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Our team consists of organisational psychologists and organisational development specialists who understand people, culture, HR systems and organisational structures. We are specialists in improving individual and organisational behaviour and performance by optimising job satisfaction, leadership, capability, diversity and employee wellbeing.
Dr. Ali Burston (MAPS, PSIOPA) is an AHPRA endorsed organisational psychologist and the founder and Managing Director of Perth-based organisational psychology consulting group, Metisphere. As an organisational psychologist, Ali enhances productivity and performance in individual, team, and organisational settings by creating positive behavioural change aligned to corporate strategy, vision and purpose.
Ali is committed to creating people-focused business growth and has extensive experience working in local, national, and global industry sectors to enable leadership capability, change effectiveness, and sustainable organisational transformations.
Since establishing Metisphere in 2010, Dr. Burston has been one of Australia’s leading advocates for gender diversity and mental health interventions in the energy, construction, and resources sectors. Dr. Burston is a member of Curtin University’s Gender Research Network Advisory Group.
Ali was a founding board member and currently serves as Vice President for the not-for-profit group, Society for Industrial and Organisational Psychology Australia (‘SIOPA’). Ali has been nominated and won numerous industry, research, and professional awards throughout her career. More recently, Ali was a Finalist for Business News 40Under40 Awards and a Finalist for the Chamber of Minerals and Energy Western Australia “Outstanding Woman in Resources Award” 2020.
Ali is a devoted mother to her two sports-loving sons and a loving wife to her aviation-loving husband. Recently, the Burston family welcomed a new puppy called Lily who wakes too early in the morning and chews on too many shoes!
Janna is a passionate organisational development professional committed to supporting others to live their most fulfilled lives.
With a background in leadership development, team building, cultural transformation, behavioural safety, FIFO and over a decade of experience in the mining industry; she has the innate ability to translate what may seem like heavy behavioural science backed content into context and language that is relevant and meaningful and engaging to the various layers of leadership.
Janna is a Leadership Circle Consultant and Leadership Maturity Developmental Coach who values taking a top-down approach to leadership transformation and is dedicated to leading clearly and authentically.
Outside of work Janna enjoys a coastal life with her husband, three children, their fur babies, and the time to be creative. Having studied a master of design in Milan and utilising the time off that FIFO life provides to backstage manage the big 4 fashion weeks globally. She currently shows under her own name in Australia, New Zealand and Dubai.
Johan has a PhD in organisational psychology and is an experienced People and Culture leader with multi-national experience in leading Talent Acquisition, Talent Management, Organisational Development, and Diversity and Inclusion teams. He supports organisations to translate their strategic requirements into people requirements.
Before joining Metisphere, he held senior Human Resources and Organisational Development positions at Barclays and The University of Western Australia (UWA). During Johan’s tenure at Barclays, he was responsible for implementing people initiatives that enabled 30,000 employees to serve 10 million customers across 12 countries. He later joined UWA where he worked closely with the university’s executive team to implement people initiatives that contributed to the university remaining in the top 100 universities in the world (QS World University Rankings).
He is passionate about initiatives that create dynamic work environments that leads to higher performance and wellbeing, and greater employee engagement. His core values resonate with the values espoused by Metisphere. More specifically, three values that stands out for him are being curious in the way we think, being courageous in the way we make decisions, and having an unwavering determination to create a sense of belonging for all.
Johan and his wife have a son who is a soccer enthusiast. As a family, they enjoy the beautiful Perth beaches, bike trails and taking their little dog to the park for a walk. The Nel family is expecting their newest member to arrive in December 2022.
Melanie has over 25 years as an experienced organisational development consultant and psychologist. Her focus is on enhancing leadership and organisational capabilities to ensure high performance and effectiveness. She collaborates with teams to deliver high performance outcomes, to challenge mindsets and uses evidenced based methodologies and approaches.
Melanie has worked across a range of industries including oil and gas, mining, energy, IT, finance, government, defence, utilities and not-for-profit. Working in hgh reliability organisations and first responders has been a focus of Melanie’s practice.
She has also worked previously full-time and part-time as a lecturer on the Masters of Organisational Psychology at Murdoch University where she had a focus on safety systems, work and well-being, managing workplace mental health and psychosocial risks.
Melanie has worked internationally in international development and provided leadership development, performance and training expertise to the Australia/Fiji Law and Justice Sector Program (2.5yrs), Regional Assistant Mission to the Solomon Islands (1yr) and Organisational Development and Change of the Public Service in Bhutan. Her focus was on capacity building leaders and local HR practitioners to improve their organisations and communities.
Melanie has over 20 years working as a military psychologist (reserve) with over 12 years in Special Operations. She provides expert advice on selection and training in mission critical teams and has developed a leadership framework, bespoke 360 degree feedback process and coaching programs for leaders in Special Operations.
Nikki has a passion for human-centred solutions, bringing strong empathy and understanding to her work for all facets of an organisation. She is a creative and authentic professional who believes work should be an intrinsically meaningful and engaging experience that helps people to increase their sense of connectedness.
Nikki brings experience in business transformation, organisational development, leadership and coaching, with a keen interest in driving high performance through organisational culture, team effectiveness and inclusive leadership. She has worked in traditional and progressive organisational structures, delivering programs across both the not-for-profit and resources industries.
Nikki is experienced in workshop facilitation and coaching with audiences ranging from front line to executive level leaders. She finds the opportunity to build strong professional relationships and engagement with people highly energising.
Nikki holds Bachelor’s degrees in both Psychology and Human Resource Management and is certified in Change Management and Executive and Organisational Coaching.
In her spare, time Nikki enjoys going on outdoor adventures with her energertic American Staffy and spending quality time with friends and family. She has an ever-expanding wine collection and loves to immerse herself in different cultures and perspectives while travelling.
Alasdair is an experienced learning and development professional and has led the training and development function in major multinational oil and gas and mining companies in Australia for over 20 years. In these roles Alasdair has developed and delivered many talent, organisational development and leadership development programs. Alasdair is an organisational development specialist, confident and skilled facilitator and accredited in the use of many diagnostic profiling tools.
Alasdair Holds a PhD in chemistry and a degree in business management and has enjoyed a career that started in the academic world with a successful transition into the mining and oil and gas worlds in the early 2000’s.
Outside of work Alasdair enjoys playing guitar, keyboards, composing music in his own studio and spending time at home with friends and family.
Janet has over 30 years experience in the oil/gas, mining and power generation industries where she has held HR leadership roles in HR operations, talent management, organizational development, leadership development, mentoring, and diversity and inclusion. She has developed and implemented national and global leadership development and talent programs to support client’s business transformation strategies. Janet is also an experienced change management specialist and supported the change function for various IT systems and business transformation projects.
Janet is a skilled facilitator, qualified coach, and is accredited in the use of various diagnostic profiling tools.
Janet holds master’s degrees in both Business Management and Organizational Communication, and coaching certification from Fielding Graduate School. As an all-round HR professional – Janet’s primary expertise and passion is coaching and supporting leaders. Her many years in the ‘field’ have honed her experience and reinforced the importance of leaders finding of healthy balance between performance excellence and the well being of individuals, their teams’ and the organization as a whole. Her experience aligns well with Metisphere’s values, Specifically, the three values that stand out for Janet are, creating a sense of belonging, being curious about the way we think and being courageous in the decisions we make.
Janet currently resides in Fernie, British Columbia, Canada, which is a four seasons playground for outdoor enthusiasts. With her partner Kim and their golden retriever, Roxy, they enjoy mountain biking, hiking, golfing, skiing and even biking on fat bikes in the winter snow!
Justin served in the military for twenty-eight years, with twenty years in UK/Australian Special Forces. He is passionate about developing high performing individuals and teams, which he achieves by combining lessons learnt from his vast operational and leadership experience with a diverse academic background. Justin’s personal goal is to enable leaders to competently and confidently represent themselves and their organisations in the development of high performing teams.
Justin has extensive experience coaching, mentoring and training national and international military and security service personnel. He has been the Senior Instructor of Special Operations Commanders’ Courses, and the Recruitment and Selection Officer for UK and Australian Special Forces.
Justin has successfully transferred this experience into the corporate world as a leadership coach for executive and frontline leaders in the Resources Industry, the Defence Force, and sporting organisations.
Justin holds a Master of Business, UNSW; MSc Security and Risk Management, Uni of Leicester, UK and is certified on CMI L5 Management Coaching and Mentoring, L5 Dip Workplace Health and Safety, L5 Dip Management and Leadership, Cert IV Training and Assessment.
Charmaine is people-oriented professional with 15 years of experience spanning diverse industries and human resource elements including talent acquisition, learning and development, leadership development, workforce planning, and operational delivery. With a special interest in people, culture, and leadership development, Charmaine thrives when she works with organisations to maximise strategic and operational human resource outcomes and supports the alignment of business frameworks and priorities.
She has an education in Coaching and brings energy, authenticity, and insight to coaching sessions creating a genuine connection and gaining a deeper understanding of issues and concerns experienced by her coachees.
I have my son, Jack, to thank for lighting that spark within me to pursue my passions and live my best life. Because of the opportunity I have in my role to connect with people over things that make us human, vulnerable, and imperfect, I am motivated to help others realise their full potential and make the most of opportunities that come their way. In my spare time, I enjoy sailing, exploring new places, learning new things, practising yoga, being in nature with my dog, and having fun with friends and family!
With a background in social work, where she worked with vulnerable populations in South Africa, and a Master of Business Leadership degree, Monica is deeply committed to empowering leaders with the skills to empower their teams, foster creativity, and drive exceptional performance.
Her work spans various industries, including mining, oil and gas, renewable energy, government, education, health, aged-care, not-for-profit sectors and First Nations organisations and communities. Monica’s roles as a leadership coach, facilitator, consultant, and strategist have equipped her with the tools to help leaders discover their purpose, enhance resilience, and boost confidence to catalyse transformative change within their teams and organisations.
Monica’s collaborative approach is focused on shaping and implementing agile, pragmatic strategies and solutions. She is dedicated to cultivating a safe and healthy workplace culture, instilling the confidence to face challenges head-on, the courage to embrace change, and the resilience to keep moving forward. She has successful coaching partnerships for the design and delivery of executive to front line programs assessments, coaching and mentoring services, with leadership teams in state agencies, listed and private organisations.
Having extensive Human Resource Management & Organisational Development experience in complex settings, Monica specialises in transformational change for individuals, teams and organisations, deep facilitation of groups to create change and helping people have the conversations that really matter!
Monica is a member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and is a volunteer speaker curator for TEDx Kings Park
Kristie is a passionate and details-orientated project support specialist. She thrives on creating best practice, continuous improvement, and procedures to maximize project effectiveness. Kristie is an organized multi-tasker with a people-centric nature that enables efficiency and reliability for the greater team.
She has extensive experience working within the retail sector specializing in Team Member and Leadership Learning and Development facilitation and workshop development, Retail Leadership, Talent Acquisition, Accounts, Procurement and Business Improvement.
Kristie has qualifications in Human Resource Management, Training and Assessment, Business Management, and Organisational Coaching.
Outside the professional workplace Kristie enjoys spending time at her local beach and coastal surrounds. Her husband and young son keep her busy and constantly on her toes; the beach is her favourite place to relax and recharge, walk, swim or run. Maintaining strong connections with her family and friends is also important. Kristie enjoys experiencing new places, restaurants, and wineries, taking trips to southern Western Australia regularly to enjoy all that the region has to offer.
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Suite 30, 145 Stirling Highway
Nedlands, Western Australia 6009
Third Floor, 14505 Bannister Road SE, Calgary, Alberta, T2W3J3
+61 468 308 818