Venessa Paech (BFA, MA) is an internationally regarded online community expert and educator. She has led community or Lonely Planet, REA Group, Envato and Australia Post. Through her consultancy PeerSense she helps organisations design, build and maintain thriving communities that meet strategic objectives, offering strategic development, coaching, training, and capacity building. Her clients have included: ABC, AASW, Teach for Australia, QUT, University of Sydney, SANE and Woolworths. In 2009 Venessa founded the Australian Community Manager Roundtable which in 2011 became Swarm, Australia’s premiere conference for community practitioners. She is Co-Founder and Director of Australian Community Managers (ACM), the national centre of excellence for online community management training and resources. ACM hosts a 6000+ online community, produces research into community management, facilitates the national Code of Ethics for community professionals and offers training for anyone working with online groups or communities (professional or volunteer). In 2021 ACM launched the first ever national training for online community professionals in defamation, in response to new regulatory obligations in the Australian market. Venessa hosts the ACM podcast and the Community At Work podcast, for leaders and organisations using community models and practices to design thriving organisations. Venessa works in several international community management leadership collectives, and liaises with industry, government and researchers to grow community management practice in APAC. She has served as an expert witness in Australia for legal matters surrounding the use of social media and online communities. Venessa developed and teaches the first post-graduate online community management Unit for the University of Sydney and is the resident Community expert for the Future Work Skills Academy. She is a PhD Candidate (University of Sydney) researching AI and online communities, and lectures in Internet Cultures and Governance.

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I studied at Tisch School of the Arts and used to be a musical theatre artist.

AU

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