About Us
A boutique consultancy with more than twenty years in the field
Led by Joel Levin, our skilled team brings deep roots in their respective disciplines. We support organisations and communities through trusted planning and engagement processes, delivering outcomes organisations can stand behind.
Our clients come from across Australia and internationally - government, infrastructure, resources, health, community services and more - and they come back because we deliver what works, even through high-stakes and complex conversations.
Explore Our Past Projects Meet the Team
Are We Capable? You bet.
Review a snapshot of our skills and experience.
MEET THE TEAM
JANELLE EASTHOPE
ENGAGEMENT LEAD
JOEL LEVIN
MANAGING DIRECTOR
WILMARI NEL
SENIOR CONSULTANT (ENGAGEMENT)
HANNAH OGDEN
SENIOR CONSULTANT (COMMUNICATIONS)
JEMMA MOON
SENIOR CONSULTANT
(ENGAGEMENT)
CHARLOTTE GREY
PROJECT SUPPORT
DR HECTOR PALADA
DATA ANALYST
NICOLE SJARDIN
BUSINESS MANAGER
JOEL LEVIN | MANAGING DIRECTOR
Joel brings 30 years of expertise in facilitation, stakeholder engagement and strategic planning across business, not for profit and all tiers of government. With a background in leadership and management in government and the NFP sector, Joel's approach centres on bringing diverse groups together to build awareness, shared understanding and sustainable outcomes.
Joel led the establishment of IAP2 in Western Australia and as a licensed trainer, he has contributed to setting best practice standards across Australia and internationally. He has delivering award-winning deliberative processes and built engagement process that navigated complex and at times competing interest to a shared outcome.
Since founding Aha! Consulting in 2004, his approach to strategy and engagement has been utilised across a vast range of areas from health strategy and human services, community services and recreation planning, Indigenous engagement, urban development, power, renewables and resources sector, access and inclusion planning, and large scale infrastructure projects.
JANELLE EASTHOPE | ENGAGEMENT LEAD
RETURN TO LIST
WILMARI NEL
SENIOR CONSULTANT (ENGAGEMENT)
Wilmari has also managed the community engagement and communications for a large multi-year, roads infrastructure project in Queensland as part of the 2022 Flood Recovery Program which was awarded the 2024 Ian Harrington Collaboration Award by the Queensland Major Contractors Association.
She holds a Master of Business Administration, a Bachelor in Business Management with a double major in Public Relations and Human Resource Management and an IAP2 Certificate of Community Engagement.
HANNAH OGDEN
SENIOR CONSULTANT (COMMUNICATIONS)
Hannah's qualifications included a Bachelor of Arts (Professional and Creative Writing), a Master of Writing, Editing and Publishing, and she presents as a guest lecturer at The University of Queensland on Communication Management and Leadership.
JEMMA MOON
SENIOR CONSULTANT (ENGAGEMENT)
Jemma brings extensive community development and engagement expertise to strategic planning and organisational leadership. Her experience includes developing and implementing comprehensive community development strategies that translate community needs into actionable frameworks across local government, health services and community organisations.
As a change management leader, Jemma has successfully guided teams through organisational transitions while implementing innovative service delivery strategies. Her work has transformed traditional service spaces into vibrant, responsive community centres. Jemma’s experience engaging remote communities to evaluate alternative service delivery models has deepened her understanding of how physical spaces and service models impact community wellbeing across diverse contexts.
DR HECTOR PALADA | DATA ANALYST
Hector brings specialised expertise in research methodology, data analysis and visualisation to support evidence-based decision-making. With a background in psychology and cognitive science, including a PhD from the University of Queensland on mathematical models in decision-making, he has worked across defence, aviation, healthcare and government sectors.
Hector’s skillset includes research and questionnaire design, literature evaluation, exploratory data analysis, statistical and machine learning analyses, data visualisation and interactive dashboard development, and database creation and automation. He values conveying data in meaningful, effective and simple ways, transforming complex datasets into clear insights that drive strategic recommendations.
CHARLOTTE GREY | PROJECT SUPPORT
While completing her university studies in Psychology, Charlotte has been working with Aha! Consulting assisting with pop up engagement, report writing and data analysis.
NICOLE SJARDIN | BUSINESS MANAGER
Nicole is the operational backbone of Aha! Consulting, ensuring seamless project delivery and client satisfaction. With a background in sales, account management and customer services, she maintains the systems and processes that support complex engagement projects and community interactions.
Nicole has previously held roles as showroom manager and state coordinator of a youth charity and is a published cookbook author. Her expertise in event management, customer service and stakeholder coordination ensures that even the most complex engagement projects run smoothly and harmoniously.
