Ambassador Stories: Hedda-Katrin Paisley
“Acting as an ambassador for the Circular Bioeconomy Alliance allows me to use my professional experience, platform, and influence to amplify Indigenous perspectives, encourage respectful collaboration, and help ensure that harmony is actively practiced through listening, reciprocity, and shared responsibility.”
Our CBA ambassadors are advocates and changemakers, who represent us on the global stage, champion our work and help to build connections and partnerships. In this series, we meet Hedda-Katrin Paisley, the Executive Director, Advancement, Philanthropy & Alumni Relations at Macquarie University in Australia and CEO of the Macquarie University Hong Kong Foundation. Currently, Hedda-Katrin is focused on the Australian Harmony Centre for Ecosystem Futures at Macquarie University, championing a nature-positive future.
“To serve as an Indigenous Ambassador aligns deeply with my long‑standing commitment to reconciliation, Indigenous leadership, and creating spaces where First Nations voices are respected, heard, and central to decision‑making.
Throughout my career in education and philanthropy, I have seen the transformative impact of genuine partnership with Indigenous communities. When Indigenous leadership is embedded rather than consulted, outcomes are stronger—not only socially and environmentally, but institutionally. Such partnerships help reshape systems to be more just, inclusive, and oriented toward long‑term wellbeing.
The King’s Harmony work resonates strongly with me through its emphasis on unity, stewardship of Country, and harmony between people and the natural world. These principles are foundational to Indigenous knowledge systems and cultural practice, and they align closely with Indigenous understandings of care for Country, intergenerational responsibility, and collective flourishing.
I am particularly motivated by the opportunity to support Indigenous‑led approaches rather than symbolic engagement. At this stage of my career, my focus is on contributing to work that has lasting impact. Serving as an Indigenous Ambassador is a meaningful way to stand alongside First Nations leadership, support truth‑telling and reconciliation, and help embed social, cultural, and ecological harmony into how we lead, govern, and live.”
