Meet the WiRE Program Team

Prof. Retha Wiesner (Founder and Program Director)

Hi there! A bit about me. Born in Namibia, South West Africa and living in Australia for the past 28 years, my path has been diverse and driven. From playing tennis globally to setting up a tennis academy and organisational psychology practice, every step has built towards my current role. I'm the founder and program director of the WiRE Program, where I lead, mentor, and drive all the program components. My career has always revolved around three pillars: Entrepreneurial and Organisational Behaviour, Research, and Teaching. As a Professor at the University of Southern Queensland, I focus on entrepreneurship, innovation, and organisational behaviour.

What drives me? Advancing women through entrepreneurial behaviour and innovation. I've led national and international entrepreneurship projects, with initiatives worth over $12m in the past 10 years. I've interviewed countless women entrepreneurs, learning about their successes, challenges, and the passion that drives their businesses. I see myself as an "initiator", always pushing for innovation and growth. I've published over 90 research articles and co-authored 13 books on management. Currently, I'm currently mentoring eight doctoral students in small business and entrepreneurship. I love working with inquiring minds and individuals who have a passion for self-growth. In this program, I'm not just here to facilitate and guide but to learn from each participant. I believe in mutual growth, and I'm excited about the journey ahead with all of you.

MELISSA JOHNSON MORGAN

Melissa Johnson Morgan is an Associate Professor of Marketing and has been an academic and facilitator in Australia and the United States of America for over 25 years. She has extensive marketing and strategic business consulting experience in a variety of sectors including retail, government, agriculture, sport, and logistics. She has helped small and large businesses achieve transformation, growth, and success through understanding the strategic role of marketing in value creation. Her marketing knowledge is extensive, and she has developed and delivered courses in marketing strategy and innovation, consumer behaviour, global marketing, market research, e-commerce, and sports marketing. She has taught executive education classes in many countries including India, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Chile, the USA, and Australia.

Tara Jacobsen-Neven

Tara Jacobsen-Neven is a facilitator in the WiRE Program. She is an experienced entrepreneur, business strategist, facilitator, and collective leadership specialist. She is currently working on her PhD in the area of helping rural, regional and remote women to build social capital. Tara has over 20 years experience in applying strategy to corporate learning and development, education, business growth and organisational development.  An expert in human and social capital development, Tara uses new insights into providing a strategic approach to building and executing social capital solutions to build more productive, resilient and change agile teams, organisations and communities. Tara’s key fundamental philosophy is that we build human capital value in organisations by enhancing the way we structure our organisations and how we develop our people in order to best operate in the ‘wisdom age’. She has been successful in connecting people and organisations to collaborate to build sustainable and embedded learning which supports organisation and people skill development.  She has a number of years experience as keynote speaker and master of ceremonies at a number of Australian industry conferences on subjects such as leadership, culture development, social and human capital value. She also sits on a number of boards and committees in various roles and volunteers for a number of community groups. Tara contributes frequently to a range of local and state publications and is a regular writer for the international My Entrepreneur e-magazine. She is currently writing a book on the invisible threads that connect people and how to use this for personal and professional development to enhance social capital value.  Tara holds a number of postgraduate and undergraduate degrees in business including a Master of Business Administration.

Prof. Jane Summers

Professor Jane Summers has extensive experience in leading strategy development, organisational and process change at the University of Southern Queensland. Jane is an adaptive leader with fantastic interpersonal skills allowing her to effectively engage with people from diverse backgrounds to achieve organizational goals. Jane’s research expertise in community engagement and social marketing has honed her ability to make sense of community consultation for strategic outcomes by key decision-makers. Jane's experience in designing and developing constructively aligned business curriculum informed by digital pedagogy make her an asset to any higher education institution, and provide the bridge between her industry lead research and her teaching/capacity-building activities. .

Dr. Tarryn Kille

Tarryn is the Aviation Program Director in the School of Business at USQ.  Her research and practice have been grounded in the development of rural, remote and regional communities.  Tarryn’s PhD study has allowed her to appreciate the emerging transport and logistics opportunities for building sustainable regional business.  Her research in this field has been integrated and is currently being practised by businesses in regional Tasmania.  Tarryn has developed a keen passion for the educational development of young people.  Her research in this area has focussed on blended and online tertiary education in an effort to create interactive learning, and skill development opportunities for students working in rural, remote and regional locations.  Tarryn has also extended her education research into the field of capacity building by investigating the training motivations and behaviours of young people seeking to enhance their employability skills after suffering significant career challenges or facing industries experiencing job shortages.  Her research has been translated into practical actions that intend to advise educational institutions, policymakers and young people through targeted capacity, skill and resilience-building strategies.  

Dr Aastha Malhotra

Aastha is a Senior Lecturer and the Human Services Program Director at the University of Southern Queensland. She uses her multi-disciplinary background to inform her research foci which include entrepreneurship development, gender sensitive capacity-building, and small business strategy. An experienced qualitative researcher, Aastha has expertise in interviewing, content and narrative analysis, developing case studies and impact evaluation. She draws on empowerment perspectives and is driven by the potential of entrepreneurship for community and economic development. Her relevant past projects include a number of evidence-based capacity building projects, including international fellowship programs for women entrepreneurs from Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka funded by Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; and a pilot aimed at examining and enhancing the digital skills of migrant and refugee women entrepreneurs in Regional Australia funded by Advance Queensland. Aastha holds a PhD in Management and her academic portfolio also includes teaching in areas of management, strategy, entrepreneurship, and leadership as well as publications in and reviewing for peer-reviewed platforms. From an industry perspective, she brings with her ten years of consulting experience with organisations in India, Canada and Australia. Passionate about practical outcomes and application of research findings, Aastha continues to be actively involved in the industry through management seminars, consulting projects, mentoring initiatives (including for the Department of Employment, Small Business and Training) and serving on panels and advisory committees.

Liz Couchman

Hi there! I'm Liz Couchman, an Online Community Specialist with a passion for connecting and empowering women entrepreneurs and founders. With a knack for fostering supportive digital spaces, I'm dedicated to nurturing the WIRE online community—a dynamic hub where visionary female leaders come together to share their journeys, celebrate achievements, and learn from challenges. As the founder of Clever Bugs, my small business focused on fostering connections among like-minded mums and caregivers, I've honed my skills in creating engaging virtual environments. My expertise lies in crafting spaces that promote open dialogue, collaboration, and growth. From sharing triumphant moments to discussing lessons learned, the WIRE community is where aspiring and established entrepreneurs unite to inspire, motivate, and thrive together.

I'm committed to enhancing interactions, fostering meaningful connections, and amplifying voices within our dynamic community. Join me in building a network that celebrates achievements, embraces challenges, and transforms aspirations into accomplishments.

Annie Wiesner

Annie contributes to the research and administration aspects of the program through gathering data and source materials, data analysis, preparation and development of case studies and reports to ensure the efficient execution of these program activities.