life sport journey

What people are saying

"We were eager to engage an external voice to ensure an objective and structured approach to our strategic planning process. Having Nikki allowed us to manage relationships more effectively, maintain focus, and ensure that all stakeholders were heard; she kept us on task, created space for productive conversations, and helped drive clarity and consensus. The result is a clear, well-structured strategic plan with broad stakeholder buy-in. The process not only produced a practical and actionable roadmap for IGSSA but also strengthened our shared understanding of priorities and opportunities across member schools. Nikki brought structure and momentum, helping us stay accountable to timelines. We valued Nikki’s professionalism and presence throughout the process and her help in setting a strong foundation for IGSSA’s next chapter." -- Kate Harkness, EO, Independent Girls Schools Sports Association

"We wanted a consultant who could bring fresh insights to our Club Support Program, assess our approach, and provide evidence-based recommendations to support the evolution of the program. Nikki helped us gain a clear, structured understanding of the program's strengths, areas for improvement, and overall impact. Her analysis and facilitation helped distil diverse stakeholder perspectives into actionable insights. Nikki's ability to actively listen, synthesise, and summarise feedback from a diverse group of stakeholders was outstanding. She created an environment where everyone felt heard and valued, and her summaries captured the essence of complex discussions with clarity. We also appreciated the consistency of Nikki's communication - regular check-ins and weekly project updates ensured the process stayed on track and everyone remained informed and aligned." -- Chris Evans, General Manager - Participation & Programs, Bowls Australia

"Badminton Australia engaged Nikki to assist us with the development of our new Strategic Plan. Nikki did the heavy lifting for us - unpack  key opportunities and challenges for our sport and organisation, collate stakeholder feedback, and make sense of it. She made it easy for us to digest the information and determine what was relevant, also guiding and facilitating meetings with staff and board. We value Nikki’s openness, her ability to organise us as a group and keep things on track. She is easy to communicate with and very flexible. We are grateful for Nikki’s assistance, it has been a pleasure working with her." -- TJ Weistra, CEO, Badminton Australia

"When engaging a consultant for our Officials Recruitment & Retention Strategy, we identified independence was important. Nikki was super organised and clear about what she would do and the outcomes we would get - she more than lived up to her commitments. The end result is a pragmatic action plan that our Officials Working Group can understand easily and get to work on. The Strategy avoids jargon, providing simple, straightforward steps. We will certainly look to engage Nikki in future projects." -- Matt Duck, CEO, Athletics Victoria

"Nikki absolutely nailed her presentation at the World Curling Congress on the Gold Coast! Her sessions on how to harness the power of the Olympics to grow curling in our countries was fresh, engaging, and full of practical takeaways. Nikki has a gift for making complex ideas feel exciting and achievable – she had all 120 delegates buzzing. Her professionalism and genuine passion for the sport shone through from start to finish. It set the bar high for the rest of the Congress and we’re so grateful for the inspiration and direction she shared with the curling family.” -- Kim Forge, Vice President, World Curling

"Nikki has been a huge contributor to delivery of Sport Development initiatives for Swimming Victoria. Nikki’s understanding of community sport and her collaboration with our clubs on their strategic planning, policies, processes and governance has made a difference to the future of swimming. We've alsoworked with Nikki on the development and launch of our Women & Girls Action plan that has set us up to elevate and progress all women and girls in sport." -- Clare Burton, Sport Development Manager, Swimming Victoria

"With significant changes to our business, complexity and scale of our Association, and the outcomes produced when working with Nikki previously, our Board wanted to ensure we were guided by an expert. The result is a Strategic Plan that sets FDNA up to successfully transition into its added facility manager role. Nikki helped the Board resolve the question of purpose and identity and clarify how to balance multiple and sometimes competing objectives. Nikki's ability to take in a volume of feedback and information, present that work back in a succinct and articulate way, helped us ‘see the woods for the trees.’ I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Nikki to organisations who understand the purpose of a strategic plan and the value of investing meaningfully in this work. Nikki understands sport, particularly elite sport, and is a champion for women and girls. THANK YOU, Nikki!’’  -- Miranda Castles, GM, Frankston District Netball Association

"I had the pleasure of working with Nikki on Netball Victoria's 2022 Leadership Series, where we collaborated on a vision to 'Build the capacity of our netball community and empower them to become inspirational leaders.' Nikki was the facilitator for all three sessions. In each session, her reflection pieces were invaluable and her ability to bring out presenters' stories was a highlight. Nikki also presented on her athlete leadership experiences at the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games as Yanqing Village Manager - truly inspirational and insightful." -- Shelley Haynes, Facilities & Infrastructure Manager, Netball Victoria

"Nikki brought great clarity and perspective to the complex process of reviewing co-curricular sport at a highly successful independent co-educational school. Her sporting background coupled with her emotional intelligence made it a pleasure to work with her. We're now using the review to inform our strategic planning and future directions." -- Simon Shepherd, Principal, Westminster School Adelaide

“Nikki managed to succinctly analyse the problem that Monash University wished to solve, pull together a coherent outline and project process from many disparate sources of information, convene individuals with a wide range of interests into a focused process - the end result being an outcome that will form the template for future action. All done on time and budget, and with a smile!” -- Martin Doulton, Director Monash University Sport

“Nikki helped structure a best practice approach to administering our soccer club at both Strategic and operational levels. Her thorough understanding and appreciation for Maccabi as an institution was supported by Nikki’s extensive experience in sports consultation. Our new Strategic Plan will be a guide document ensuring our best effort of sustainable services for the community. We are most grateful for Nikki’s input and collaborative approach to our project." -- Greg Hurvitz, Integrity Officer, Maccabi Football Club Caulfield

"Nikki undertook a comprehensive strategic planning project for GSC. She gave us an objective professional perspective. assisting us in preparing the club for the future. Nikki helped us achieve significant results in a short period of time - the member survey got us thinking and acting quickly, particularly on communication. Our new strategic plan provides direction on a wide range of growth areas, helping set us up for the future. Nikki is very thorough, always providing detailed information in a timely manner. Most impressive to us was her ability to hear all opinions in a large group and weave them into strategy. We absolutely recommend Nikki to all our industry peers, she’s the best!" -- Emma Hocking, Vice President, Geelong Swimming Club

"Nikki was instrumental in guiding us from a team with a dream, to one where our dream became a reality. I often sing the praises of Nikki for her mentorship from a small sporting team, into a high performance squad and Olympic team over the course of 3 years. In the face of adversity, Nikki was always in our corner, advocating for what we needed whilst showing strong interest in our lives not only as athletes, but also as people. For what could have had us as deer in headlights on many occasions, Nikki provided support across many avenues to guide us in the right direction." -- Dean Hewitt OLY

"My name is Bree Walker, Australian Bobsleigh Team Pilot. When at the OWIA, Nikki was my liaison - assisting me and my coaches in executing multiple seasons. To have such a motivated, supportive and genuine person helping you to achieve your goals and dreams is exactly what elite athletes need and what Nikki was for me. I trusted Nikki to take over some of the major organisation tasks allowing me to focus on being the best athlete I could be. She also became a major support when she was the manager of our Olympic Village at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. I contribute how smoothly my Olympic campaign ran to how organised and onto everything Nikki was. I hope other athletes and colleagues can benefit from what she brings to the table as much as I did." -- Bree Walker OLY