Central Team
Gershon Nimbalker - National Director
Gershon Nimbalker stepped into the role of Common Grace National Director in June 2022. Gershon has brought a wealth of experience to Common Grace - and a proven passion for Jesus and justice. He is well known and deeply respected across the Christian social justice and aid sector in Australia, having worked for more than 15 years in advocacy, policy and research, as well as leading and growing grassroots movements to campaign on issues of social justice. During his time as the Advocacy Manager for Baptist World Aid Gershon helped lead the development of Baptist World Aid's Ethical Fashion Report and the Electronic Industry Trends Report. Gershon has also more recently been founder and Managing Director of Sojourners Social Change Consultants, working with numerous Christian development organisations both in Australia and overseas. Gershon lives on Awabakal Country, Newcastle, with his wife Naomi and young family, attending Hamilton Baptist Church.
Jessica Smith - Co-Founder and Strategic Implementation Lead
Jessica Carroll Smith is a Co-Founder of Common Grace and works as the Strategic Implementation Lead. Jess has been involved with Common Grace since the beginning, involved in the scoping and development phase across 2013-2014 and then from launch as Operations Director. Jess has particular skills in turning ideas into action, she supports the team with goal setting and strategy implementation. Jess lives on Gadigal land.
Safina Stewart - Storyteller and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Lead
Safina Stewart is a proud Wuthathi and Mabuiag Island woman who grew up cross culturally in New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Australia. Safina is passionate about culture, education, the arts, justice and faith. Safina lives with her husband and three children in the Victorian coastal town of Wonthaggi on Bunurong Country.
Bianca Manning - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Justice Coordinator (Currently on sabbatical leave until early 2026)
Bianca Manning is a Gomeroi woman and emerging Aboriginal Christian Leader. Bianca currently lives in Logan, South-East Queensland on the lands of the Yugambeh peoples and works with Senior Aboriginal Christian Leader Aunty Jean Phillips in the Brisbane and Logan areas. Bianca is currently part of forming an intentional Christian community in Woodridge, Logan. Bianca has a Social Work (First Class Honours) degree from the University of Newcastle, has completed theological training at The Academy through Glory City Church, has previous ministry experience with Youth With A Mission (YWAM), and is passionate about asset-based community development, veganism, dance, and pursuing a genuine relationship with Jesus.
Jane Kelly - Community Organising Lead and Creation and Climate Justice Coordinator
Jane Kelly lives on the lands of the Toongagal people of the Dharug nation in Western Sydney with her family. As a follower of Christ, Jane is dedicated to contributing towards a better future for all of God’s good creation. Her studies include theology, ministry, ethics, and legal studies. At Common Grace, Jane has overseen the successful Knit for Climate Action campaign, gifting climate stripe scarves knitted by everyday Christians Australians to national and international political leaders, sending a gracious and strong call for urgent action on climate change. Jane loves connecting with people, hearing their stories, and joining together with others to seek Jesus and a better future for all of God’s good creation, both within local communities and across the globe.
Ellaina Welsman - Community Engagement Manager | Domestic and Family Violence Justice Coordinator
Ellaina has been part of Common Grace for over five years and currently serves as Community Engagement Manager and Domestic and Family Violence Justice Coordinator. With more than a decade of experience in the Christian not-for-profit sector, she has led Common Grace’s partnerships, supporter engagement, and fundraising since 2020. Ellaina holds a Master of International Development and a Bachelor of Health (International), bringing a strong background in community development and social justice to her work. She lives on Awabakal Country with her husband and two children.
James Harris - Justice for People Seeking Asylum Coordinator
James Harris is Common Grace’s Justice for People Seeking Asylum Coordinator and Director of Strategic Projects with NAYBA, where he leads The Welcome Home Project, supporting churches to engage in community refugee sponsorship. He has served in many roles globally, including being based in Jordan with World Vision and Nauru with Save the Children. James is a co-founder of the global Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage movement.
Monique Hughes - Communications Manager
Monique Hughes has a background working in media, communications and advocacy in the not-for-profit sector. She is passionate about justice and seeing Christians live out God's deep love and care for his creation. Monique is also a painter and designer with a keen interest in seeing the arts engaged in helping spark action on social justice issues. She has been part of the Common Grace Creation and Climate Justice advisory team for a number of years and lives surrounded by the beautiful bushland of Dharug and Guringai Country (Northern Sydney) with her husband and three children.
Naomi Fraser - Fundraising Coordinator (Major Gifts & Bequests)
Naomi Fraser is the Fundraising Coordinator for Common Grace, joining the Community Engagement Team in building a sustainable movement to work toward the flourishing of all people and all creation. She has a diverse background including a PhD in English, experience lecturing in the humanities and working in the NFP sector as a program manager. Naomi considers herself a perpetual student and will deep dive into almost any topic, from theology to literary criticism. But Naomi is most energised when she is with people, listening to their stories and learning from their experiences. In both her academic work and her supporter engagement work Naomi is motivated by the same vision: a world where all of God’s image bearers and creation can experience freedom, beauty, and jubilation. In every spare moment, she loves mountain bike riding on beautiful Awabakal Country where she lives with her young family and chickens.
Meredith Walker-Harding - Climate Justice Co-Coordinator and Project Support Officer
Meredith Walker-Harding lives on the lands of the Gadigal and Wangal peoples of the Eora Nation. With a background in biology, cross-cultural communication, and ecomissiology, she has worked in a mix of fields, including academic administration, illustration, puppetry, and vegan catering. Meredith and her husband, Phil, co-run Joey Games, creating board games that celebrate Australia and bring kids and adults together through play. She loves cooking, crafting, and cats.
Dawn Austin - Finance and Administration Officer
Dawn Austin works as Common Grace's Finance and Administration Officer, bringing a wealth of experience in relationship management, administration and high level organisational support. Dawn has previously worked in Contracts, Property and Immigration Law, as well as tutoring in Child Law through the University of Newcastle. Dawn has a deep passion for social justice and working to support young people with lived experience of injustice. Dawn lives on the lands of the Awabakal peoples in Newcastle with her young family.
Eliza Johnson - Policy Coordinator
Eliza Johnson is the Policy Coordinator for Common Grace. Eliza has more than a decade of experience working in advocacy across a range of international development and human rights organisations. Eliza has expertise in advocacy and campaigning, research and policy, and a particular passion for making policy and political systems accessible and meaningful for everyone. She is also passionate about helping people join the dots between their love for Jesus and the call towards justice. Eliza has degrees in law and politics and a Master’s in Human Rights Law and Policy. She lives on beautiful Wangal Country with her husband and young family.
Common Grace Board
Kristyn Crossfield - Chair
Kristyn is a daughter, wife, mother and worker in the not-for-profit world. A long-time social change advocate for justice in the world of work, Kristyn is committed to helping groups of people achieve their dreams of a more just world through the creation of healthy, effective collectives. Kristyn and her family, Phil, Maya and Campbell live on the Central Coast of NSW and love being members of Coast Community Church.
Adam Gowen - Deputy Chair
Adam Gowen is an Aboriginal man with ancestral connections to the Wiradjuri nation. He currently lives on the land of the Murramarang people of the Yuin nation (South Coast NSW) with his wife, Lisa and their 3 children. Passionate about relatedness, he seeks to understand all things in the context of their relationships. He is a Christian minister and holds a post-graduate qualification in theology and a first-class honours degree in Indigenous studies. The thesis component of his honours degree examines concepts of Aboriginal identity, settler colonialism, and sovereignty. Adam is passionate about social justice and committed to working at a grass-roots level to see large scale change. Most days you can find him sipping a flat white with his chocolate Labrador, Tank, sitting by his side.
Harry Turner
Harry Turner is currently a Partner of the Talanton Impact Fund, an Impact Investment Fund focused on job creation through investing in small and medium enterprises in Sub Saharan Africa. Harry has a 30-year career leading cross-cultural teams in Australia, Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. He has experience leading global teams for large commercial firms (Macquarie Bank and Anderson Consulting) and for global social impact organizations (Opportunity International, Oikocredit and now Talanton). He spends his free time with his wife and three adult children, enjoys listening to and playing good music and loves sports of all kinds.
Sam McDonell
Sam is a creative strategist and visionary leader who is passionate about Biblical justice and advocacy for collective social impact and community transformation. Currently she lives on Turrbal country (North Brisbane QLD), with her husband Ben, their three children and Leroy the cavoodle. Sam is a Christian minister with broad ecumenical experience, who holds post-graduate qualifications in theology and ministry. She values authenticity, deep listening, strong relationships and is committed to renewed reconciliation. In her current ministry placement she is working across Qld in community partnerships and missional innovation, whilst also lecturing in tertiary ministry studies. With extensive experience in the not-for-profit and education sectors, Sam is skilled in change management, compliance and policy and is committed to good governance which serves to contribute to life in all its fullness for all.
Moses Kakaire
Moses is a senior commercial lawyer who works for a multinational organization primarily on technology and digital related projects. He was born in Uganda and, as a child, he and his family came to Australia as refugees with the assistance of the congregation of a local church in Sydney. Moses has previously worked in commercial law firms and in-house in a legal and policy role for an Australian industry body. Moses is passionate about social justice and has volunteered with local community legal centres throughout his career to provide pro bono legal assistance to vulnerable members of the community. Moses lives on Gadigal Country and attends church at Leichhardt Uniting.