Place-making + Identity
It’s A Way of Life
Places and communities shaped with intention
Design for More partners with local governments, organisations and community leaders to create places, cultures and conversations where people feel they belong.
Through placemaking, facilitation and strategic communications, I help organisations navigate change, engage communities meaningfully and articulate who they are with clarity and purpose.
Whether you are shaping a precinct, engaging diverse stakeholders or redefining organisational identity, my work helps move people from consultation fatigue towards genuine participation and shared direction.
Communication that builds trust and belonging
For more than twenty years, I have worked across international development, higher education, arts and culture, multicultural engagement and community development.
From Oxfam America’s programs in Cambodia to communications leadership at Multicultural Futures, my work has focused on helping organisations communicate in ways that are relational, clear and deeply human.
I bring together facilitation, stakeholder engagement, storytelling and identity strategy to help organisations create communication that people can trust and participate in.
Because how we communicate shapes whether people feel excluded, informed or invited into something larger than themselves.
The Next Step
Creative workshops for placemaking, identity and cultural responsiveness
Design for More offers facilitated workshops that help individuals, communities and organisations explore identity, belonging and the stories that shape how we live and work together.
These workshops combine creative practice, reflective facilitation and dialogue to create spaces where people can process change, deepen cultural understanding and reconnect with place, purpose and community.
My lament writing workshops are creative in nature, inviting participants to explore disappointment, grief, transition and hope through guided writing, storytelling and reflective exercises. .
Alongside this work, I facilitate placemaking and identity workshops that help communities and organisations reflect on who they are, what they value and how they create environments where people feel seen and included.
I also deliver cultural responsiveness workshops that support organisations, teams and leaders to engage across difference with greater awareness, empathy and confidence.
These workshops are designed for local governments, schools, organisations, community groups and leadership teams seeking meaningful engagement that moves beyond surface-level participation.
Testimonials
“Erika created a program to fit our cohort and needs and delivered several workshops to our students during 2024. The workshop aimed to offer a safe space for students who were struggling with a sense of belonging whilst enabling them to find their ‘people’ and deal with disappointment they had experienced in their lives. The students were enabled to do this through creative means which resulted in a renewed sense of purpose for those that attended. The outcome for these students was overwhelmingly positive. The workshops increased engagement and attendance for students who were otherwise choosing not to. This also resulted in more positive relationships being formed and provided an outlet for the group to discuss matters that had impacted the forming of relationships in the past..”— Armanda D.
“As someone who has just come to Australia from overseas, attending ‘The Shape of My Tears’ lament writing workshop made me feel more welcome in Australia. It definitely made me feel much lighter within myself. I truly believe that lament is a practice that people could use in their everyday lives. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the workshop materials as well as the setting”. — Peter S.
“Doing Erika’s workshop made me connect with my own heritage as well as my new culture in Australia. It was nice to find others that I could connect with. It was a really fun workshop.” — Sarah H.