Our People
Experienced, relational, and grounded in purpose.
How We Work Together
Fran and Rose work closely together across all projects, bringing complementary strengths, a shared commitment to grounded, community-led practice, and over a decade of working side by side.
Having collaborated for more than ten years, we balance one another’s perspectives and skills, and work with a high degree of trust, honesty, and shared responsibility. This long-standing relationship allows us to navigate complexity, challenge one another constructively, and stay focused on what matters most for communities and organisations.
Fran leads with deep experience in governance, strategy, and community development, supporting organisations to build strong foundations and deliver change that is both practical and sustainable.
Rose brings academic rigour and systems thinking to strategy, evaluation, and learning, grounded in an Indigenist approach that centres Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing, and privileges community authority, relational accountability, and cultural context.
Together, we combine relational practice, strategic clarity, and evaluation rigour to support work that is grounded in place, responsive to community, and built to last.
Fran Haintz
Co-founderFran is a highly experienced leader in community development, governance, and social impact, with more than 30 years’ experience working across Aboriginal communities, not-for-profits, government, and industry.
Her career includes senior leadership roles shaping community and Indigenous affairs strategy at BHP, as well as serving as CEO of Glass Jar Australia, where she led complex, place-based initiatives focused on inclusion, education, and economic participation.
Fran has also held ministerial appointments to Governing Councils, Advisory Boards, funding panels, and community organisations, reflecting her long-standing commitment to strong governance, accountability, and community capacity building.
She has lived, worked, loved and laughed on Kariyarra Country in Port Hedland for over 28 years, and her practice is shaped by long-term relationships with community, Elders, and local leaders.
Connect with Fran on LinkedIn.
Email Fran: fran@groundedimpact.com.au
Dr Rose Whitau
Co-founderRose is Kāi Tahu, Waitaha, and Kāti Māmoe, and Pākehā from Aotearoa New Zealand. She has lived and worked on Ngunnawal, Ngambri, Inggarda, Southern Yamatji, Martu, Gundungurra, and Dharug Country, and currently lives on Wadandi Boodja in the south-west of Western Australia.
Rose is an impact, strategy, and evaluation specialist who works through storytelling, narrative practice, and careful sense-making, weaving together community knowledge, lived experience, and evidence to support meaningful change.
She holds a PhD from the Australian National University (Culture, History, and Language), with a background in archaeology and natural history, which shapes her approach to qualitative and mixed-methods research, evaluation design, and culturally grounded practice.
A guiding principle in Rose’s work is He mana tō te kupu — Words have great power — a whakataukī that informs how knowledge is gathered, interpreted, and shared with care and responsibility.
Rose is known for her ability to connect big-picture vision with the practical realities of implementation, outcomes, and decision-making, supporting organisations to translate stories into learning, strategy, and action grounded in place and relationships.
Outside of Grounded Impact, Rose is a full-time mum and a part-time poet.
Connect with Rose on LinkedIn.
Email Rose: rose@groundedimpact.com.au
For downloadable examples of Rose's work, see here. For a full list of Rose's publications, see here.
Let’s Yarn
We’d love to hear from you. Whether you’re interested in working together, have a question about one of our projects, or just want to start a conversation, reach out and say hello.
Fran Haintz – Co-founder
fran@groundedimpact.com.au
Dr. Rose Whitau – Co-founder
rose@groundedimpact.com.au