2022 has been an amazing year for Square Circle. A big part of this has been the chance to welcome some talented team members. Meet some of the new faces that have spent the year contributing their talents to the SC team.   

Kim Groves
Senior Project Officer

Kim is a Senior Project Officer in Education and Capacity Development at Square Circle.

Kim works to design and support community of practice projects, including interactive and online educational content. This work is a big part of her contribution to the Mekong-Australia Partnership Capacity Development Program, that supports leadership for social change. With experience in collaborative multidisciplinary research and analysis, Kim also contributes to Square Circle’s research and monitoring, evaluation and learning projects. A recent project in this area was the Global Independent Evaluation of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), where Kim played a lead role coordinating the evaluation team, analysing qualitative data and contributing to evaluation outputs.

Kim holds a Master’s degree in Leadership and Global Development from the University of Queensland. Prior to joining Square Circle, Kim was an Associate Lecturer at the University of Queensland. Her research interests include gender, food security, land rights and leadership in development. Kim has experience working with stakeholders from diverse backgrounds and has managed non-government development programs in Mexico with a focus on community-based education and microfinance.

After work, Kim is often headed to an art show opening. She loves everything art and culture and can lend you a good book.

Shelley Zhao
Senior Consultant

Shelley is a senior consultant in Governance and Social Impact at Square Circle.

Shelley is passionate about delivering equitable, just and sustainable development outcomes for communities. In Zenadth Kes (the Torres Strait) in Australia, Shelley is working alongside Square Circle’s partner, Indigenous To Indigenous (i2i Global), on a Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) process for a proposed program to address the health and biosecurity threats posed by invasive mosquitos. Shelley is also supporting several of Square Circle’s international advisory projects, including the establishment of the Lihir Development Foundation, a charitable community development foundation in Papua New Guinea, initiatives under the Australian Papua New Guinea Economic Partnership, and a World Bank funded project on environmental and social safeguards in Nepal.

Shelley’s role in Square Circle includes stakeholder engagement and communications, policy and process design, strategy development, research and analysis, project management, financial management, and leading business development initiatives including the systemisation of internal systems.

Prior to joining Square Circle, Shelley was a Government and Public Sector consultant at PwC Canberra. Shelley has consulted for both Federal and State Government clients on a wide range of projects relating to public policy and corporate services, including the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, Department of Defence, Defence Community Organisation, Department of Home Affairs, Services Australia, Department of Finance, Department of Health and Victoria State Government’s Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions. Shelley also has several years’ experience working in the Infrastructure Investment Division at the Australian Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts. During her time in the Department, her work related to infrastructure policy and programs and strategic communications.

Shelley has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics/International Relations (Honours) from the Australian National University and she has supported research projects at the ANU Centre for European Studies.

When Shelley isn’t working, you can find her developing her green thumbs in the garden (growing tomatoes is her current gardening passion), bashing some chords on the piano or planning her next bushwalking adventure.

Megan Reid
Project Officer

Megan Reid is a Project Officer in Education and Capacity Development at Square Circle.

As a dedicated communicator, Megan handles the management of online community platforms that promote cross-cultural and multidisciplinary connections and collaboration. Her work in this area features heavily in the Mekong-Australia Partnership Capacity Development Program, where Square Circle has the pleasure of facilitating a multi-year leadership program for the next generation of leaders from the Mekong Region. With a keen eye for organisation, Megan also handles data management, logistics and program organisation for the Education and Capacity team. She’s a firm believer that anything can be solved with an excel spreadsheet!

In her previous roles, Megan has worked in client relations, community engagement, administration and team management across the disability, health and event sectors. She studied International Relations, Business Management and Language at the University of Queensland. Her research interests in critical development perspectives and environmental management have supported her in a variety of sustainable agriculture and environmental regeneration projects in Chile and Australia.

On the weekend, you’ll find Megan outside in the beautiful bushland or hanging in the sparkling Queensland waves.