People shape places, and places shape people - great places matter!I've been involved in place development, creation and stewardship - as a consultant, in government, and as an active community member. Places are complex system, like ecosystems, and while the health of each element (or role) is important, so are the interrelationships between them. My work strengthens these interrelationships through developing shared responsibility for bringing places to life and caring for them: from building understanding and capacity, to planning places with people that genuinely reflect local needs and assets, to co-designing and co-creating spaces together, and a lot more. I started work in placemaking as a community member, collaborating on projects in my neighbourhood. As co-convenor of one of Perth's first 'town teams' Creative Maylands, I wanted to trial some improvements and make a tangible difference. I then became a founding member, then Chair, of WA's first micro-grant funding dinner, Perth SOUP. Monthly dinners at Spacecubed hosted individuals and groups who pitch their ideas for community benefit, with the winning pitch granted around $1,000 to become a reality. Projects enabled through SOUP addressed homelessness, plant-based alternatives to plastic, and large-scale revegetation and tree planting on arid farmland. This experience as well as several years' work in community engagement, place planning and urban design projects, saw me move into a place leadership role. I worked with communities to establish place networks on Beaufort Street in Inglewood, Main Street in Osborne Park, and along Scarborough Beach Road, as well as supporting existing groups. We collaborated on new and experimental projects including night markets, festivals, place branding and improving streets for people.From 2017, I was Place Manager for Maylands and Bayswater town centres. Highlights included transformation of a neglected laneway into a public space with local businesses (Lyric Lane) and the co-design and co-creation of an under-utilised park on Bayswater's main street.Since 2022, I have had the privilege of being part of Town Team Movement, as Executive Director and lead consultant. This not for profit social enterprise punches far above its weight. Our work includes the global placemaking.education platform; major partnership projects providing funding for collaborative community-led projects; support for positive, proactive community groups such as Town Teams improving their places; and our innovative, people and place-focused consulting service.