“

I worked with Mirela over the 12 months that I was CEO of Whitelion Youth Agency, as we progressed towards a merger with Kids First Australia. Mirela was appointed as a special project consultant as part of the Whitelion Strategic Plan which had a focus on innovation and strategic business development. Mirela’s focus on strategy, innovation and a rigorous approach to program development provided the springboard to Whitelion services that was required. While many strategy consultants see their role as merely to generate ideas, Mirela has a real ‘hands on’ approach, working effectively with the teams to implement and operationalise a range of innovations and new services. This approach was widely supported by the teams she worked with and was critical to effective change management and adoption of new practice. In addition, Mirela’s personal style is supportive and open yet focused on results, contributing to a culture of trust and achievement which was highly regarded across the organisation.

Peter RuzylaCEO | Whitelion Youth

“

Mirela has been embedded in our team, bringing much-needed additional capacity at a time when our internal resources were stretched too thinly to be able to progress a number of critical areas of our work. Mirela helped us optimise the way we use the systems that we had set up only partly and needed further refining. We also had two projects that needed an injection of additional resources in the short term, and Mirela was able to step into the fray with professionalism and good humour. Mirela has been able to immerse herself in the team, identify and explore pain points and devise solutions that will stand us in good stead as we continue to grow and evolve. I would be pleased to engage Mirela again for project delivery and business development work.

Alison CoughlanManager | Health Voices Victoria, Institute for Health Transformation

“

We have worked with Mirela throughout 2025 where she has facilitated our team of 20+ lovely humans in a couple of ‘all together days’. These days are time for us to connect and undertake strategy, planning and reflection outside the office. Mirela has been incredibly flexible with her support of us to meet our need and help guide our team. She has provided timely and detailed options for us to consider regarding activities or formats to explore particular topics. She is agile in her delivery and able to pivot easily when unexpected things arise (as they always do). She has a broad knowledge base in innovation and strategy which is incredibly useful in providing guidance to us in the planning stage. Personally, she is a delightful and interesting human being and I enjoy working with her.

Dr Trina HinkleyAssociate Director, Systems Impact | The Centre for Community Child Health

“

Working with Mirela Matthews is an absolute joy.
Mirela effortlessly adjusts her approach to suit the situation, using enquiry and creative curiosity to help teams generate solutions. She helps maintain laser focus without allowing projects to become laborious, chunking them down to manageable steps and guiding the team to achieve their goals.
Mirela uses contemporary and innovative methods and brings her authentic self. She is equally able to provide strategic thinking as operational support and she seamlessly switches between coach and mentor to benefit her clients.
Mirela has helped our organisation to stretch, grow and achieve our objectives. Thank you Mirela!

Jacqui SimeoHead of Partnering and Programs | Community Aged Care | Jewish Care Victoria