About Us
Supporting our clients to design, strengthen and evaluate culturally grounded policy, programs and practice.
Cross Cultural Consultants (CCC) is a proudly Aboriginal-owned advisory firm specialising in First Nations policy reform, program design and evaluation, and cultural governance. As a First Nations-led strategy, reform and evaluation partner, we are trusted to deliver culturally grounded national policy and program outcomes.
CCC partners with Commonwealth, State and Territory governments, Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs), and private industry to design, strengthen and implement initiatives that are culturally grounded, evidence-informed and practically deliverable.
Operating from a community level through to national reform processes, CCC brings together deep cultural authority, extensive facilitation experience, and strong policy and evaluation capability to support sustainable and accountable outcomes.
Why CCC?
01
Aboriginal Owned and Led
Leadership brings lived experience, cultural authority and trusted relationships.
02
Reform experienced
Led and supported national reform consultations and program redesign processes.
03
Governance grounded
Deep understanding of legislative, regulatory and funding environments.
04
Evidence informed
Advisory work integrates evaluation, research and practical implementation.
05
National reach, community grounded
Operating across jurisdictions while remaining grounded in respectful, culturally safe engagement.
The Way We Work
Our work is guided by cultural integrity and respectful partnerships, ensuring everything we do is grounded in genuine trust and a shared vision of working together as partners. More than three decades ago we stepped into the cross-cultural training and community engagement space because we saw a real, widespread challenge: a hesitation from organisations to engage with Aboriginal communities, often stemming from a simple lack of knowledge on how to connect in a culturally responsive way.
We set out to bridge that gap.
Today, we work directly alongside our clients and communities to build the practical capacity of individuals and organisations to work effectively across cultures. Backed by many years of lived, cross-cultural experience and deep community networks, we are not in the business of abstract advice. We aim to bring together rigorous governance and evidence-informed decisions with real-world implementation to deliver the cutting-edge, socially minded services that drive genuine change.
Meet Our Team
Jason is an Aboriginal leader and highly experienced facilitator with more than 30 years’ experience in community development, First Nations engagement and national reform. He specialises in leading complex engagement and co-design processes, with particular expertise in First Nations policy, strategy, cultural advisory and regional and community development.
Jason
Elsegood
Managing
Director
Marissa is an experienced Business Manager specialising in project and contract management, program delivery and the coordination of complex projects across urban and remote settings. She brings strong organisational and client management skills, combined with extensive experience supporting culturally responsive engagement, consultation and co-design projects across Australia.
Marissa
Elsegood
Business
Manager
Jaya is a strategy and business development specialist with experience across government, policy, strategic communications and stakeholder engagement in Northern Australia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific. He brings particular strengths in strategic planning, policy development, engagement and analysis, with experience advising government, corporate and community-sector clients.
Jaya Pastor-Elsegood
Manager - Strategy
and Business
Development
Bodhi is a Project Manager specialising in cultural strategy, First Nations engagement, co-design and culturally responsive project delivery. He combines strong project management, research and analytical skills with a human-centred approach to engagement, ensuring stakeholder perspectives, strengths and priorities remain central to project design and delivery.
bodhi Pastor-Elsegood
Project Manager - Cultural Strategy and First Nations Engagement
Bodhi is a Project Manager specialising in cultural strategy, First Nations engagement, co-design and culturally responsive project delivery. He combines strong project management, research and analytical skills with a human-centred approach to engagement, ensuring stakeholder perspectives, strengths and priorities remain central to project design and delivery.
James is an international development specialist with extensive experience delivering community-led programs across Australia, Southeast Asia, Africa and the Pacific. He specialises in stakeholder engagement, facilitation, program management and partnership development, with experience working across global health, economic empowerment, social change and First Nations initiatives.
James
O’Keefe
International and
Development
Specialist
Kate is an experienced Office Manager with more than a decade of experience in administrative coordination, operational support and program delivery. She specialises in training and project logistics, stakeholder coordination, reporting, compliance and WHS, bringing strong attention to detail and a practical approach to supporting complex projects and engagement activities.
Kate
Thompson
Office
Manager
Michelle is a Community Development Intern building experience in community and stakeholder engagement, research and administration.
She supports CCC’s project teams across research, reporting, tender preparation and consultation activities, bringing a strong interest in community development and contributing to positive outcomes for Aboriginal communities.
Michelle
Long
Intern