Exemplar is an Australian-owned International Development Organisation, working in genuine and unique cross sector partnerships.
At Exemplar, we believe that everyone has the right to access quality, affordable healthcare and education. Our goal is a world where everyone has access to universal health coverage and education that is:
- inclusive and accessible
- high quality
- affordable
- addressing the health impacts of climate change.
We will work with partners and communities to provide the healthcare that enables everyone to SURVIVE and THRIVE, with a focus on including people with disabilities, women and girls, and other vulnerable populations.
Exemplar International (Exemplar) is an Australian owned International Development Organisation, working in genuine and unique cross sector partnerships. At Exemplar, we believe that everyone has the right to access quality, affordable healthcare and education. Our goal is a world where everyone has access to universal health coverage and education, that is
- Inclusive and Accessible
- High Quality
- Affordable
- Addresses the health impacts of climate change
Our People
Michaela Sargent
Board Member and Chief Executive Officer
Michaela has been Chief Executive Officer of Exemplar since its inception in 2021. She is a development professional with 20 years’ experience in designing, developing and implementing international development programs in the gender, disability inclusion, economic development, social inclusion, climate change adaptation, governance, micro finance, education, health, water and sanitation sectors. Michaela has supported development projects across the Pacific, Asia and Africa, and has in-depth experience in working with Non-Government Organisations, civil society organisations, and key international development delivery organisations. As the World Vision Senior ANCP Manager, Michaela managed a $150m ANCP grant, supporting 175 projects across 40 countries with multiple international and local partners. Michaela is passionate about providing quality development support and led the International Make Poverty History campaign in Australia, working with 35 partners to advocate for more and better aid.
Ben Clare
Board Member and Disability Inclusion Lead
Ben has had a long association with international development and the disability sector. As a blind man, Ben has lived with disability his entire life and he has a passion for providing support to people with a disability living in remote areas around the world. Since 2004, Ben has worked across Papua New Guinea (PNG), undertaking fundraising, supporting advocacy groups, leading train the trainer programs and assisting school students to access voice output software. He was an Australian volunteer for nearly 10 years and worked with Disabled People’s Organisations and disability service providers in PNG, the Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu and Kiribati. He has also worked with major NGO’s including UNICEF and CBM, as well as regional governments, the South Pacific Educators in Vision Impairment, the International Council for Education of People with Vision Impairment, Blind Citizens of Australia, and the World Blind Union.
Josie Chamla
Global Support Coordinator
Josie is the Global Support Coordinator for Aspen Medical and Exemplar and has worked on programs in Uganda, China, New Zealand, and the USA. Her expertise includes project management, research, communications, educational programs, business development, financial administration, social media management, stakeholder coordination, quality management and compliance. She has a degree in Psychology from the University of Otago, New Zealand. Josie is passionate about working on programs that focus on inclusion and diversity and promote grass-root and community-led initiatives.
Gemma Messenger
Strategic Engagement and Localisation Manager
Gemma holds a Bachelor of Business in International Business Management and Human Resource Management from Charles Sturt University. She has a background in business development, change and project management and over the past eight years, she has been involved in designing and developing impactful and scalable health solutions and development programs for Aspen Medical throughout Australia, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Iraq and West Africa. Prior to joining Aspen Medical, Gemma was a tender writer in the education sector in QLD, and an associate consultant for Terra Firma Business Consulting. Her expertise includes outstanding written and analytical skills, and successful end-to-end tender management.
Maricel Giorgioni
Board Member and General Manager, Culture and Performance for Aspen Medical
Maricel joined Aspen Medical as Director of Culture and Performance in 2017 and was promoted to the role of General Manager of Culture and Performance in July 2021. Prior to this, she worked throughout Asia in senior management roles, developing and implementing strategies with a focus on recruitment and selection, remuneration and benefits, employee and industrial relations, performance management and learning and development. Maricel has a strong commitment to ensuring a disability-inclusive workforce and a safe and supportive work environment across a range of complex and remote working environments. Maricel has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Masters of Strategic Human Resource Management.
Glenn Keys AO
Board Member and Founder/Executive Chairman of Aspen Medical
Glenn Keys AO is the founder and Executive Chairman of Aspen Medical, one of the world’s leading providers of outsourced healthcare solutions. Founded in 2003, Aspen Medical now operates throughout Australia, Indo-Pacific region, the Middle East, Africa, the USA and Europe. Glenn sits on several Boards in the healthcare sector, disability sector and social businesses, including the Board of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA). In 2015, Glenn was awarded ACT Australian of the Year and in 2017, he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for both his philanthropic leadership in the business sector and his work as an advocate for people with an intellectual disability.
As a passionate advocate of social purpose in business, Glenn established the Aspen Foundation in 2009 and a percentage of Aspen Medical’s profits are dedicated to the Foundation. The mission of the Aspen Foundation is to undertake life changing healthcare through significantly reducing or eradicating key illnesses and diseases in remote Australian communities and to provide education for the sustainability of improved health practices. Glenn is also the founder and Chair of Project Independence, a housing initiative for people with intellectual disabilities.
Prior to building and leading businesses in the private sector, Glenn had a distinguished career in the Australian Defence Force.
Leata Alaimoana-Roberts
Board Member
Since 2018, Leata has worked as Impact Investment Manager with Pacific Trade Invest Australia, promoting trade, investment, tourism and labour mobility for the Pacific Islands. Originally from Samoa and New Zealand, Leata studied a Bachelor of Commerce at Griffith University before following a career in the aviation and tourism sectors where she managed investment relationships and industry development for the Queensland Government and throughout the Pacific. She’s passionate about using her expertise to make a difference and delivering positive outcomes across the Asia-Pacific region.
Paul Bird
Board Member
Over the last 30 years, Paul has worked in the private and social sectors in Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. He specialises in leading organisations though significant challenges by helping them to adapt and strengthen their ethos, performance and resourcing with government, the private sector and community partnerships. He has developed innovative and enduring collaborations between businesses, governments, NGOs and communities, including several social enterprises, FebFast to support disadvantaged youth, the annual Zoos Victoria Family Day at the Zoo, Telstra’s Indigenous Getting to Work program, Accor’s Taste of Reconciliation dinner, JetStar’s StarKids program, Stitch in Time with Spotlight in Africa, and a world-first e-platform for Youth Drug & Alcohol Advice.
Over the last 25 years, Paul has also held senior management roles with The Body Shop, Very Special Kids, YSAS and Mission Australia Victoria, the Brotherhood of St Laurence, the Australian Red Cross Blood Service, World Vision Australia and Australian Volunteers International. He has authored a book on how businesses and not-for-profits do better as purpose-driven organisations and started a consultancy. In the 1990’s, Paul ran the KPMG practice for Gambia and French-speaking West Africa and established the emergency program for the Lutheran World Federation in Bosnia and Croatia during conflict.
Exemplar’s Board
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