ABOUT
The International Resilience Institute Sydney (known by our nickname as IRIS resilience consulting or IRIS consulting ) is a partnership of Shane Warren and Alisson Nipperess with intellectual and energy support from Dr Rosie Chin and Dr Venkat Pulla.
IRIS resilience consulting is a specialised human resource leadership and development consultancy that provides forefront training in organisational development and team focus skills within an Emotional Resilience (ER) framework.
IRIS resilience consulting facilitates a series of cultural change management strategies that are designed to give participants a methodology and process to analyse their actions so that they are more empowered to take responsibility for their outcomes.
IRIS resilience consulting training and coaching programs are based on our own unique retrospective model of learning...
IRIS resilience consulting programs make a difference to all industries because our programs graduate creative and innovative thinkers with both the adaptability and capability to take on any professional (and personal) challenge that comes in their way.
IRIS believes it is this thinking strategy that makes the difference between a good team player and a great team player; often all members of the team have the academic base to perform their roles, but it is innovative thinking that shows through with excellent staff.
IRIS resilience consulting is about building mental fitness so that your team can leap through the mental gymnastics required to come out on top every day!
The IRIS resilience consulting founding team come from a diverse background but have two things in common - the study of psychology and a passion to help people be the best they can be!
Alison and Shane have written several training programs together and co-facilitated hundreds of hours of workshops, seminars and forums with each other. Participants often comment that their joint style is guaranteed to create an extremely easy-going learning environment with lots of laughs where time just shoots bye.
Rosie and Shane have consulted together on various employee development and organisational diversity programs. They share a great passion for cultural diversity and how when harnessed this can be the secret million-dollar drive of companies.
Shane and Venkat first started working together in 1996 and have since travelled many paths together. Their most recent collaboration was as co-editors of Perspectives on Coaching & Resilience; along with Dr Andrew Shatté of the President of the Phoenix Life Academy.
Before working together each member of the brains trust have had extensive careers as consultants managing their own consultancy practice and continue to run extremely successful counselling, consulting and coaching practices outside of IRIS… building mental fitness so that your team can leap through the mental gymnastics required to come out on top every day!
BRAINS TRUST
Shane Warren
Founder & Chair
A psychotherapist in private practice in Sydney, with calling suites in Melbourne, Gold Coast, Singapore, KL and Hong Kong. Shane brings to the consulting relationship more then 25-years experience in both a personal and professional development setting. He started his career in the non-profit sector working with a number of major non-government organizations as both a consultant and leader within the establishments. During his years in the community welfare sector Shane became a highly respected adviser; advising all levels of government on extremely politically sensitive issues related to youth and young adult social policy, as well as training and support needs of the ‘older’ long-term unemployed members of the community. Eventually moving his consulting into the private sector Shane became a partner in what was at the time Australia largest provider of employee welfare services with a team of 312 consultants providing human resource leadership and development services through workplace counselling and training programs all over the Asia Pacific region. Under his leadership, this business received numerous awards for innovation and growth including Quest Business of the Year for 1998. In his career as a company director, he has overseen the facilitation of numerous national projects coordinating injury and illness prevention strategies for some of Australia’s largest companies; as well as assisting smaller operations merge and grow. Shane has sat on the board of many private companies whose services have been focused on health care, labor hire, hospitality and financial services to name a few. He currently has active Directorship roles with a number of private and not-for-profit services, ranging from health provision to technology to education. Shane brings to the relationship a mixed bag of tricks with formal readings in the social sciences (theology, philosophy, and psychotherapy) and business (finance, management and law). It is this combined academic background with his passion for work in both the private and community sectors that has seen Shane receive a number of accolades for his professional achievements from both within Australia and Singapore.
Alison Nipperess
Founder & Consultant
Alison is an Organizational Psychologist who works with organizations in areas of staff development, management development, employee wellbeing strategies, organizational consulting, and psychological assessments. Alison offers a practical consulting approach, combined with knowledge and experience in organizational psychology, business development, staff management, and financial management. Alison has experience in all facets of learning and development from analysis, design, development, delivery and evaluation. Alison’s specialty is in developing and delivering training on leadership development, frontline management skills and personal resilience. General staff development courses that she has delivered cover areas such as change management, influencing skills, team building, time management, stress management, problem solving, communication skills, managing conflict, workplace trauma and dealing with difficult people. Apart from being a successful trainer, Alison has counselled and coached individuals for performance improvement and development through her private practice work in Mudgee Psychology. As well she has facilitated management forums and team strategy meetings through her private consulting practice KenyonMarie Consulting. A consultant with many years’ experience, Alison has been involved at various levels in assignments relating to change management, staff performance management, job design, conflict, redundancies and outplacement and workplace trauma management. Over the years she has consulted with many organizations in managing difficult situations and challenging employees. This has, at times, involved mediation, conflict resolution, management coaching and staff planning. Alison also has a strong interest in employee wellbeing areas and has worked closely with HR teams in developing staff wellbeing strategies and work-life balance initiatives. This has involved staff surveys, focus groups, facilitating strategy development meetings, program reviews, and program launches. Alison has experience with a wide range of psychological assessment tools for use in recruitment, development and individual coaching. Alison’s report writing skills allow for easy and appropriate interpretation of assessment results. Alison emphasizes the use of assessments as a tool that is part of a broader process of understanding someone, rather than as a definitive judgment.
International Resilience Institute Sydney
IRIS consulting
Tel: +61 (0)2 8213 2312
Fax: +61 (0)2 9332 2883
Rosie Chin
Consultant
Dr Rosie Chin-McLaughlin is a seasoned practitioner in the Human Resources and Organizational Development fields with over 20 years of hands-on experience within the financial services, travel and hospitality industries in the Asia Pacific region. She has a special interest in the study of culture and its implications for management practices. Rosie was previously the Asia Pacific Regional Vice President of Human Resources Development for the American Express International Inc. She was responsible for the training and development of more than 10,000 employees throughout this diverse region (i.e. comprising of 13 markets). Prior to that she was Head of Human Resources & Regional Training for Bank of America based in Hong Kong. In addition, she has held senior executive positions, leading the Human Resources teams of several 5 star International Hotel chains including the Grand Hotel (U.K) and the Mandarin Oriental Group. Rosie also headed up the corporate Human Resources Office for the Lee Gardens Hotel Management Company and was responsible for several of their hotels properties from pre-opening to hotel operational stages in the different regions of China. During her tenure as a corporate executive, she led or played key roles in many challenging assignments, both regional and global in scope. These projects attracted significant recognition, including the Chairman’s Gold Award for a highly successful project involving the re-engineering of her corporation’s entire Sales and Servicing culture. In addition, she won awards for spearheading and implementing Quality Training for all staff members in the region. As a consultant, Rosie has similarly enjoyed a wide array of challenges from a diverse group of clients and industries. Her more recent projects have included the curriculum redevelopment and rollout of a Change Management Program for the Asian markets, the setting up of a outsourcing company for the hospitality industry based in Hong Kong and China, the design of a range of corporate legal products and services for a innovative, Australian based start-up company as well a number of high profile executive search assignments in Australia, US and in Asia. In addition to enjoying her work in the in the corporate environment, Rosie spends her spare time working in her two other major areas of interest which include voluntary community work and ongoing research in the field of “diversity awareness”. Rosie is widely accredited as a master trainer and feedback consultant. She is certified in the training and use of numerous psychometric measurement, assessment and training tools. Rosie holds a PhD in Social Psychology from the University of Manchester, and a MBA from the University of Durham. She received her undergraduate degree in Hotel and Catering Management from the University of Brighton, UK.
Venkat Pulla
Consultant
Dr Venkat Pulla was a Tata Dorabji Merit Scholar and has been involved in academia, teaching and research for over 18 years both overseas and in Australia. His doctoral research took a cross-national comparison of development strategies for minorities. He taught at the College of Social Work, Red Hills, Hyderabad, Regional Centre for Urban and Environmental Studies, Osmania University. He was the founder of the Centre for Environment Concerns, (CEC) a pioneer in Environment Education in the mid eighties in India. The CEC is still a lead agency and is an active research based NGO in India. Over the course of twenty years of practice in human services in Australia, Venkat has contributed to management, research, consulting and training in strengths-based human services management. This has included direct and reflective practice in child protection, family-directed practice, trauma and torture counselling, migrant and refugee resettlement and working alongside with Australian Aboriginal practitioners and tertiary teaching and leadership. Dr Pulla has made contributions to health and multicultural policies, urbanization, cross-cultural curriculum development, poverty alleviation, social infrastructures, disability and aged care, wage reform, employee strategies and industrialization policies for local, state and national levels of government. Venkat has provided training and mentoring in strengths-based practice and appreciative inquiry both in Australia and overseas. His research interests are in coping, resilience, green social work, management of change and international social work. He is also the founder of the Brisbane Institute of Strengths Based Practice. Additionally he is the Principal of Impetus Global Trainers for the world who have always endeavored to update their thinking to offer the best solution focused training in the broad realm of strengths based strategies for the world- both for human service and for the corporate sector.
OUR NETWORK OF FACILITATORS
Kait Luker
Jennifer Dignam
Marion Neubronner
Suzy Woodhouse
Facilitator
Born and raised in a small country town of far North Queensland, Kait’s schooling years where spent at private girls’ boarding school in Brisbane. Upon graduating from school Kait attended Art College in Canberra studying printmaking and sculpture. After completing her studies in art Kait opted to continue her education and ventured into a new field – a Bachelor of Science.
Over the years Kait has held many interesting positions using both her academic basis. She has worked as an educator in the justice system; teaching art to inmates in maximum security prisons. As well she has taught children painting and pottery classes and is still invited by some of Sydney’s leading schools to run special interest classes for their students. Kait also teachers a specialist pottery class every year for the National Art School in Darlinghurst.
As well Kait has held senior roles in medical research working in laboratory settings and co-ordinating various research studies into health care. In these roles she has worked on studies that are about adult curative and treatment programs for common illness to specialised work with children living with a life threatening condition. Outside of the medical system, she has also applied her knowledge in health sciences in a consulting capacity with major corporations around the world helping them to develop preventative health strategies for their employees.
Currently Kait has a busy private practice in Sydney, coaching clients who need to make dramatic change to their lifestyles due to a diagnosis of a life threatening illness. In this work she uses art as a medium to help her clients bring calm into their world after such a shocking revelation. She then builds on a life-coaching model to assist the client and their family institute the changes that are required as a result of treatment, palliative care strategies and acceptance of the limitations that the illness may bring.
Outside of her practice, Kait owns a successful consulting firm that specialises in the co-ordination and administration of a medical research processes. In this role her team works as the quite backbone of many health studies around the Asia Pacific region, most notably in the fields of cancer research.
Beyond her roles as coach and consultant, Kait enjoys a busy life of favourite ‘aunty’ to many godchildren and volunteers her time running father and son bonding programs using art as a medium for the Poppet Centre in Sydney.
Facilitator
Jennifer's career has spanned more then 20 years of change and strategy implemtnation, learning and development, organisation development and general resource strategy and management.
Working with a number of clients from a varierty of industries within the private and public sectors her work has seen Jennifer lead and manage very large and complex project teams that are often geographically dispersed. In these roles she has worked to develop and implement human resource strategies; start-up human resources and learnign departments; develop and implement change strategy for a large and complex public organisations; develop and facilitate learning and training programs; develop and implement leadership and talent management programs; undertake culture audits and culture change programs; and provide senior and exetuive management coaching and mentoring.
Splitting her time between her Singapore and Sydney offices Jennifer continues to lead teams of people in both countries who are actively implementing her unique human resource leadership and development strategies.
Facilitator
Marion's academic background is found in Human Development and Psychology completeing a Master's Degree with the Harvard Graduate School of Education in the USA.
As an applied psychologist and researcher from a human development and training background, Marion has had a career advising on recruitment, interviewing techniques, testing and selection as wel as a vast background in training needs analysis.
Marion brings to the IRIS team a strong background in coaching and counselling; working from a proactive problem resolution model she is instrumental in helping her clients build resilience and improve their interpersonal communication.
As a learning specialist with over 15 years experieince, she has trained more then 1,500 students; Marion enjoys using advances in learning theory to enhance the change and growth of individuals, communities and organisations.
International Resilience Institute Sydney
IRIS consulting
Tel: +61 (0)458 013 364
Fax: +61 (0)2 9332 2883
Facilitator
Suzy Woodhouse operates a coaching, training and consulting practice with over 16 years experieince designing, delivering and avaluating organisatins' management, training and work processes and practices. Suzy works with clients in the international corporate, federal, state and local government sectors, with manuafacturing and service industries, community organsiations and acadmeic, education, health and social work industries.
Suzy works with individuals, work-teams and groups at senior, executive, middle management and frontline levels. She introduces senior and middle managers and team leaders to practical ways of improving their leadership, personal and team management. Suzy helps managers to align their personal management content and style with their organisations preferred modes.
Suzy is a qualified, professional, ethical and confidential Coach, working with people from a variety of professions and roles incuding; CEO's, Mayors, directors, senior executives, economic developers, social workers, managers or marketing, cultural affiars, environment, finance, occupational therapists, social planners and other professionals.
Suzy's Coaching and championing of managers is personalised, supportive,insughtful and effective in bringing about real change. Her style is warm, dynamic, responsive and experieintial. This enhances managers' skills, behaviours, performance and efficiencies. Suzy draws on action leraning, NLP, resilieince techniques and accelerated learning modesl with interesting case studies and role plays to bring training ideas to life. Mangers practice, learn and enthusiastically apply their new skills back at work.
Suzy has a diverse background of skills to call upon but has real speciality in leadership, managing change, communications, performacne enhancment, team leadership, business writing and report writing, presentation skills, media and marketing.