ABOUT US

 

OUR WORK

Our vision is to empower First Nations peoples to care for Country, restore community and revive culture. We achieve this through creating a safe space in between two worlds to share and learn with the aim to decolonise built environment systems.

This is supported by enabling our clients to develop empathy through meaningful education and project support to build confidence in working with Country, community and culture. We are committed to building First Nations capacity to engage with the built environment industry and achieve their aspirations for future generations.

Our founder and director, Elle Davidson with her parents Peter Birch-Marshall and Sue Davidson at Zion Engagement and Planning training launch held during NAIDOC week, November 2021.

Photo credit:

OneTime Productions

 

CULTURAL FRAMEWORK

Our team acknowledges and pay our respect to our diverse cultural mentors and experiences who have shaped our individual cultural identities. We understand that this has informed us as professionals to develop the Zion Engagement and Planning Cultural Framework.

Our cultural framework captures our practices, value systems, protocols, beliefs, activities and symbols within our organisation. At Zion Engagement and Planning we are aware that we bring our individual own cultural identities and experiences with us, and this influences the way we do business. We are aware that Zion’s Cultural Framework is shaped by First Nations cultural frameworks and as an organisation, we celebrate and draw strength from this in our work to achieve our goals.

Our Cultural Framework embodies the principles that guide us and the parameters we negotiate within. It outlines how we embody cultural safety in the work we do while acknowledging that we are working within a mainstream system. It is the culture of our organisation and defines how we operate. Core to our Cultural Framework are the following values:

Respect, Protocols, Transparency and Authenticity, Interconnectivity and Relationships.

 

  • Empowering and elevating First Nations people through advocacy in seeking more seats at the table and decolonising the system.

  • Increasing weight and authority of custodian voices and facilitating participation in the planning system.

  • Valuing relationships and collective strengths-based approach through supportive, flexible, kind and genuine ways of working.

  • Committed to two way knowledge exchange based on reciprocity through deep dialogue and a commitment to yarning and listening.

  • Committed to providing safe spaces to make systemic changes and inclusive of First Nations voices from different stakeholders.

 
 

OUR TEAM

We're an eclectic mix of people with similar and shared stories, backgrounds and connections, committed to delivering a First Nations perspective to built environment professionals. We enjoy laughing together whilst also supporting each other to create a culturally safe work environment.

 

TEAM PROFILES

 

Elle Davidson

Director | Trainer | Consultant

Driven. Innovative. Pioneer. 

A Balanggarra woman from the East Kimberley and descendant of Captain William Bligh, Elle Davidson describes herself as being caught in the cross-winds of Australia’s history. Elle is also an Aboriginal Planning Lecturer at the University of Sydney.

With a passion to empower the voices of First Nations People, Elle combines her Town Planning and Indigenous Engagement qualifications to navigate between two worlds. Elle uses her planning and engagement skills to facilitate a co-design process that leads to culturally informed outcomes.

Elle has worked with various Local Governments for seven years building experience in development assessment, strategic planning, and policy, urban design, and engagement. To diversify her skill set and focus on community outcomes, Elle then moved into a large consulting firm for five years.

Elle now works closely with her clients through Zion Engagement and Planning to develop bespoke engagement plans and assist in building relationships with community.

 

Krysta Briffa

Director | Business Manager

Authentic. Intentional. Kind.

Krysta and her family reside on Bundjalung Country. Her appreciation of Country is strong and she was raised to have a healthy respect for Country through her native-American Godfather and her best friend Elle, a Balanggarra woman. Through her work with Zion, Krysta’s relationship with Country and place has only been strengthened.

Ever broadening her concepts of what Country, community and culture looks like, She is committed to the advocacy of broader cultural sensitivity and challenging any social bias born from our Western constructs.

Krysta has a vast background in business and event management as well as administration. From developing systems to enhance business productivity, strategy and planning, legal and accounting, organisation and coordination of people, teams, events and businesses and management of training programs. She is multifaceted in her talents and keeps the operation of Zion Engagement and Planning running smoothly.

 

Jade Holland

Design | Business Support | Consultant

Creative. Genuine. Dedicated.

Jade is a Wiradjuri and Gomeroi woman, who grew up on Bundjalung Country. She is committed to developing her cultural knowledge to support First Nations communities through increased visual representation, empowering voices and creating better balance in the public domain.

Jade is a creative of many years and is a contemporary artist who uses numerous mediums such as paint, photography, textiles and digital design to convey storytelling. Illustrating Country inspired pieces is her current personal project. She has been working as a qualified Graphic Designer for several years, predominantly in the corporate and print sectors. Jade has worked on First Nations design projects pertaining to training.

 

Deb McCall

Trainer | Consultant

Caring. Energetic. Collaborative.

A proud descendant of the Worimi Nation and now living on Country, Debbie has spent many years raising her family while living and working with First Nations communities on Dharawal Country. With her passion for community engagement, Debbie works with Traditional Custodians, knowledge holders and broader First Nations communities to elevate their voices to embed consideration and deep respect for Country and Culture across the wider community, within the built environment.

Debbie has worked in sector and community development, policy and strategic development within Local Government for the past 15 years, as well as previous roles in Federal and State Government across a range of projects and developments.

She has advocated for and supported First Nations representation within organisational processes and across the public domain in the Campbelltown Local Government Area, and through active participation in boards, advisory committees and working groups.

 
 
 

OUR VISUAL BRAND

At Zion Engagement and Planning, our visual branding is created by First Nations artists. We aim to create beautiful bespoke designs that enhance our projects and general work in the training and built environment industries. We acknowledge and value the importance of First Nations visual representation in the broader community and support its ability to promote, educate, celebrate and welcome.

Tyrown Waigana is a young Noongar man from South West Western Australia and is connected to Saibai Island in the Torres Strait who designed our Zion logo. Director of Crawlin Crocodile, he is an artist that specialises in painting, illustration, sculpture, animation and graphic design. Tyrown was the winner of the 2020 prestigious NAIDOC poster competition.

The Zion colours have been drawn from the Kimberly where our Director Elle is culturally connected, which inspires our visual brand. Tyrown developed our logo in partnership with Elle, and our whole style guide centres around these colours and our logo.

Jade Holland is a Wiradjuri and Gomeroi woman and leads graphic and marketing at Zion Engagement and Planning. She has developed Zion’s branding manual that is applied across all of our assets. We work to incorporate a First Nations cultural aesthetic that reflects our connection to Country and culture. Jade takes inspiration from Country and uses this to illustrate our graphics, assets and marketing collateral, including our social media and website. She also develops bespoke infographics for project work to help share stories.

Coedie McCarthy is a Yidinji and Bar-barrum Man of tropical North Queensland. He is a collaborative and multidisciplinary artist who uses his talents to create through the mediums of music, dance, poetry, and videography - and is known as ‘The Boy of many colours’. Coedie is the director of Onetime Productions and has been instrumental in creating our beautiful training videos and photography, which reflect a First Nations perspective of Country and culture throughout all of Zions branding.