Meet our Advisory

Speaking in Colour has an Advisory to help guide the strategic direction of the business. Advisors include

Melanie is the Managing Director at Hamilton Taggart business advisors and specialises in taxation and accounting for small business. Mel is passionate about helping her diverse range of clients boost their productivity with expert advice on key management areas including workflow, quality control and team management. She also assists businesses implement cloud accounting solutions, and specialises in business set up, succession planning and process management.

She is active in the local business community as the founder and vice president of the genXwomen business network. 

Melanie enjoys the opportunity to meet new people across a range of industries, and values honesty and loyalty in all of her professional relationships.

Julie Baird, Director Museum Archive Libraries & Learning for City of Newcastle including Newcastle Museum and Newcastle Libraries, has over 30 years professional experience in the museum sector.

Julie's experience in researching and interpreting and with working with community has resulted in a number of successful and award-winning permanent exhibitions, including National MAGNAs for 1X4 and the redesign and redevelopment of the Newcastle Museum's social history galleries. Julie is the current Vice President of the Australian Museums & Art Galleries Association.

I decided to be part of the Speaking in Colour Advisory board because I love being able to work in a collaborative group to try to help find solutions to issues with my different lens.

Kate is a strategic communications and engagement professional with almost 20 years industry experience. Managing complex community and stakeholder focussed projects is Kate's speciality having worked both in-house and as a private consultant for government agencies and the private sector.

Kate works with teams through a project lifecycle from inception, planning and development through to delivery and have managed all aspects of community and stakeholder engagement throughout the process. Kate is also a small business owner of Baartz & Co, a boutique communications and engagement consultancy. 

Speaking in Colour is a fantastic business that manages to balance being a successful enterprise while delivering significant social impact for the local community. When Cherie asked me to join the Advisory, I jumped at the chance. 

Geraldine is an Executive Pastor at C3 Church Victory. She loves people, public speaking, and is passionate about seeing people fulfilled in their purpose for life. She and her husband are partners of Urban Joinery and she has a background in Accounting and business.

In more recent years she has taken to the books again to become a secondary teacher and teaches casually in local schools. She sits on Kingdomworks board, has the occasional stint on radio and if she has a spare moment she is spending it with her two girls, her other passion in life, or at the beach!

I am always on the lookout for ways to grow and develop herself and values the balance between work and rest. I am appreciative of authenticity, fun and gratitude, all wrapped up in kindness and respect. I am excited to contribute to Speaking in Colour in whatever way I can!

Teagan is a proud Arabanna descendant, her family are displaced people as a result of stolen generation and have lived off country for three generations. She grew up in Newcastle (Awabakal country) and has worked in the public sector across three states. Teagan has worked in the community engagement and environmental sector for over 10 years including in NSW, QLD and WA as well as at an international level as an ambassador to the World Indigenous Network. She managed and developed the stakeholder engagement strategy for the Regional Services Reform Unit, coordinating the community engagement across WA, with remote Aboriginal communities. Teagan has: a Bachelor of Education; Bachelor of Applied Science; and a Masters in Marine Science and Management.

I believe the answer to the conservation issues facing Australia lie in the Indigenous-led use of Traditional Knowledge. I am currently undertaking a PhD with the University of Melbourne; Investigating systemic changes to empower Indigenous Land and Sea Managers in biodiversity conservation.