Nikita has extensive experience across the public, private, and not-for-profit sector. Her expertise encompasses evaluation, policy design, strategic reviews, and research. As a passionate advocate for social and economic inclusion, she brings a people-centred and empathic approach to all her engagements, building rapport with stakeholders. Her social policy specialisation, particularly within the health and human services sector, makes her a valuable asset in crafting evidence-based solutions for diverse sectors.

Influential work:

• Facilitated a discussion at the ANROWS National Research Conference 2022 on the importance of engaging children and young people in policy and service design

• Crafted a partnership strategy fostering collaboration between a prominent university and health care institution

• Estimated the economic value of foster carers

• Developed an options assessment for a future model of a regional aged care service

• Conducted client mapping to improve access to services for vulnerable and disadvantaged communities in the family violence system using human-centred design methods

• Evaluated the social housing allocation system in Victoria

• Evaluated the Mental Health Hospital in the Home, a service that provides intensive mental health support and treatment to the community in their own home as an alternative to in-patient care

• Evaluated a program with lived experience consultants that aimed to improve the engagement of the consumer and carer workforces in gathering and utilising experience feedback for service improvement

• Delivered end-to-end mixed method evaluations of family violence workforce reform initiatives, which include the accredited training program; a multi-year program for student placements into the family violence workforce; and a specialist family violence graduate scheme in rural and regional Victoria

• Developed Our Equal State – Victoria’s Gender Equality Strategy and Action Plan 2023 – 2027, and led the development of the refreshed Gender Equality Outcomes Framework

Prior to dandolo, Nikita worked:

• as a Senior Policy Officer (Evaluation) at the Office for Women, Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing

• as a Management Consultant for a public purpose consultancy in Victoria

• at the Group CEO’s Office, Asialink, The University of Melbourne

• a Research Officer at the Faculty of Business and Economics, The University of Melbourne

Nikita has a Master of Development Studies from The University of Melbourne and a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Mathematics and Finance from The University of York.