Meet the team

Libby Hackett is the inaugural CEO of the Australian Public Policy Institute.

Libby is an award-winning public policy expert with over 20 years of experience working at the highest level of government and universities. She has held senior advisory and leadership roles in government, parliament, peak bodies, think tanks and private sector consultancy in Australia and the UK. Libby was selected to participate in the Prime Minister’s leadership training programme for outstanding public servants in 2010. She was named one of the UK’s ‘Education Reformers of the Year’ by the Education Foundation for work promoting social mobility and access to higher education. She served as a Director on the UK Higher Education Commission and as an Advisor to the Browne Review of Higher Education Fees and Funding.

Libby holds a Bachelor of Arts in Politics, Philosophy and Economics, and a Master of Arts from the University of Oxford. She is an Adjunct Professor of Economics at the University of Sydney and a Visiting Fellow in global higher education policy at the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University (ANU).

Dr Ant Bagshaw is the Deputy CEO at the Australian Public Policy Institute, leading the Institute’s Canberra office.

Dr Bagshaw joined APPI with substantial experience across a wide range of policy and strategy roles. His career includes senior positions in consulting, media, educational technology and membership organisations. Ant has professional experience across Australia and the UK, and has also worked with governments and universities across South East Asia, the Middle East and North America. His doctorate is in critical policy analysis, and he teaches a course on policy influence as Affiliated Faculty at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of Higher Imagination: A future for universities and co-editor of Influencing Higher Education Policy.

Ant holds a Master of Arts from the University of Cambridge, a Doctor of Education from the University of Sheffield, and is also a graduate of Cardiff University and the UK’s Open University. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts and a Graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Anthony Dursi is the Executive Director for External Affairs at the Australian Public Policy Institute. Anthony brings two decades of leadership experience in strategic communications, partnerships and strategy in government, higher education, and the private sector.

Anthony joined APPI from the United Nations, where he served as Communications Expert in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General and as Head of Communications for the Centre for Policy Research at United Nations University, the UN’s think tank. He previously worked in global media relations at Squire Patton Boggs LLP in London and Washington DC and as External Relations & Outreach Manager at the Inns of Court of England and Wales, where he launched a number of campaigns and outreach programs that have since been incorporated as best practice across the sector. He also has substantial higher education experience, having served as Head of Civic Responsibility & Senior Advisor at the Russell Group of Universities in the UK, and from working in the executive offices at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Arts (New York) and McGill University (Montreal).

Anthony is a graduate of McGill University (Great Distinction) and the London School of Economics and Political Science (Distinction). He is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts.

Yvonne Lui is the Director of Operations at the Australian Public Policy Institute.

Yvonne has a passion for driving social transformation agendas and creating impactful experiences for organisations. Coming from senior manager positions at Deloitte and Westpac, she holds significant experience in both project management and transformation across financial and professional services industries. Utilising human-centred design at the core of her work, Yvonne is an expert at driving transformation in fast-paced and changing corporate environments, collaborating with, and managing the competing priorities of multi-disciplinary stakeholders at varying levels of seniority.

Yvonne holds a Bachelor of Commerce & Arts from and Masters of Development Studies from UNSW, awarded with excellence.

Jordan Ward is the Head of Economic Policy at the Australian Public Policy Institute.

Jordan brings deep expertise on economic, fiscal and commercial issues, with 15 years of experience working in government, the private sector and academia. Before joining APPI, Jordan worked at Te Tai Ōhanga (New Zealand Treasury), most recently as the lead Private Secretary to New Zealand’s Minister of Finance. He supported the Minister through three Wellbeing Budgets, the design of COVID economic support packages, and fiscal consolidation coming out of COVID-19. While at the Treasury, Jordan also worked on tax, welfare and employment policy. He led the 2018 Tax Working Group secretariat, and was the Treasury lead on the development of New Zealand’s COVID-19 wage subsidy.

Jordan was previously a senior associate at McKinsey & Company, based in the Australia-New Zealand and UK offices, where he worked on a range of engagements including promoting economic growth, economic response strategies to Brexit, public sector productivity, capital productivity, and corporate regulation. Outside of McKinsey, Jordan was an economic advisor to the Rio Tinto-managed Simandou iron ore project in Guinea.

Jordan has a Master’s in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, where he was a Knox Fellow and research assistant to Professor Reinhart on exchange rate arrangements. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Politics and Engineering in Chemical and Material from the University of Auckland.

Isabella Whealing is the Head of Social Policy at the Australian Public Policy Institute.

Isabella is an experienced strategic policy professional with a background in digital and technology strategy consulting. Prior to joining APPI, Isabella was an Associate Director at NSW Treasury where she led National Agreement negotiations with the Commonwealth Government in the Disability Reform and Health portfolios. While at NSW Treasury, Isabella was an Executive Officer to the Deputy Secretary of Policy & Budget, where she provided strategic advice and support across a range of policy initiatives. She managed the design and implementation of many of NSW’s rapid COVID-19 response programs as a Senior Advisor, including collaborating closely with Service NSW on the policy development and implementation of key small business support grants.

Before her time in the NSW Government, Isabella worked in consulting for 6 years as a Manager at PriceWaterhouseCoopers in the Digital and Technology Strategy Division, where she worked predominantly in financial services and government. Isabella’s focus was designing the digital capabilities, processes and implementation plans to enable customer-centric service delivery.

Isabella has a Bachelor of Arts in Government and International Relations and History from the University of Sydney and a Graduate Certificate in Environment Studies from Macquarie University.

Dr Gillian Smith is Grants & Fellows Manager at the Australian Public Policy Institute, on secondment from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).

In her role as Social Impact Officer (Grants and Content) at the UTS Centre for Social Justice and Inclusion, she facilitated funding and grants for social impact projects and contributed to the team’s research activities. Previously, Gillian served as a Grant Development Advisor at Macquarie University’s Research Office, where she provided strategic advice to researchers on external competitive grants and managed internal funding schemes.

Gillian holds a PhD in Egyptology from Macquarie University, specialising in temple art and architecture. She has also worked as a sessional academic. Passionate about public engagement, she has designed and delivered educational and outreach programs for museums and universities and has appeared in documentary projects.

Dr Amy Wilson is an Environmental and Energy Policy Manager and Data Analytics Lead at the Australian Public Policy Institute.

Dr Wilson is an experienced policy advisor, with nearly a decade of experience working in government, the private sector, and academia. She has a strong background in project management, research methods and data-driven environmental analysis. Before joining APPI, Amy worked as an Environmental Consultant at Zephyr Environmental Pty Ltd, where she led carbon assurance and management, greenhouse gas inventories, and air quality assessments and modelling engagements. Amy also served as a policy advisor with the UK Government’s Open Innovation Team, UK Government, bridging academic research and policymakers.

Amy holds a Master of Chemistry from the University of York (UK), a PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) from Imperial College London (UK). She is a Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK) and a Member of the Clean Air Society of Australia and New Zealand (CASANZ). In 2024 she was awarded the UK Aerosol Society’s Doctoral Thesis Prize as recognition of her extensive literature review and thesis’ contribution to aerosol science.

Dr Jack Isherwood is a Senior Policy Advisor at the Australian Public Policy Institute. Since joining in 2023, he has contributed to a wide range of policy projects, ranging across artificial intelligence, child protection, and vocational education and training (VET) sector reform. Jack also plays a key role in the Institute’s Grants and capability-building workstreams, serving as a grants reviewer and curriculum lead.

Holding a PhD in Political and Social Thought from the Australian Catholic University, Jack’s doctoral research focused on civil discourse and civil disobedience in the liberal political tradition. Prior to his role at the Institute, Jack worked in higher education management at Western Sydney University, where he specialised in the design and delivery of short, online courses for upskilling professionals.

Jack’s core interests lie in harnessing data and emerging technologies to foster innovative and sustainable policymaking, and he has published several pieces on artificial intelligence policy and climate change adaptation in the Institute’s digital publication, The Policymaker.

Lori Gunewardene is a Executive Officer & Project Coordinator, at the Australian Public Policy Institute.

Lori has a passion and aptitude for collaborative relationship building and is known for her engaging and supportive interpersonal manner. She has extensive experience in Senior Project Coordination as well as in Senior Executive support roles. She previously worked at Nous Group as an Executive & Project Assistant, as well as a Visual Design Coordinator, where she supported multiple Principals and Directors and their projects to ensure positive outcomes for clients and stakeholders. Prior to this, Lori held a range of Project Management roles including Head of Project Management Australia, with the executive search firm Perrett Laver. Lori is currently completing a Bachelor of Food and Nutrition Science.

Luke is the Events Coordinator at the Australian Public Policy Institute. With a decade of experience in event design and execution, he is passionate about raising awareness and promoting impact through events and convenings.

Luke previously worked as Senior Content & Events Director at the Trans-Tasman Business Circle, a public and private sector network. In that role, he managed end-to-end planning of events across domestic and international markets for heads of industry, leading researchers and public sector leaders.

Earlier in his career, he worked on large-scale festivals, most notably the Taste of Tasmania Festival. He has also worked in the not-for-profit sector as National Events Producer for the human services charity Settlement Services International.

Luke is a graduate of the University of Sydney.

Lara Bate is External Affairs Associate at the Australian Public Policy Institute.

Lara is driven to promote and explore the intersection of digital and policy spaces to enhance policy accessibility to a broader range of stakeholders. With a background in cross-platform media management and content creation, as well as recent overseas experience in international investment spaces, her professional background complements her passion for impactful policymaking. Working to collaborate across disciplines & sectors, Lara looks forward to harnessing the dynamic nature of such rapidly changing spaces to positively transform the role of external affairs. She is also the host of The Policymaker Podcast.

Lara holds a Bachelor of Arts / Bachelor of Advanced Studies Honours majoring in Politics & International Relations and English Literature from The University of Sydney, awarded with First Class Honours.

Diana Mezei is a Digital Communications & Design Associate, at the Australian Public Policy Institute.

Diana is part of APPI’s communications and engagement team, where she helps bring policy ideas to life in clear and engaging ways. With experience across program management, operations and visual design, she works on branding, templates, infographics and digital publications, making complex research easy to understand and share.

Before joining APPI, Diana worked at Nous Group as a Junior Visual Designer, supporting consultants across Australia on internal and client-facing projects. She has also coordinated design resourcing, marketing functions, and creative workflows, giving her a strong grounding in both the creative and operational sides of design. She holds an MA in Conflict, Development and Security from the University of Leeds and is currently completing a Diploma in Graphic Design.