Maria Simonelli

The Creative Advantage is as much about my own journey as it is a reader’s guide to living a creative life. My ‘why’ is to facilitate creative problem solving approaches with individuals, within organisations and across community, to achieve a more sustainable world. I combine creativity, the arts and sciences to provide vibrant and energising approaches to social change.

Climate change, the declining health of the environment and its relevance to all aspects of sustaining life has given me a greater sense of urgency. The world needs imaginative solutions driven by creatives and supported by teams of innovators to solve our economic, environmental and social challenges to create viable, equitable and sustainable communities. This book is my contribution to reach a broad audience to build the creative capacity and focus on the task at hand to affect that change.

The Creative Catalyst supports individuals and organisations to explore their creativity and discover new approaches to problem solving, build creative core competencies, integrate these into our lives and workplaces to facilitate positive social and cultural change.

www.thecreativecatalyst.com.au

Telco Together Foundation (2015-2019)

Providing a means for non profits and corporates to create meaningful and effective relationships. Telco Together Foundation is a non profit, providing a platform for telecommunications industry to make a significant social contribution. I'm supporting this Foundation through providing strategic and project management expertise to facilitate partnerships and enable engagement opportunities that result in positive social change. I also undertook research to establish the Industry Incubation Hub, (now the Industry Impact Hub) a collaborative telecommunications industry initiative to action industrywide approaches to issues confronting our community. The first two initiatives undertaken focused on working with members on Domestic and Family Violence and Modern Slavery.

Greenfleet (2015)
A non profit environmental organisation, focused on climate protection through restorative planting and biodiverse carbon offsets. I supported this organisation by facilitating a campaign development process to engage individuals, businesses, NGOs, councils and universities.

Toombak Indigenous Production (2014)
Toombak, a majority owned indigenous media company, produce television, radio and digital media content from an indigenous perspective for the Australian audience. I assisted by undertaking a strategic facilitation process to support the next phase of their growth phase.

I’m influenced by urban trends and contemporary issues and interested in questioning everyday patterns by intervening and provoking alternative forms of discourse. I hope that my artworks assist to transition a viewer to make connections between disparate ideas and give a different perspective on something they are already aware of. Above all I value the awake, curious and creative mind that cross pollinates ideas to join the dots and build new ideas.

YouTube Channel

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbnNWyaD973T8mZZtA5CGbQ

Website

www.mariasimonelli.com.au

Director and Artist of The Project Reclaim. This is an organic sculpture series made from antique fabrics and organic materials to create unique sculptural pieces. Pieces are sold and donated to charity.

www.projectreclaim.com.au

The Make Light Not War project creates sculptural pieces that challenge perpetuating myths surrounding the acceptance and integration of renewable energy technology into our daily lives. Given the clear science on climate change, I connect people through my sculptural works, to the potential and the optimism that this technology provides.

http://www.projectreclaim.com.au/product-gallery.html

Technology is becoming a key tool in creating substantial positive change in the world. There is a huge range of groups and diversity of approaches, all playing their important part. Digital change makers play a key role in supporting these groups and approaches, helping them think and learn about systems thinking, utilising networks, facilitation and working with people to co-create and engage on a larger scale.
This enables me to support community organisations and provide practical advice to enable them to strategically use these social and digital mediums for maximum campaign exposure for greater benefit. My focus is to assist the creative community and arts practitioners to use social media in a positive way to manage their profile.

Utilising the unique Career Redesign Program that has at its core, an expertly developed method that supports participants to make a successful career move, particularly in the second half of life. The program provides the inspiration, tools and a process to take action. It identifies enablers, addresses challenges and risks and helps find the clarity needed through a focused and practical process.

Resources currently available include both the online program: " Find Your Career Sweet Spot & Redesign Your Career", the book "Sweet Spot Careers-A Practical and Creative Guide to a Successful Midlife or Mid Career Transition" and the Facebook Community support site. www.careerredesign.com.au

Climate Positive was a non-profit environmental organisation working with businesses and households to achieve measurable and long-term global warming solutions.

As General Manager my role was primarily in business planning to successfully increase participation and funding from a number of non-traditional sectors in carbon offsetting. (Mat leave role)

The Green Building Council Australia (GBCA) is a non-profit organisation committed to a sustainable property industry by encouraging the adoption of green building practices through the Green Rating tools, advocacy, membership services and education programs.

As Education Director I was responsible for the redesign of the Education Strategy and the management of the Education Unit.

Utility Services, was a for profit alliance made up of South East Water, Thiess Services, Siemens and MWH Designers, to deliver integrated urban development, engineering and construction services.

This role provided me an opportunity to explore relationship management and create synergies with the community, within a public-private partnership focused on urban development and infrastructure delivery.

During this period I undertook a Churchill Fellowship to USA, Canada and Europe and studied the motivational factors for organisations integrating environmental principles into business plans.

As a Winston-Churchill Memorial Fellow I continue to assist and mentor others on this amazing initiative.

ICLEI_ is a non-profit international association of local governments and the community sector that have made a commitment to sustainable development.

I was a key player in ICLEI Oceania’s start up since its Australian incorporation in Sept 1999. This entrepreneurial organisation maintained a niche market of capacity building services in their areas of social and environmental development during my 10-year tenure. As part of the executive team, my role was to manage, problem-solve and scenario plan for effective program development, organisational stability and growth. I was specifically tasked to secure new funding, relationship management and new program development.

As part of a Federal Government scholarship program and located in the Government Relations and Communication Dept. I assisted with a number of projects including providing advice on relationship management with the Commonwealth. I also undertook two major self initiated research reports including “Lessons in Leadership” and “The Business of the Environment: Factors motivating industry to take up environmental initiatives”.

Located in UNEP’s oil and petroleum unit managing projects that explored best practice in the regulatory and voluntary approaches of the leading oil exploring and exporting countries.

Program Management, Policy Development and Training Co-coordinator for the Federal Government