That’s a Wrap on 2024! Some of Our Highlights.
by Mathilde Wennevold
The end of the year approaches with quick strides, and it’s been another great year for the books here at Clear Horizon, full of learning, growth, complexity, and new and old faces. The biggest strength of Clear Horizon is by far our people, and what better way to wrap up the year than to ask our colleagues how the year gone by has treated them! So we asked our colleagues from across the company to tell us about what stood out to them in 2024, what they’re excited about looking ahead, and who inspired them. Here’s what they said!
Some of the Clear Horizon staff at the AES24 conference!
Anna Strempel
Lead Principal Consultant Anna Strempel has been with Clear Horizon for 4 years and is part of the Sustainable Futures team! She’s based in Melbourne and is passionate about facilitating positive change, particularly enjoying that aspect of MEL work. When not at work, Anna can be found riding her bike, spending time with her daughter, or hosting the occasional radio program.
Hey Anna, what’s a project you worked on this year that makes you feel proud?
I was rapt to continue our work with the Australian Environmental Grantmakers Network as they build a MEL culture within the organisation.
AEGN is an inspiring organisation that does vital work to increase the amount and impact of philanthropic funding for the environment. They’ve grown substantially over the past few years and set some ambitious targets, and they recognised the need to boost their measurement, evaluation and learning capacity to support that growth.
We previously supported the AEGN team to develop a whole-of-org theory of change and MEL framework, and this year I was invited back to facilitate their annual reflection workshop. Implementing a MEL framework is a journey, and the AEGN is in the early stages; I really appreciated the opportunity to spend a couple of days with the team and hear about what’s been working, what’s been challenging, and what they’re planning to do next. They’ve set up a working group to take their MEL forward, and I can’t wait to hear how that goes.
The AEGN team is an impressive and insightful group of people, and I’ve learnt a lot working alongside them—particularly about the power of member-led networks and the immense potential of the philanthropic sector to tackle system-level challenges.
Erin Davis
Erin Davis is based in Sunbury, Victoria, on Wurundjeri Country, and joined Clear Horizon in March 2024. She specialises in gender-based violence, gender equality, and health equity, and brings her wealth of experience to the Social Impact team. When not at work, Erin enjoys arts and cultural events, travelling, or spending time in nature on a hike.
Who or what inspired you the most this year professionally, and why?
This year, I’ve been incredibly inspired by the leadership of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander evaluators.
Their work integrates thousands of years of cultural understanding and shows how evaluation can be part of everyday life rather than a purely technical, scientific process. At the AES conference, June Oscar’s keynote set a powerful tone, emphasising the importance of centring First Nations’ ways of knowing, especially in listening to solutions from the lived experience and knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls and women.
If you could sum up 2024 in one word or phrase, what would it be, and why?
If I had to sum up my 2024 in one phrase, it would be “massive change.” This year has been transformative for me in many ways. Professionally, I left my role at the University of Melbourne, which was a difficult decision after several years working with wonderful colleagues in the School of Population and Global Health. It’s been heartening to join Clear Horizon and find incredible opportunities and a fantastic team in Social Impact. On a personal level, I also moved houses, which involved the intense process of buying and selling a home. It’s been challenging but rewarding, and I feel incredibly fortunate to have had these opportunities for growth and change.
Shani Rajendra
Shani Rajendra is a Principal Consultant and Head of Business Group, and is based in Melbourne on Wurundjeri Land. She’s been with Clear Horizon for over 6 years and is heading some incredible work in the Social Impact team! She is most passionate about community-led change and is committed to supporting people to shift the systems that they are within.
Hey Shani, what project did you work on this year that made you proud, and why?
Probably the Parents as Partners project, where we co-designed a theory of change and service blueprint for a new peer-to-peer service supporting children and families at risk of engaging with the Child Protection Services (CPS).
I am proud of it because it was an incredibly deep and immersive process. Across one month, I got to meet in person with and walk alongside lived experts (of the CPS) and the incredible Carla from The Australian Centre for Social Innovation (TACSI).
What’s something fun or surprising that your team or colleague did this year that brought joy to your workday?
This year, one of our wonderful colleagues (who will remain unnamed) opened my eyes to the world of “cat tablets”, and that’s all I can think about. An iPad for cats with features (such as games) designed specifically for cats… is this digital transformation at its best?
Maree Dibella
Maree Dibella is a consultant in our Sustainable Futures team. She’s based in Naarm (Melbourne) and has been with Clear Horizon for one year, creating beautiful dashboards and clever data solutions. When she’s not at work, Maree likes exploring on her feet; by trail running or multi-day hikes, as well as eating all the carbs to support such pursuits.
What have you learned or achieved this year that you’ll carry into 2025?
I levelled up my capabilities to create robust star schema data models that sit behind the dashboards I develop.
As new project team members work on the dashboard or new or updated data comes into it, it’s easier to understand how everything’s connected with less reconnection or remodelling needed. I’ve also learned some great prompt engineering using AI to assist me with debugging and troubleshooting in DAX, the language used to write complex formulas and expressions.
What’s something fun or surprising that your team or colleague did this year that brought joy to your workday?
My team spent a team-building afternoon in the glorious sunshine at the Botanical Gardens. It brought me so much joy to connect in real life with some of my remote-based colleagues, who are usually based in Fiji, Brisbane, and Newcastle. We shared our goals in a circle on a picnic blanket rather than online, then played frisbee.
Rob Hunt
Rob Hunt is the Tech Lead at Clear Horizon and has been building smart digital solutions and putting out fires for three nearly four years. Based in Melbourne, Rob is part of our digital team, and when he’s not at work, he’s likely catching a gig or scuba diving somewhere colourful.
Hey Rob, do you have a personal goal for the new year, either in or outside of work?
I’m trying to remind myself that aside from writing code, I also have the ability to select (in this instance) as many as 37 words of the English language and arrange them into occasionally readable sentence-like structures.
Not that you’d be able to tell from this answer. Wait, is 37 a word?
What’s a book, podcast, or show you enjoyed this year that you’d recommend to others?
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez story. I still have two episodes to go, but thus far, it’s way more entertaining than I expected. And very dark. I mean, obviously, because of what it’s based on, but also in ways I hadn’t anticipated. In many respects, it reminds me of Succession: pretty much every character is loathsome but somehow ridiculously compelling. And from a very technical point of view, the people who are pretending to be other people (“actors”) do a very good job of pretending to be other people (“acting”).
Eugene Liston
Eugene Liston is a Senior Consultant in our Social Impact team. Based in Melbourne (Naarm), he’s been creating real impact with us for nearly three years. Outside of work, Eugene loves embarking on ambitious projects in the kitchen which, while not always successful, are always a great time.
Who or what inspired you the most this year professionally, and why?
This year, I’ve been fortunate to work alongside some incredibly talented evaluators, who’ve been a constant source of inspiration and learning.
A highlight has been traveling with my colleagues, Zoe Enticott and Kate McKegg, as part of the Developmental Evaluation of the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care’s Regional Stewardship of Aged Care initiative.
Working closely with them has been a masterclass in navigating the complexities of Developmental Evaluation. I’ve not only gained hands-on experience in areas like workshop facilitation, rubric design, and qualitative data analysis but also grown more comfortable with the realities of this approach—embracing uncertainty and working without a neat, predefined evaluation plan. Their expertise and collaborative approach have sharpened my technical skills and deepened my appreciation for the adaptive nature of evaluation. It’s been a rewarding and eye-opening journey that I’m excited to build on in the year ahead.
What’s a book, podcast, or show you enjoyed this year that you’d recommend to your colleagues?
This year I’ve been making my way through Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. It can be excruciatingly detailed at times but it’s a great combination of history and fiction. I set myself a goal to finish it this year, and ended up only getting about a third of the way through it!
Yuanita Moore
Yuanita Moore is our Communications Designer and a pillar of the marketing team. She’s based in Naarm/Melbourne and has been with us for nearly five years! With her creative problem-solving skills and graphic design wizardry, she works with teams and on projects across the company! A creative thinker who is always on the hunt for new challenges, new technologies, and new places to eat spicy food.
Hey Yuanita, who or what inspired you the most this year professionally, and why?
Working with a collaborative and creative marketing team has taught me the art of co-creation.
It’s not just about bouncing ideas around; it’s about building on each other’s energy, challenging assumptions, and knowing when to let a spark of inspiration lead the way. This team reminded me that the best ideas often come when everyone feels heard and valued. Even when there were disagreements (and trust me, we had our fair share), there was this unspoken agreement that the best ideas win—not egos. It wasn’t just about producing great work (though we did plenty of that); it was about genuinely enjoying the process and each other’s company along the way.
The Marketing Team: Yuanita Moore, Giovanni Ferrante, Kaylie Burrows, Mathilde Wennevold
What’s something fun or surprising that your team or colleague did this year that brought joy to your workday?
From big bursts of creativity during brainstorms to spontaneous coffee breaks filled with sweet treats, my teammates never fail to bring lightness to the day. What I love most about this team is how playful creativity can be. Meetings weren’t just meetings; they were mini workshops where wild ideas and laughter flowed freely. Another highlight? Asking ChatGPT to roast our team members:
Giovanni: Always talking about KPIs and “next-level strategy” but somehow spends more time perfecting their homemade limoncello than the campaign timelines
Mathilde: They live for “storytelling,” but their idea of research is scrolling TikTok and calling it “trend analysis.”
Yuanita: They believe every project needs a “brand narrative,” but they’re really just hoping you don’t notice they recycled the same icons from the last three pitches.
Kaylie: The glue holding everything together… or at least the person who spends 80% of their day reminding the team what they should’ve done yesterday.
Ethel Karskens
Ethel Karskens is the Data & Insights Lead and has been leading the digital transformation of Clear Horizon for over three years. She’s passionate about using data and tech for social good, and when she’s not at work she also teaches analytics at General Assembly, likes to surf and to travel. She’s currently based in Europe, spending time with her friends and family in Belgium.
What’s a project you worked on this year that made you feel proud, and why?
This year, I am particularly proud of the outstanding work accomplished by the Data & Insights team.
Each member not only developed incredible digital and data skills through their individual projects but also actively supported one another. Together, they played a crucial role in supporting Clear Horizon’s digital transformation. Their collaboration and dedication were truly inspiring and a highlight of the year for me.
As the holidays approach, what do you look forward to doing with family or friends?
While the weather won’t be as warm as in Melbourne, I am looking forward to spending time with my family in Brussels, eating Speculoos, and watching the movie Elf.
Montana McGrath
Montana is one of our newest members of the Clear Horizon team, but she has already made the role of Business Support Officer her own. Based in Melbourne, Montana is part of the Operations team and helps ensure the wheels turn smoothly day to day. She is passionate about creating meaningful connections, fairness and equality and is committed to promoting these principles in all aspects of her work and life.
What have you learned or achieved this year that you’ll carry into 2025?
The knowledge and skills I’ve learned this year are consistent with being true to myself, prioritising health and wellness, setting boundaries/expectations, and, most importantly, creating meaningful connections.
What’s a book, podcast, or show you enjoyed this year that you’d recommend to your colleagues?
This year, I have struggled to find time and space to enjoy books, but I have instead found a podcast to keep me entertained and educated. A single podcast, “She’s on the Money,” provided very real and relevant finance tips and tricks for all stages of life, along with a laugh and many fun facts. I’d highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys keeping their brain going by learning in digestible form.
Alex McDiarmid
Alex McDiarmid is a Customer Support Specialist in the Digital team here at Clear Horizon. He works across the Academy and Track to Change. He’s based in Melbourne and has been with us for one year! When he’s not at work, he’s likely playing an obscure board game with friends, or doing calisthenics.
Hey Alex, who or what inspired you the most this year professionally, and why?
I’m always a big fan of Rob and his work.
The Digital team has undergone a fair amount of transformation this year, and he’s always continued to deliver amazing developments to Track to Change and back-end coding wizardry that makes my head spin – all with a great sense of humour.
