Our Team.
We understand how much heart, energy, and risk goes into running a business, and we believe that support should feel human, thoughtful, and invested in your progress.
Kari Spies
Operations and Governance Specialist
Kari is the founder of Business Habitat, bringing a strong background in operations, governance, and organisational development to the not-for-profit sector.
She is a registered Associate with the Governance Institute of Australia, holds a degree in Environmental Science, is the author of two books, and has been recognised with two business awards for her work.
Her career spans a wide range of industries, from IT multinationals to startups, and includes experience working across several continents. That breadth has given her a deep, practical understanding of how organisations evolve, the challenges leaders face at every stage, and the strong foundations needed to support sustainable growth.
With a natural focus on structure, clarity, and accountability, Kari has spent many years working alongside leadership teams and boards helping organisations move from good intentions to genuine impact. That experience now shapes every part of how Business Habitat works: practical, grounded, and built to leave not-for-profits funder ready, operationally strong, and positioned to thrive.
Behind the work is a genuine belief that organisations are like habitats — when the systems, funding, and leadership around them are healthy, the mission has room to truly flourish.
Having grown up in Africa, Kari carries a lasting appreciation for community, resilience, and the impact that's possible when people and organisations are given the right conditions to thrive.
That belief drives her work today a deep want to see those in the not-for-profit space do the very best they can, for the causes and communities that rely on them.
Kiffy Stead
Creative & Social Media Lead
Kiffy works in the Team helping build the story Funders funders see. If you don't tell your story, no one knows it — and that's the belief Kiffy brings to every piece of work he creates.
Kiffy brings creativity, energy, and a genuine passion for helping ideas come to life. With training in the creative process and developing social proof, he's developed a strong ability to translate an organisation's real impact into engaging content and visual storytelling the kind that funders notice and remember.
For not-for-profits, this matters. Funders don't just back a mission; they back organisations that can clearly show what they've achieved. Kiffy's role is making sure that story gets told turning outcomes, impact, and hard work into content that builds trust and visibility with the people who matter most.
His natural creativity is shaped by a deep love of nature and the outdoors, influencing the way he approaches design, communication, and connection.
Kiffy is one of Western Australia's leading Drosera experts, having trained various ranger teams on these unique carnivorous plants — what to look for, how to identify them, and how to protect them in the wild. That same curiosity and attention to detail carries through into his creative work, where he brings a naturalist's eye for the small, distinctive details that make a story worth telling.
Curious, imaginative, and people-focused, Kiffy brings personality and heart into every piece of work — helping organisations show up as clearly and confidently as the impact they're creating.