Local Spotlight: Rachel Macindoe and Unfurl Facilitation

Meet Rachel Macindoe, one of the parents behind this directory, whose creative leadership programs help young people and communities across Victoria find their voice.

Many of you will know Rachel Macindoe as one of the two parents who started this directory. Away from the school gate, Rachel runs Unfurl Facilitation with her husband Ollie, creating leadership, student voice and wellbeing programs for schools, councils and organisations across Victoria.

Rachel has been a leadership facilitator for 18 years, working with schools and organisations since 2007. She trained in Adaptive Leadership through Harvard, studied voice and performance, and is now completing a Masters in Adolescent Health and Wellbeing at the University of Melbourne under the Robbie Mitchell Scholarship.

Unfurl's view of leadership will feel familiar to many Steiner families. In Rachel's words, "Leadership is not a role. It is something you can live into every day." Rather than a fixed set of rules, their programs treat leadership as the ability to listen and respond to what a moment is calling for, and to find the courage to act.

Every program is experiential and creative, never one size fits all, and shaped around the group in the room. The offering includes a Creative Leadership Program, an Adaptive Leadership Program, public speaking training, professional development and tailored workshops. Each course ends with a real graduation, not a certificate in the mail.

Cultural competency sits at the centre of the work, built in rather than added on. Rachel and Ollie have extensive experience running programs with First Nations people and communities, people from refugee and migrant backgrounds, people with disabilities, and people in low socio economic areas.

Ollie is a qualified secondary teacher who has taught across New Zealand and Australia, and he has co facilitated leadership training and songwriting workshops with Rachel for more than ten years. Music runs through much of what they do together.

If your school, council or organisation is looking for a program, or you simply want to find out what might fit, Rachel would love to hear from you. Their About page tells the full story.