Torres Strait Islander · Facilitator and keynote speaker
Benjamin Isaiah Mitchell
I turn conflict into decisions.
When a partnership has stalled, another meeting is not enough. I help government, First Nations and Pacific partners work through disagreement and decide what happens next.
Based in Canberra. Working across Australia and the Pacific.
Executive sessions · Australian GovernmentFacilitation · Australian Institute of SportOpening address · UNFCCC forum, Sydney
A decision. Not another meeting.
The Decision Room is for leaders responsible for a team or partnership that has stopped moving. We start with the decision you need to make, not a ready-made workshop.
Before we meetI hear what the people involved need and shape the session around the decision.
Within 14 daysYou get a written record of decisions, agreed actions and anything still unresolved.
At 90 daysWe check what held, what moved and what needs more work.
The Decision Room
The Decision Room. For teams and partnerships that have stalled. I help people work through disagreement, name the decision and agree who carries the next steps. Half-day, full-day or a program over several sessions.
Fees on enquiry
Keynote speaking
Keynotes that bring people back to a shared question. Practical lessons on trust, communication and decisions, drawn from government, sport and international forums. Opening addresses and keynotes, 5 to 45 minutes.
Fees on enquiry
Need the detail for your team? Read the scope and process →
My approach
People need to be heard before they can move forward.
Every stuck room I've worked in comes back to communication and relationships. I work through both, without pretending everyone starts in the same place.
Hear
I find out what each person needs, beneath what they say they want.
Hold
I make space for the hard things to be said, without losing sight of the decision.
Name
I put the shared issue into clear words, so everyone knows what needs to change.
Raise
We name the next decision, the agreed actions and who will carry them forward.
Proof in practice
CANBERRA, 2024 · NATIONAL SPORT
I brought 12 executives from 7 national sport agencies together to work on racism in sport. The session produced a shared draft framework. A draft, not an adopted policy: the distinction matters.
See relevant experienceCANBERRA, 2025
I facilitated cultural competency sessions for Australian Government executives. Storytelling, real cases and policy scenarios helped connect First Nations perspectives to decisions at work.
Read the case study“(Ben) brought energy, camaraderie, and insights to the room and shared practical examples and tools with the participants to help them progress their ideas. Ben's approach to using real-world examples and modern tools to work smarter was a big help for the participants. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Ben for future development projects.”
Organisations I've worked with
The person behind the work
From a borrowed lawnmower to the rooms that matter.
I grew up in Cairns. My family is from the Torres Strait, the Merriam and Mualgal peoples. My first business began with a borrowed lawnmower and knocking on doors. It paid for my first semester at university.
Since then, I've worked with business owners, government executives and delegates at international forums. Different rooms. The same need to understand each other, build trust and decide what comes next.
I founded Indigo.Co and Project Indigo. At the Australian National University, I'm researching how Indigenous and Pacific communities build and own their enterprises. That question is personal, not just academic.
I'm a husband, a father of three and a man of faith. Those are not separate from my work. They are why I care about what people build, who owns it and whether it lasts.
What grounds my work
- Family, faith and Country
- I'm of the Merriam and Mualgal peoples of the Torres Strait. My family, my faith and our care for land, sea and kinship ground how I work. They also shape what I choose not to take on.
- People keep what is theirs
- Community knowledge belongs to the people who carry it. They keep the intellectual property they create. Their information is used only with their consent.
- The people not in the room
- I ask who is missing, who will live with the decision, and whether they have a say. A seat at the table is not the same as a voice in what happens next.
What decision needs to move?
I read every message myself and reply within five working days.
Need to share this with your team first? See the scope and process →