Meet us
Our directors and founding members are motivated to work collaboratively with our neighbours to connect communities. We do this through our charitable purpose: rehumanising people in the information age for the benefit of the world.
Why such an open-ended cause?
We've settled on a non-linear approach to advancing. We think accumulating positive influence is more powerful than a control approach.
Our broad mandate gives us scope to gain alignment on causes and shared situations rather than just a license to correct a specific issue. Focusing on a single issue doesn't help synchronise people's energy and effort across economic sectors. To advance prosperous ways, we need to connect disconnects.
Rod mcdonald
Rod is the inaugural chair and a co-founder of thepeopleproject institute, an elected leader of Engineers Australia and director of several innovative businesses.
Rod inspires change for new practices and standards to shift beyond conventions that no longer make sense or don’t help.
Peter Sokolowski
Peter is a co-founder and co-CEO of thepeopleproject institute, an elected leader of Engineers Australia and a collaborator of RMIT University.
Peter draws on his practice in electrical engineering, artificial intelligence, pre-natal medicine and endocrinology, music, mathematics, philosophy, hospitality and business.
patrick cross
Patrick is a custodian member and the creative director of thepeopleproject institute, with time and energy for doing good things.
Patrick’s explorations are non-linear - actor, singer, musician, comedian, business person, aspiring chess master, and reluctant philosopher.
steve rodgers
Steve is a co-founder and co-CEO of thepeopleproject institute and has long practised at the intersection of Australia’s national energy policy, renewable energy innovation, sharing practice and micro-economic reform.
Steve's passion is helping talented people find their jam and unlocking contributions.
kate summers
Kate is a co-founder of thepeopleproject institute and an experienced power systems and control engineer with extensive electrical experience, and market and regulatory knowledge.
Kate is a fierce critic of black tape approaches: using rules and algorithms to substitute for needed judgement by skilled people.
stefan Lodewyckx
Stefan is a co-founder and director of thepeopleproject institute, a collaborator at Swinburne University, and a bee keeper.
Stefan probes beyond the appearances of technology to appreciate what's needed to harmonise people with their surroundings drawing on his experience with comparative policy.