Philippa Venning

Philippa Venning is Vice President at Abt Associates. Based in Canberra, she leads Abt’s technical team to provide quality advice and implementation across the breadth of Abt’s programs. Philippa leads DFAT-funded programs in women’s economic empowerment, governance and health across Asia and the Pacific.

Prior to joining Abt, Philippa worked for DFAT, the World Bank, United Nations Development Program, and several NGOs. Her most recent role at DFAT was Deputy Head of Mission in Timor-Leste.  For DFAT and the World Bank, Philippa designed and implemented governance, service delivery and gender programs in Timor-Leste, Solomon Islands and Indonesia. She has spent 12 years working in the Asia-Pacific region in addition to over 14 years’ experience in Australia.

Before becoming a development professional, Philippa spent several years as a corporate lawyer working for Allens Linklaters in Sydney and Singapore.

Philippa joined the ChildFund Australia board in November 2023.

Shantanu has over a decade of experience in Social Entrepreneurship and International Development. He is currently the Managing Director of Leaders for Climate Action Australia, an organisation looking to drive urgent climate action with digital and technology sector companies and stakeholders. Prior to this, he has spent 6 years working in South Asia with Ashoka, the world’s largest network of leading social entrepreneurs. At Ashoka, he has led several key programs and advised over 500 social entrepreneurs across sectors such as human rights, healthcare, civic participation, and education. His work with social entrepreneurs has helped hundreds of innovations scale towards creating systemic change. Shantanu previously sat as a youth representative on the Board of Plan International Australia and has led several youth initiatives in Australia. He is currently sitting on the Program Review Committee.