Sommer is both the General Manager and leader of the DEI Solutions division for The Dream Collective. When designing solutions for The Dream Collective’s client base, Sommer draws on her rich experience as a people leader gained over the past 15 years.

Originally from Australia, Sommer has lived and worked across the APAC region as an Executive General Manager before moving into leadership development, and strategic HR roles. Sommer holds a Bachelor of Business and Masters of Organisational Leadership, which enables her to balance empirical, proven frameworks with real-world commercial expertise to power up inclusive leadership capability and advance organisational culture.

Sommer is driven by the belief that change is possible and that human connection is an enabler of great performance, both in the workplace and in society.

Yolanda’s passion for fairness and equity led her to The Dream Collective as she resonated with The Dream Collective’s purpose – to drive change within organisations to help elevate more women and diverse talent.

Yolanda believes that at the core of every organisation is its people, and investing in those people and the systems surrounding them brings the best out in them which in turn accelerates an organisation’s ability to achieve its strategic objectives. Yolanda’s strength in blending her analytical thinking with the “human” element of work drives her passion and commitment to seeing results for both the individuals involved and the organisation as a whole. Yolanda is a sought-after panelist, speaker and SME in the DEI space.

Yuta Hasumi leads the worldwide Diversity and Inclusion business strategy and implementation. Yuta advises organisations and drives leadership accountability through goals and metrics to achieve a diverse and inclusive workforce, workplace, and marketplace for business growth around the globe.

Prior to his current role, he has been Regional Head of Diversity and Inclusion for multinational companies as well as a DEI business consultant for over 10 years. He consulted business leaders on the attraction, development and retention of diverse talent in Japan, Korea and the United States. His designed Women’s Leadership Program was recognized as one of the best business cases in Asia Pacific. He facilitated talent development programs on Diversity and Inclusion, Unconscious Bias and Global Leadership.

Yuta obtained an MBA with honors in Human Resources Management at Waseda Business School, and holds a BA Degree in International Law at Waseda University.

Bringing with her a determination to create impactful and sustainable change, Nat is committed to breaking down gender barriers in the corporate world and broader society.
As a Japanese-English bilingual with a multicultural background, she leverages her unique perspectives to challenge social norms and cultivate business growth

As a Business Development Manager at The Dream Collective, I’m passionate about supporting businesses in their DEI initiatives. Leveraging our extensive expertise in APAC, I work closely with clients to understand their objectives and definition of success. Together, we design tailored solutions that are integrated into the business and help drive meaningful impact. Whether you’re embarking on your DEI journey or expanding its scope, I am committed to partnering with you to deliver impactful outcomes through our comprehensive services.

With a core focus on the Australia and Japan markets – she drives diverse talent attraction and employer branding products, with her portfolio of clients including Coca Cola, Amazon Web Services, Cisco and the Australian Government. As a passionate advocate for gender equality, she utilises her skills to maximise the impact of The Dream Collective’s and their client’s initiatives – all with the goal to transform the careers of individuals, fuel sustainable evolution of the workplace and drive societal progress towards equity.

Michelle comes from a experienced HR and Recruitment background, specialising in employee experience, facilitating training sessions, and assisting leaders in building and developing inclusive teams.

Recently joining TDC, Michelle is driven by the shared mission of positively impacting the future of work in a human and caring way. As a DEI Consultant, she leverages industry and user research to inform product strategy and roadmap. Michelle passion lies in solving organisational challenges through the use of surveys, templates, focus groups, and facilitating engaging training sessions.

With previous of experience in larger corporates and start-ups, Michelle has a proven track record of building Employee Affinity Groups (EAGs) and DEI committees from inception to maturity. She is dedicated to staying up-to-date with the latest DEI best practices, continuously enhancing her skills to create environments where all individuals feel valued, respected, and empowered.

Carina’s role as a marketing coordinator brings a holistic blend of expertise in sales, marketing, and consumer behaviour to our team. With a strong belief in the transformative power of communication, she understands that raising awareness is a vital tool for creating positive change in the world. Working closely with the marketing team, Carina excels at developing persuasive content and strategies that not only drive The Dream Collective’s mission forward but also have a significant impact on our clients’ goals in the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion space.

Asako lives in Japan and serves Japanese clients as a content lead. She has extensive experience in talent management and as an L&D in HR for a variety of companies, including foreign-affiliated companies, Japanese companies, and foreign start-ups. She is passionate about increasing the number of organizations where people enjoy networking and collaboration under psychological safety and trust each other, and thus people unleash the potential everyday. She is committed to helping create organizations where employees feel they are working for this company by choice, and  D&I is a powerful tool for breaking through.

Simon is an advisor and investor to human capital and HR tech businesses in Asia. He has more than 2 decades of experience building, selling, buying, and facilitating management buy-outs in the HR services space across Asia, totalling approximately USD 100M. Simon is currently based in Tokyo and supports The Dream Collective’s local operations in an advisory capacity, working closely with Sarah, Josh, Natsumi, and the rest of the team. Simon is originally from England. He has a BA in History from the University of East Anglia, and further qualifications in Leadership from Oxford University (Said School of Business), Cornell University and HK University of Science and Technology. He is an ICF certified Executive Coach and a Genos Emotional Intelligence Practitioner.

James is a strategic advisor for The Dream Collective’s Australian market, with expertise in sales and business development. James’ value is in bringing an external perspective and working alongside our executive team to achieve the best results for the business.

James’ passion is to work together with his family, community and work colleagues to make a positive difference. He aims to achieve this through a desire to continually learn, to be open to new ideas and thinking, and attempt to not make the same mistake twice!

As the co-founder and CEO at Amicus, James’ focus is on developing the team to make sure they are defining, designing and delivering spaces that inspire people and organisations.

In the community, James wants to make a difference in the fight against children’s brain cancer. When Lachie Muldoon, his son’s best mate died in 2015 from Glioblastoma brain cancer aged 10 after a short 6-month battle, it inspired him to work with Lachie’s parents to raise much needed funds. As at the end of 2020, loveforlachie.com.au has raised over $1.5m. He will not stop until no more children have to go through what Lachie and his parents did.

James is mad about sports, and whether this is playing (O35 football, cricket with his sons, or cycling too far for Tour de Cure), he loves how this enables him to connect with people and feel good at the same time.