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Who we are

Shani Cain - Founder & Director
Shani is an experienced leader, strategist, and evaluator with over a decade of experience across international and community development, gender equity and inclusion, the prevention of gender-based violence, climate action, and social impact. An intersectional feminist and advocate for transformative social change, she is also a Board Director and an accomplished storyteller.

She has served as Head of Grants Management at Oxfam Australia, Lead Strategist at Decade of Action, and CEO of the Oaktree Foundation. Shani has also held governance roles with ACFID, the Campaign for Australian Aid, and Women’s Health Grampians, where she was Chair for three years.

Shani is passionate about inclusion, intersectionality, and decolonisation. Her work is grounded in strategic frameworks and accountability mechanisms that centre community voices and ensure meaningful, sustainable change.

Outside the (mostly home) office, Shani teaches yoga, travels, and walks her dogs.

Elsa Carnaby - Lead Impact Strategist
Elsa is a values-driven impact-focused leader with nearly 20 years’ experience in the non-profit and community sectors. She is a specialist in program design, monitoring, evaluation and learning with a strong focus on gender equality, climate resilience and sustainable development. Elsa is passionate about delivering results that prioritise people, place, planet and purpose.

Elsa has held progressively senior roles in the international development and humanitarian field with responsibilities in strategy development, quality assurance and impact measurement, operational management, business development, program implementation, policy development and community engagement.

Elsa cares deeply about climate action, local humanitarian leadership, and the ongoing work of decolonising aid and community sectors. Her leadership is grounded in feminist principles, fostering inclusive, high-performing teams that value lived experience, diversity, and shared learning.

Outside of work, Elsa loves exploring new corners of the world, spending time in nature, and connecting with her community.



What people said about us

  • I had the pleasure of working with Shani when she supported a grant application to improve accessibility at our community hub. Shani was efficient, professional, and made what could have been a complex process feel effortless. Thanks to her expertise and dedication, we successfully secured $110,000 in funding through both state and local government grants.

    Renn Watts (work completed for BGT)

  • I was fortunate enough to work with Shani Cain twice during my time as CEO of a not-for-profit social enterprise, both times during crucial stages of strategic planning and development. Shani listened deeply, challenged our thinking in the best ways, helped us re-imagine our purpose and guided us to practical and relevant ways forward. Shani brings deep insight, innovative approaches to strategic planning, expertise in the for-purpose sector, and a warm and collaborative style that empowered our organisation to reach new insights for our work and our future direction.

    Susan Kukucka (work completed for 100 Story Building)

  • We engaged the professional services of Shani, a Ballarat based consultant to complete a needs and skills analysis for LanceTV Inc., and from this hire an Executive Board. Shani also undertook extensive stakeholder mapping over several weeks. This included conducting interviews with members from a number of Ballarat based LGBTIQA+ groups and organisations. Shani also worked with LanceTV Inc. to construct an online survey “Building Community Platforms – Tell us what you think/Have your say.” Once Shani had concluded all necessary interviews and community consultations, work with the newly appointed committee commenced on the Strategic Plan. Overall, we are a better organisation to have done this work with Shani.

    LanceTV Inc