Our People 

Heather Hamilton

Founder & Principal Consultant

Purpose and performance for organisations that exist to do good, and the people who want to help them do it well.

Heather Hamilton is a strategic adviser who helps purpose-driven organisations and their leaders turn ambition into practical, sustainable outcomes.

Warm, thoughtful and commercially minded, Heather works alongside Boards, CEOs, and leadership teams to strengthen organisational capability, build internal readiness, deepen stakeholder relationships, and develop diverse sources of income. Her approach brings together purpose, people, partnerships, philanthropy, and performance to create the confidence and foundations organisations need to grow.

Heather brings more than 30 years of experience across Australia, Asia, and Canada. Her career began in commercial and investor relations roles in Canada’s oil and gas industry, which brought her to Australia. In the late 1990s, she moved into the not-for-profit sector and has since worked across higher education, schools, health and medical research, membership associations, and community organisations.

Throughout her career, Heather has brought strategy and delivery together. She has built and led multidisciplinary teams, developed high-value partnerships, secured and stewarded significant philanthropic gifts, and contributed to campaigns ranging from $1 million to $300 million. She has also managed strategic partnership portfolios exceeding $25 million and worked with more than 1,000 volunteers. These experiences have given her a deep appreciation of the relationships, leadership, and organisational discipline required for success.

Heather has held executive and director roles with the Lions Eye Institute, The University of Western Australia Business School, The University of Queensland, Brisbane Grammar School, and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. She has also served on the St Hilda’s Anglican School for Girls Foundation and works with Global Philanthropic as Senior Associate, Asia Pacific.

She holds an MBA (International), is a Vincent Fairfax Fellow in Ethical Leadership, and has studied Social Impact Outcomes Measurement. Her contribution to educational advancement has been recognised with the CASE Laureate designation.

Through Advfinity, Heather offers clear thinking, honest advice, and practical support tailored to each organisation. She believes meaningful change begins with listening, understanding an organisation’s purpose, its people, and its aspirations before deciding what comes next.

Based in Western Australia, Heather is happiest near or under the water. Away from work, she enjoys swimming, sailing, and diving, often with a camera in hand, as well as spending time with her dog, Dexter.

Mark Sollis

Senior Associate
Alumni & Stakeholder Relations 

Mark specialises in performance management, strategy development, and business planning in advancement. He is also researching cultural and national differences in stakeholder engagement and practices in education.

As the founder, strategist and creative of D3 Advancement Studio, Mark advises many alumni operations in Asia-Pacific and North America, and supported the reshaping of benchmarking, metrics, and reporting practices for consortia CAAE and PCUAD. 

As the first Associate Vice-President, Alumni at the University of Calgary, he led the creation of the university’s acclaimed alumni strategy, making it a global leader in performance-driven alumni engagement. He also served three years as the project manager for Canada’s leading alumni facility, the $20M Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre at the University of British Columbia, as well as the Senior Director, Operations and Planning, and Interim Associate Vice-President, Alumni/Executive Director Alumni Association for UBC.

Mark's experience in post-secondary education spans communications, university foundations, media relations, finance, and project management. Known for his innovative thinking, focused execution and collegiality, he has provided strategic counsel to higher education executives, led major Canadian political campaigns, and served as a political caucus chief of staff.

He served on the CASE Commission on Alumni Relations (2013-2016) and the CASE District VIII Board (2014-2016) and has presented extensively globally for CASE, AUAPG, and CCAE. 

Mark holds a Bachelor of Applied Communications (Journalism) from Mount Royal (Calgary) and an Advanced Certificate in Design Thinking from IDEO. He has also completed post-graduate studies in Intercultural and International Communications at Royal Roads University (Victoria).