Senior executive with deep experience in leadership and government systems
Salli Cohen is a strategist, storyteller and a quiet force helping governments, organisations and communities create change that matters.
Guided by her values of equity, self-determination and respectful collaboration, and grounded in creating public value, she works with organisations and communities to build the relationships, capability and confidence needed to drive the changes desired by those they serve.
Salli brings more than 30 years’ experience across government, Aboriginal Community Controlled organisations, for-purpose entities, and the private sector, including her own policy practice, The Policy Room.
She has extensive experience designing and delivering leadership, policy and implementation capability programs for participants ranging from graduates to executive leaders. She holds a Master of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Griffith University), an Executive Master of Public Administration (ANZSOG), and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).
Recognised for her ability to connect diverse stakeholders, strengthen governance, and design strategies that deliver tangible results across urban, regional, and remote contexts, Salli is valued for her clarity, calm authority, and integrity in complex systems.
Salli is a non-executive director of Saltbush Social Enterprises, the Chair of the NT ANZSOG Alumni Chapter, the Lead Faculty for ANZSOG’s Delivering Strategic Policy program, and a member of the NT Chapter of the National Regulators Community of Practice (NRCoP) and the Institute of Public Administration NT (IPAA NT).
Her first book, ‘Rollercoaster: How to be a bloody good policy officer’, was published in March 2025.