Meet the VDI Team

  • Alis is the founder of the Vertical Development Institute and a research fellow at the University of the Sunshine Coast. She is a leadership development facilitator, executive coach, and researcher with over 15 years of experience working with senior leaders across industries, sectors and countries. She has dedicated her professional pursuits to supporting the development of leaders towards later stages of psychological complexity. Such mature leaders have been shown to thrive amidst disruption, operate with wisdom, build adaptive cultures and balance the inherent polarities of profit, people, and sustainability within their businesses and beyond. 

    Alis is certified by the International Coaching Federation at the PCC (Professional Certified Coach) level. She has been training and mentoring professional coaches for over a decade.

    Alis has a Masters degree in Positive Leadership and Strategy from IE University Spain and a PhD from UniSC Australia, studying leaders’ consciousness transformation and the developmental impact of leadership programs in one of the largest executive programs in Australia and NZ.

    As a researcher-practitioner, her main interest is in studying leaders at later (post-conventional) stages of development, given the global need for mental complexity at the highest levels of leadership and the dearth of existing research focusing on these mature (and still relatively rare) stages of adult development. 

    Alis’ highest hope is to continue to walk the fine line between rigorous research and the practice of leadership development. She aspires to creatively cross-pollinate between these two spheres of knowledge and help generate new insights that can inform ever more effective learning interventions for the leaders of tomorrow. 

  • Samantha brings a depth of experience as an internal and external consultant leading the design and delivery of leadership transformation in organisations.

    Samantha integrates her program design, facilitation and Executive Coaching expertise to deliver world class programs, and has delivered this for C-suite leaders across Federal and State Government and global leaders across 12 countries, aligning with her mission to create a positive impact at scale.

    Samantha has a unique background as a Forensic Scientist, so she brings her scientific mind, evidence based methodologies and non-judgement into all projects.

    Samantha has worked in or with State and Federal government for over 25 years, bringing a depth of understanding of the environment and leadership pressures and has been awarded for her work in leadership development with an Australia Day Achievement Medallion.

  • Dr. Vicki Herrington is an interdisciplinary social scientist, with a background spanning psychology, complex social systems, leadership development, innovation, and organisational change. She works globally across universities, the public sector, and with large corporates, leveraging academic insights into real-world action.  

    Vicki is passionate about supporting individuals, organisations, and collectives to create good in the world. She is optimistic about collective capacity for positive change, and realistic about how hard it can be to instigate that. 

    Drawing on her unmatched global expertise, blending top-tier academic credentials - with advanced degrees from the University of Oxford and King's College London - and real-world experience across sectors, she bridges the divide between cutting-edge academic knowledge and practical, actionable strategies to get the right things done.  

    Vicki is a highly sought-after conference keynote speaker, educator, and researcher.

  • Dina is an accomplished Executive and Leadership Coach and Learning Facilitator with an international career spanning over 20 years.

    Dina has successfully coached executives and teams of multinational corporations and non-profit organizations across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Australia. Working with clients from diverse cultural, ethnic, and religious backgrounds has allowed Dina to develop a keen sensitivity and deep understanding of their unique needs within an organisational context.

    Dina's expertise extends to facilitating workshops that support individual contributors as well as managers and leaders in growing their leadership potential, leverage cultural diversity, and co-create a respectful and safe workplace culture.

    As an accomplished professional, Dina has worked with organisations and institutions worldwide, including UNICEF, FAO, UN Women, World Bank Group, World Health Organization, L'Oreal, Mandarin Oriental, Pfizer, and many others.

  • Carmen is a coach, a trainer, a facilitator of transformative experiences, both at individual and at team and organization level. Her mission is to create safe spaces where people can get to know themselves better, find their inner strength, access the resources they need, and take the necessary steps to turn their objectives and intentions into reality, in a natural and stress-free way.

    Carmen has 13 years of experience in leadership positions, out of which 6 years of leading large teams (over 150 employees). Since 2015, Carmen has been designing and implementing leadership development and coaching programs and has over 4000 coaching hours of coaching experience supporting leaders at all levels, from over 10 countries.

    Carmen has Bachelor’s Degrees in Sociology and Psychology (with a dissertation focused on Vertical development). She holds certifications as a Professional Certified Coach (ICF) Neuro-Linguistic Programming Master, Evolutionary Coach, and Culture Transformation Consultant.

    Carmen is an experienced ICF coach trainer and mentor, having supported tens of coaches on their path to ICF certification. She is a core member of the VDI team and a lead facilitator for all our programs in Romanian.

    Carmen’s dream is to bring her contribution to expanding perspectives and fostering the vertical development of more people, as a way to contribute towards a more mature and conscious society. She is fuelled by her passion for science and adult development, her relentless curiosity and drive for self-transformation, her long experience of supporting people’s growth and, most importantly, her unconditional positive regard for her clients and her unwavering belief in the potential of every person she works with.

  • Marjana Laibacher Rogelj is a leadership coach and systemic facilitator with over 25 years of experience supporting individuals, teams, and organizations through transformation. Her work integrates vertical development, adult maturity frameworks, systemic team coaching, trauma-informed facilitation, and polarity management—grounded in both theory and deep practice.

    She has worked across corporate, public, and community systems, often accompanying leaders through complex change journeys that require not just strategy, but courage, presence, and the willingness to evolve. Her strength lies not only in knowledge, but in her capacity to hold space for inner work and relational depth.

    Marjana has designed and led leadership programs for executives, HR partners, and emerging coaches, including one of the first vertical coaching programs in Slovenia. Her approach invites personal responsibility, awareness, and self-authorship—not dependency.

    She is committed to supporting the next generation of leaders and practitioners to intentionally evolve and to participate in the larger paradigm shift needed in today’s world.

  • Ally is an experienced Business & Finance Professional who has a passion for working with businesses and entrepreneurs that are changing the world. Her expertise spans financial management, business operations, reporting & insights, workflow systems, accounting, compliance & risk management. Throughout her career, working with small businesses, to large professional service firms, to tech startups, Ally has seen many different business models and leadership styles and knows there has to be a better way.

    Ally has 20 years’ experience in a variety of consulting and in-house roles across diverse industries including leadership development, SaaS, tech start-ups, event management, architectural hardware, and aged care. This breadth of knowledge underpins her capacity for insights-driven innovation and optimising business practices. She holds a Bachelor degree in Commerce, Post Graduate Diploma in Chartered Accounting and is a registered Chartered Accountant.

    Ally is not your typical accountant. She is heart centered & people focused. Her intuition, instincts and transformational thinking define her approach to business. In addition to managing financial & commercial processes, she focuses on relationships with clients, partners and the team while generally bringing humanity and fun into work.

    Ally's dream is to see a global shift in the way we work. Focused on bringing out the best in people. She is inspired to transform and develop new ways of working. Ways that allow people to thrive, be inspired to create, and truly balance work with life. Ways that include balanced energy exchange, freedom of time, and spaces that value each person's unique skills, talents and contribution.