Nissa Lee Phillips is a dedicated Community Development practitioner with over fifteen years’ experience in the not-for-profit and community sectors. As the Hunter Homeshare Coordinator with Embrace People and Place, she works to create innovative, sustainable housing solutions that also address social isolation. With a background in Social Ecology and postgraduate qualifications in Health Promotion, Nissa brings a systems-thinking, evidence-based approach to fostering connection, equity, and resilience within communities.

Based in Newcastle (Muloobinba), she is passionate about social justice, housing security, and co-creating inclusive, supportive environments for those experiencing adversity. In partnership with the Hunter Ageing Alliance, Nissa coordinates the Hunter Homeshare Program, connecting people in need of safe, affordable housing with compassionate homeowners. The program supports mutually beneficial living arrangements grounded in trust, respect, and community connection. Guided by a social ecology lens, Nissa approaches her work across the housing, community, and not-for-profit sectors with curiosity, compassion, and collaboration.

Relational and strengths-based, her practice draws on asset-based community development principles and celebrates the power of storytelling, community knowledge, and collective action. Nissa is committed to working in ways that reflect the diversity within our communities, embedding co-design approaches and building meaningful partnerships with First Nations peoples, CALD communities, and people with disabilities. She believes another world—and another way of being and doing—is possible, and continues to create innovative, intersectional solutions to the complex and “wicked” challenges of our time.