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Overview
PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT
Amber McKinnon is a 20-year transformation professional with experience leading multi-faceted international, federal, state & local government, & private enterprise transformation projects, including not-profit.
Portfolios include:
- animal welfare
- communication & arts
- Defence
- education & training
- electoral commission
- environment
- health
- human services
- immigration
- outdoor recreation
- regional Australia
- social & community services
- taxation
- technology
- traditional & online media
- transportation
- Veterans Affairs.
She studied & completed a 1998 University of Canberra communication bachelor, specialising in public relations with an information major.
Her early career was 8 years broad journalism including photo with the Department of Defence & Rural Press before being introduced to the change & stakeholder management disciplines, to which Amber has dedicated self.
Until 2022, she enjoyed developing campaigns that well met all stakeholder group needs per business, end-user & externals including unions & others legally vested in transformation.
Importantly, Amber monitored & documented timely results per benefits realisation to ensure efficiency & efficacy, & to leave business & project members with increased change fitness – as a main goal, outside solution delivery.
During Covid, Miss McKinnon studied a business certificate & established her health & beauty business in 2023, also lending to quality spiritual practice & process for greater alignment with self & nature.
For love, not money.
INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST
With a university communication qualification, Amber cut her teeth as journalist, photojournalist & editor for Department of Defence Australian Defence Force Journal & Air Force News, & former Rural Press publications over 8 years, in her early career stage.
Writing included:
- features
- profile
- briefs
- advertorials
- cover
- obituraries
- sports
- arts
- court
- news.
She diligently produces balanced audience-specific copy with approved business messaging via multiple media & channels, including an ability to develop a quality press release per public relations specialisation & information management major.
SCRIPT WRITER
Amber has completed her first script, per final draft stages.
A wholly Australian story, the autobiographical yarn begins in Far North Queensland, where the main character was born to loosely follow her life trajectory that’s devised into three acts of love, loss & surrender.
The late 40’s character leaves a loveless situation, aiming to teach herself the basics as an autodidact since birth.
But because the story & her life is predicated on travel of the body & mind, it’s the great unknown unknown.
How can you know you’re missing that which holds the key to life, if you were never taught by the people, places & things, you’d been surrounded by your whole life, that the good stuff is out there?
Which, as we discover, is.
And all you had to do, was hit-the-road, using the skills you’d amassed to-date with increased discernment to grow well.
Otherwise, she has three other script & book projects in mind: a healthy creative life is never boring.
SOUTHERN BALM
CEO Miss McKinnon manufactures & retails handmade lip & cheek tint & stain at markets, & online.
Product features:
- 100% lanolin base
- Intense colours
- Cute, hardwearing packaging
- Specialty vintage tins, globally-sourced with natural balm & yarn
- Reasonable cost including tax
- Free Australian postage, & flat international shipping rate AU$35
- 5% of profits to Destiny Rescue.
MEDIUMSHIP
Amber is a diviner with a connection to Source that allows her to see & hear Spirit, who is omnipresent.
Streams include:
- Birth chart analysis
- Intuition workshop development
- Magical mystery tour
- Meta counselling
- Psychic investigations
- Spiritual Q&A
- Transition planning
- Relationship advocacy.
For more, visit Mediumship background and business streams page.
Specialist areas
- Acting, singing & dancing
- Applications inc. Adobe Creative Suite; Windows; Final Cut PRO X & QuarkXPress
- Audio-visual multimedia production inc. storyboards, editing, voiceover, location scouting, talent procurement, etc
- Audit & reporting
- Australian Government negative vetting 1 security clearance 2019
- Benefits realisation inc. identification & tracking
- Budget force casting & management
- Business & people scoping & readiness assessment
- Business process improvement
- C-Suite executive management, operations, sales and marketing and customer services.
- Change management inc. people, process, technology & organisation
- Customer journey mapping
- Design thinking practice
- Desktop publishing inc. graphic design & modelling
- Event management
- Focus groups & surveying
- Goods & services tendering
- Grants writing & sponsorship application
- Information & data gathering & analysis
- Leadership alignment
- Marketing, advertising & promotions
- Mentor programs
- Negotiation including contracts
- Organisational psychology inc. business & people performance & productivity
- Photo/journalism inc. editorial management
- Policy development
- Print & electronic copywriting
- Project management inc. waterfall & traditional methodology
- Public & media relations inc. crisis management & monitoring
- Recruitment & management
- Risk & issue management
- Script writing
- Second language basic Español
- Speech writing
- Stakeholder management inc. identification, analysis, planning & engagement
- Strategic & operational communication
- Training & curriculum management
- Transition & mobilisation strategy
- Web architecture, platform content & user policy inc. wireframes
- Workshop facilitation.
Key programs
- Accenture Australia Indigenous recruitment strategy
- Airservices Project Management Office mobilisation & in-flight projects risk
- Australian Electoral Commission Objective Connect change strategy
- Australian Tax Office MyGovID & Online Tax File Number Application change management
- Defence national SMS early warning system approach inc. ICT interface with existing local government platforms
- Enterprise Information Management change strategy
- F-35A Joint Strike Fighter Lightning II international strategic communication
- Family & Youth Connect program
- Human Services New Child Care Subsidy customer journey mapping, risk management & workshops
- myregion.gov.au web design inc. strategic communication, wireframes, social media policy & content, & event management per National Film & Sound Archive launch
- NZ Ministry of Health e-platform change tender
- Parentline ACT sponsorship
- Recreation Training Queensland Alliance strategic communication plan, web design & content production
- Veterans Affairs Ernst & Young ICT User Satisfaction Survey.
Professional qualifications
- Australian Public Service Traineeship, Department of Defence
- Bachelor of Communication; Public Relations specialisation & Information Management major, University of Canberra
- Business Writing, Australian Institute of Management
- PRINCE2 Certification, Yellowhouse.com
- Principles of Project Management, CTS Training
- Prosci Change Management Certification, Being Human Pty Ltd
- Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, FranklinCovey
- Strategic Marketing, Australian Institute of Management
- The Six Secrets of Change Certification, Michael Fullan Pty Ltd.
Former partners
- Accenture Australia
- Action Divers
- Air Force News
- Airservices Australia
- Animal Welfare League
- Australian Defence Force Journal
- Australian Electoral Commission
- Australian Taxation Office
- Brisbane City Council
- Capability Acquisition & Sustainment Group
- Civil Aviation Authority Australia
- Defence Media
- Defence Public Affairs Office
- Deloitte Australia
- Department of Education, Training & the Arts
- Department of Human Services
- Department of Immigration & Citizenship
- Department of Regional Australia
- Department of Social Services
- Department of the Environment & Energy
- Department of the Prime Minister & Cabinet
- Digital Transformation Agency
- Ernst & Young
- Jacobs Australia
- Lockheed Martin
- NZ Ministry of Health
- Parbery Consulting
- Parentline ACT
- Predicate Partners
- Recreation Training Queensland
- Rural Press
- SMS Management & Technology
- US Office of Communications
- Veterans Affairs.
Family culture
In 1974, Amber was born in Cairns, Far North Queensland.
As luck would have it, she grew up skin diving on Great Barrier Reef before her father built a 38ft heavy weather double-ender yacht Honeychild to sail the family of four round-the-world.
Aged 8, they put to sea for 3 formative years before returned to Southern New South Wales & moved to grandparents 2000-acre property ahead girl’s boarding school – thus, trading pirates & cyclones for nuns, running water & Wee Jasper Pony Express, the third business that Amber established, age 11.
Like all little minds, boarding school proved difficult for the former shoeless wonder, so Amber was gratefully to discover an aptitude for writing. Along with swimming, drama class & music, it was a welcome escape from bullying, which she draws on heavily to this day.
Her love of communication & storytelling later led to tertiary education, with an early career of 8 years investigative journalism before learning editors largely prefer to publish rubbish content, when Amber got hungry for adventure.
At 26 years, Amber decided to fly to Mexico City to purchase a motorcycle – only to discover a distinct lack of quality second-hand machines.
Instead, she made her way to San Diego before riding solo through Baja, Mexico & Guate where the bike broke down & she adapted, having it fixed to sell to local mafia.
Australians are born off-the-road & tend to be found a little further down-the-track, so none of this was outside her cultural programming.
Which began with her first family camping trip at 45 days & typifies the Australian experience.
When she returned to Australia & found journalism in an increasingly decrepit state as a grow mind-set type o gal, Amber chanced a change mentor & dedicated herself to professional & personal transformation par excellence.
As such, she prides herself on suitable message for the right audience with impeccable timing via mixed media & channels that ensure consistency. Because Miss McKinnon does not deviate from her health & education agendas, which propagate alignment.
Hypocrisy is the antithesis of spiritual life, & she refuses fraudulent practice.
As an 20-year change manager, Amber loves quality stakeholder management that entails identifying, analysing & engagement planning for internal & external audiences.
She always engages with subject matter experts to help her understand these distinct groups depending on their desire per influence, impact & communication needs, & project management to endorse the collaborative approach.
The engagement is monitored for efficacy as mapped to project stages, which supports sponsorship alignment & grows management confidence in efforts not the least which through benefits realisation.
She is fit-for-purpose, like all her initiatives & encourages documented lessons because we are required to grow from all pursuits.
Besides being highly change-oriented, Amber is uniquely business driven with a special ability to deliver high quality/ benefit, low-cost campaigns that sell your product &/or services.
Because that is the nature of communication.
All communication is sales.
You’re buying. Or not.
Either way. It’s all gravy.
Otherwise, Amber enjoys cross-training including running, pilates, yoga, swimming & core weight training; reading & script development; being sea bound or going bush; & busies herself nurturing a certain naughty red dog Bear, who daily, breaks her heart with those dingo eyes.