Speaking, faciLitation & STRATEGIC CONSULTING Engagements

Passion for driving change

Jillian Kilby, The Exchange's CEO and Founder, approaches life optimistically with the logical thinking of a civil engineer, the roll-up-your-sleeves attitude of a farmer’s daughter from Coonamble, and an altruistic passion for driving change.

Jillian is a strategy expert with experience assessing program design, delivery models and outcomes across more than 80 LGAs. She is experienced in governance and facilitation, as a Non-Executive Director, and leader of reviews, evaluations and initiatives in both Government and private sector delivery settings.

From 2021 to 2026 Jillian co-founded and led The Stable Group - a network of ~50 consultants across economic development, policy, business cases and community engagement. Jillian was the Founder and Director of The Infrastructure Collaborative, an advisory firm that moved infrastructure projects from planning to shovel-ready. Her work spans multi-billion dollar regional NSW road planning, to land value capture for the California High-Speed Rail Authority, among dozens of other strategic consultancy projects.

She is an Australian Sir John Monash Scholar, a Fellow of the Institute of Engineers Australia, a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and holds an MBA and Public Policy Masters from Stanford University.

In 2018, Jillian founded The Exchange, a regionally-based social impact organisation focused on the facilitation of space for coworking and community. Jillian bought and renovated an 1880s iconic post office building and a State Heritage Listed Bank in Dubbo, an old Cordial Factory precinct in Narrabri and an old bank in Wagga Wagga, which have been restored and transformed for new tenants.  

Through her real estate venture Good Foundations Property, Jillian acquired a fifth heritage building in Wagga Wagga for restoration which was completed in 2026.

Jillian has held several board and advisory roles, including Chair of the NSW Skills Board and Director of the Australian Public Policy Institute as well as NSW Innovation and Productivity Council Board Member and NSW Treasurer’s Women’s Economic Opportunity Expert Panel Member.

She is unique for having had boots on the ground in both regional Australia and the USA. Now splitting her time between Dubbo, Narrabri, Wagga Wagga and Newcastle, she is able to cross-pollinate learnings from her diverse set of international education and work assignments. Jillian is a thought leader, a collaborator, and a people-first strategist. She was the 2013 NSW/ACT Rural Woman of the Year.