Great results

Erin provided the board of a community Youth and Children’s organisation with outstanding Governance support, assisting the organisation to lift their governance capacity, building governance systems and supporting governance processes. As the organisation’s Board chair, that support was invaluable to me, and to the organisation, as we re-shaped and uplifted our Governance and our strategy. Erin is a skilled, experienced, supportive, insightful and hard working professional who has added significant value to the mission of our organisation.

John Cox
Non Executive Director, Board Chair, National Director
Uniting Church in Australia

I was fortunate enough to serve on a Board where Erin provided company secretary and governance advisory services. She made an enormous impact in enabling the Board to function to its highest. Moreover Erin made a lasting and significant contribution to maturing the Executive Management teams work with a Board in transition. I would highly recommend Erin’s services to any organisation.

Murray Smith GAICD
Non-Executive Director, COO, Head of Strategy
Metarock Group Ltd

Erin provided governance support to the board of a not for profit organisation on which I served. Erin provided valuable guidance and strategic advice, supporting the board to operate more effectively and building strategic capacity within the organisation. Erin is a pleasure to work with. The advice she provides is insightful and reflects her significant experience in governance matters, particularly in the not for profit sector.

Lisa Coker
Manager and Board Director
Government of Queensland, Department of  Justice and Attorney-General

Erin has been a fantastic addition to our organisation, bridging the gap between Management and the Board to provide confidence, structure and discipline to the communication flow. Erin’s governance knowledge and her professional style have been invaluable.

Julia Fenech
Chief Financial Officer and Board Director
Jabiru Community Youth and Children’s Services Association

Erin is a sophisticated, agile and deeply knowledgeable professional, who truly understands business partnering and has deep industry experience and credibility. Erin’s skill set is broad, and she easily works across a variety of disciplines, from Board and Executive Coaching to Corporate Governance and Child Safeguarding. Erin leads with integrity and is a rare and compelling talent who could help with just about any organisational challenge.

Helena Kohl
Operations Manager People, Quality and Innovation
JABIRU Community Services LTD

Erin is delivering a national safeguarding assurance project for the Uniting Church in Australia. Her expertise in governance and assurance has been evident from the get go, as has her integrity and commitment to get the work done. Erin has the ability to translate the complex into the understandable and chart a way forward. I warmly recommend Erin as an expert in her field, and as a person who will take the time to ensure she helps your organisation understand the best approach to governance and assurance for you.

Nina MacKenzie
RSL Queensland

Erin is an expert on governance and policy matters and a champion for modernising policy frameworks. Her ability to translate complex policy into a language that internal and external stakeholders can understand is an asset to organisations. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her for your policy and governance needs.

Chris Veraa
Associate Vice-President | Director | Chair | EMBA | GAICD
CQ University

Erin is a highly diligent worker who has proved skilled in adapting to the pace of change in the organisation in which she works…Her work has regularly been presented to the Board of the $1.2B (revenue $A) organisation with whom she is employed, aiding them to make key strategic decisions that affect the lives of thousands of Queenslanders. Erin’s wit and pleasant nature make her a pleasure to work with, and an asset to her employer.

Stuart Middleton
Lecturer Strategy
The University of Queensland

Erin’s ability to translate Strategic intentions into meaningful and impactful outcomes for an organisation is incredible. Erin can diplomatically challenge thinking to ensure Exec’s are heading in the right direction, communicates with stakeholders in a way that is easy to understand and has a true passion for integrated transformation. Thank you Erin, you have helped us enormously and we love working with you.

Helena Kohl
General Manager | People, Culture & Risk
Jabiru Community Youth and Children’s Services Association

Erin is highly skilled, very patient when others need to absorb, guiding, assertive when required and championing change. I would highly recommend engaging Erin on your next project or program. She is changing the world to be a better version, with her skills, knowledge and humanistic approach.

Fleur Crow
Chief Financial Officer
Northern Territory Aboriginal Investment Corporation

I highly recommend Erin Black as an executive coach. Her expertise in CEO coaching, career planning, and interview preparation has been invaluable to my professional growth. Erin’s strategic and empathetic approach enhances leadership skills and navigates complex challenges. Her career planning guidance insightfully aligns strengths with career goals. Particularly impactful is Erin’s interview coaching, which sharpened my communication skills and boosted my confidence in the interview context. Her professionalism and commitment to client success truly stand out. Erin is an invaluable asset to anyone seeking to advance their professional journey.

Transitioning CEO
CEO and Board Director
Community Services

It has truly been amazing working with Erin and the Blackbird and Foster team. Personally, I valued understanding the practices and politics nobody speaks of – especially as you progress into the executive level. Your practical mentoring enabled me to structure how I influenced strategy, governance and board decision-making in meaningful ways. Almost 2 years on we still pull out the training you provided on best practice NFP governance. Ultimately, this helped me to ‘manage up’ and ‘manage across’ in ways that have since prevented looming burn-out in a change-fatigued organisation. Leadership have the space to plan and deliver work through their teams resulting in a renewed director confidence, You are a true ‘Board Whisperer’!

Your bespoke training was pivotal in shifting how our management and board committees communicated and operated. We have now found a common language to work from acknowledging the differing roles that management and directors hold. Once reactive, now there is a logical and methodical approach to both work requests, reporting and change protocols. We have become far more efficient, use less effort and found a renewed passion for our work.

The executive and senior management coaching you have since provided is beyond anything we have ever experienced. Your personable approach allowed each of us to experience an (almost therapeutic) personal and professional transformation. As a result, the culture has totally changed and our working relationships are better than ever before. Our front-line teams became critically engaged as you bridged their service ethos and methodologies into equivalent ‘governance speak’. It’s the first time we can evidence a fully cohesive approach to delivering our mission at service accreditations. We look forward to your continued partnership and regular ‘health checks’ to keep us accountable in growing our shared success.

Chief Operations Officer
Emerging Strategic Executive