and bought most of Melbourne’s transport to a stand-still. 

Simone has also managed the communications for oil spills and was the Director of Communications for seven bushfire seasons including the devastating Black Saturday fires of 2009. As Director of Communications for the Department of Human Services she led the communications response and recovery to the Victorian floods of 2011. 

Special Adviser

Michael Long has a deserved reputation as one of the most influential and enduring Aboriginal figures and is a Special Adviser to Banksia.

An Anmatyerre, Maranunggu and Tiwi man, Long played 190 games for Essendon in the AFL from 1989 to 2001, including premierships in 1993 and 2000. He won the Norm Smith Medal for best on ground in the first of those victories. In 1995, he changed the game forever after he was racially vilified on the field in that year’s Anzac Day match. The stand he took led to the AFL’s racial vilification policy, which sporting codes in Australia and beyond went on to adopt.

He has also made a lasting impact since retiring from the game. In 2004, he walked to Canberra to meet Prime Minister John Howard and raise several issues concerning Indigenous communities. Since that journey, he has founded the Michael Long Learning and Leadership Centre in Darwin to provide Indigenous youth with education opportunities through sport, and The Long Walk Trust, a charity that promotes Indigenous cultural awareness through The Long Walk and other programs. Long’s dedication to advancing Indigenous causes was recognised in 2018 when he was named the Northern Territorian of the Year, and when Essendon built a statue of him at their Tullamarine headquarters.

Michael is available to provide strategic counsel on First Nations issues and inclusion, advocacy, government relations, policy design and development for a range of corporate, government and not-for-profit clients.

Senior Associate

Anna Mincham is an Associate at Banksia. Prior to starting at Banksia, Anna worked in Federal politics and specialised in a number of policy areas including multicultural affairs, foreign affairs, and climate change. She has held stakeholder, advisory, and communication positions, and has invaluable specialist media advisory experience.

Anna has a deep understanding of the media landscape and valuable insights into how journalists work and what makes a story newsworthy. She is known for her ability to craft compelling pitches that capture the attention of audiences and develop media strategies that are tailored to clients’ specific needs and objectives.

Anna is passionate about using her experience to achieve positive social impact. She has a Bachelor of Jurisprudence (International Relations) from Bond University and her love of learning stretches far beyond her professional life. Anna loves trying new foods (and wine) as well as exploring nature and the outdoors (Melbourne weather notwithstanding). As a former West Australian, she is miserable in the winter and is a tragic Fremantle Dockers supporter.

Senior Associate

As a public policy professional, Kushan has worked in senior roles within Victorian government departments and agencies in policy portfolios, most notably in health, justice and roads & road safety. 

Prior to joining Banksia, Kushan was a policy adviser for senior Victorian State Ministers.  In this role he developed and refined complex public policy in the health and justice portfolios.   

Key to Kushan’s success was his ability to consult and engage with stakeholders within the government, the sectors, subject matter experts and to deliver policy outcomes for the benefit of the Victorian community.   

Kushan believes that not only is evidence-based policy important, but that connecting with industry and community stakeholders, and giving them an opportunity to shape the narrative, will lead to better outcomes. 

Kushan’s ability to communicate complex issues, coupled with his policy experience, enables him to navigate challenging and scrutinised environments and advocate effectively to implement change.  

Kushan holds a Bachelor of Laws and Criminology from Deakin University, and outside of work enjoys volunteering at a food relief organisation in the south-east, playing golf, and is an avid supporter of the Essendon Football Club.  

Associate

Matilda Finn has a diverse background in law, global affairs, and journalism. ​

She has worked in communications in London, working for the legal and educational charity Young Citizens, as well as writing for news mastheads The Age and Crikey back in Melbourne. ​

Matilda has a Bachelor of Law/Global Studies from the Australian Catholic University and a Master of International Journalism from the University of Melbourne. She has written on a range of topics from female youth activism, to spikes in self-harm in female prisoners and international politics. ​

Matilda’s legal expertise enables her to understand complex socio-political issues and channel that knowledge into achieving communications objectives.  Her work in journalism and communications has enabled her to engage with federal and state government representatives and understand the nuances of Australian politics. ​

Her journalism background means she has the ability to produce high-quality written and audio content for Banksia and its clients. Matilda also has a creative background in producing and choreographing productions, meaning that she is always thinking of new and innovative ways to engage people.​

Communications Specialist

Associate

Gordon is an experienced multimedia producer and creator, who has worked across all stages of content production from ideation and production to post-production and distribution.

Their professional focus is to plan, produce and proliferate content that informs, entertains, and educates an audience, using the most appropriate medium.

Gordon also has extensive experience in editorial team management, spending eight years as the Head of Content for Australia’s most popular independent sports media app developer, Sportsmate Mobile.

Gordon has been published in, and has edited for, various outlets with a focus on profile, feature, and analysis pieces. He has a broad catalogue of podcast and video projects to his name, having launched the Sportsmate Podcast Network, alongside independent projects across the themes of disability advocacy, media analysis, longform conversations and narrative non-fiction.

Gordon is also an adept digital marketer, with experience running campaigns across owned, earned, and paid media channels.

Executive Assistant and Team Co-ordinator

Melanie Pritchard joins Banksia Strategic Partners as an Executive Assistant and Team Co-ordinator. 

Melanie has a plethora of experience working in administration and support roles for a range of organisations, from global corporations to boutique firms. 

Melanie brings with her an accomplished skillset in office co-ordination, event and travel management, leadership and team building. 

Outside of work, Melanie enjoys spending time with her family and friends, travelling and exploring the newest culinary hot spots. 

Researcher

Connor is a Research Assistant at Banksia. He started his internship at Banksia while studying a Bachelor of Arts at Monash University, where he applied his skills in research, public affairs, and politics to delivering strategic investigation and optimising communications strategy. Now he’s come on board and joined the team with a year of experience and an eagerness to keep helping the team deliver efficient social outcomes and achieve their strategic objectives.

Human Resources

Sonja Davenport brings more than 30 years of human resources and senior people leadership experience to the Banksia business, gained from working across multiple industries such as: retail, hospitality, manufacturing and supply chain, sales and marketing, IT, professional services, fire safety, construction, higher education, allied health, and property services.

As a human resource professional, Sonja’s area of expertise centres on supporting businesses with both operational and strategic human resource planning, remuneration and benefits, and HR compliance governance.

Practice Manager

Hayden Davies is the Practice Manager of Banksia. His commercial and legal background helps achieve maximum productivity across task allocation, time management, costs and processes.

He studied Law and Japanese at the Australian National University in Canberra and has spent most of his career in the private sector.

Before starting at Banksia, Hayden worked as Global Training Manager at a luxury consumer product brand where he oversaw the sales and training programs for the company across Asia-Pacific, Europe and the United States.

He helps the firm deliver outstanding client service through seamless billing and invoicing and by ensuring all projects and tasks are completed on time and budget. He manages the business, inducts and supervises staff and oversees the firm’s people and culture.

Hayden is passionate about ensuring that the firm’s core mission, values, beliefs and behaviours best reflect the company culture and serve client best interests.

Accounts

Devindhe Ratnaayake CPA has over 10 years of experience in accounting, finance, auditing and taxation across various industries.

He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) from Monash University and is a Certified Practising Accountant (CPA) with CPA Australia. He has also completed internships at KPMG and BPM Vision, where he gained valuable exposure to financial audits and budgeting.

Devindhe is also an active member of the community and has served as the Head of Clubs and Societies at Monash University, where he managed the funds and activities of 48 student clubs. He enjoys surfing, tennis and travelling in his spare time.