Ciara is a leader who believes in the power of cross-sector collaboration to make real change for people experiencing vulnerability and exclusion. She is motivated by her passion for human rights and her belief that everyone deserves an equitable system, adequate living standards, and to live free from discrimination. As Founding CEO for the Thriving Communities Partnership, she convenes over 250 organisations, together with people with lived experience, to forge deeper understanding of vulnerability and drive ecosystem change through social design innovation. Ciara is also a Non-Executive Director on the Board of Consumer Action Law Centre, a consumer advocacy organisation whose purpose is to make life easier for people experiencing vulnerability and disadvantage. 

She has over 20 years’ experience collaborating across corporate, government and community sectors to address the root causes of hardship and inequality. Ciara spent over 10 years in leadership roles at Yarra Valley Water, including as Head of Community Inclusion and she was recognised as the Australian Water Professional of the Year in 2018. She pioneered approaches to supporting customers experiencing vulnerability, hardship and family violence, and led the water industry’s response post the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence.