About New River
Our Origin story
Our name is inspired by the wild, untamed nature of Tasmania’s ‘New River’, where the complexities of the environment are an echo of today’s leadership demands.
Just as the river carves its path through diverse landscapes, effective leadership requires navigating unknowns, adapting to new challenges, and reshaping possibility.
At New River, leadership is more than a role – it’s a dynamic journey that adapts and evolves in response to the daily challenges leaders face.
How we work and why
At New River we combine evidence-based research, real world experience and deep listening to co-create leadership development programs that are thoughtfully designed around each client’s unique context, culture and complexity.
Leadership Development that reflects the real world
Many leaders struggle to apply fragmented or generic training that doesn’t account for the real-world dynamics they face every day. These programs are delivered as ‘turn-key’ solutions with little consideration of context.
Leadership Today is complex
The challenges leaders face today are multifaceted, ranging from managing diverse teams, driving innovation, navigating relentless change and shifting stakeholder demands. This is why traditional leadership development programs fall short – they oversimplify this complexity.
Real growth takes time
In pivotal moments, surface-level training falls away. Resilience has not been adequately developed and new skills haven’t been practiced enough, if at all. Old habits quietly resurface. Building lasting leadership capability takes time, deliberate practice and a long-term commitment to development.
Our approach at New River
At New River, we choose to work with fewer clients so we can work with them deeply and intentionally. We combine research, hands-on experience, and what we hear directly from our clients to co-create leadership development frameworks that are transformative. We don’t believe in fast-tracked programs. We listen deeply, then we build something meaningful, together.
About the Team
Naomi Nash
B/Information Technology, B/Business (Hons 1st Class), B/Teaching (Secondary), Professional Cert. in Process Oriented Psychology, ICF Certified Coach, GAICD
More about Naomi
Managing Director of New River Leadership, Naomi is an experienced director and facilitator who helps organisations and teams develop their leadership capability. With over a decade of experience in leadership development and capability building, she enables executives and senior leaders to navigate complexity with both clarity and heart.
Her background spans business (First Class Honours), IT, secondary education, and psychology, giving her a grounded, interdisciplinary perspective. She has a particular interest in entrepreneurship and innovation and Naomi is also a co-author of “Rethinking Leadership: Building Capacity for Positive Change,” reflecting her commitment to practical, human-centered leadership.
Whether guiding teams, shaping strategy, or supporting individual development, Naomi brings a thoughtful and collaborative approach to her work. She welcomes conversations about leadership, organisational change, and innovation.
Naomi offers more than facilitation – she creates spaces where teams and individuals can discover their best way forward and advises executives on embedding meaningful change.
Paul Garcia
B/Arts (Hons), Dip. Psychodrama & Action Methods, ICF Certified Coach
More about Paul
Leadership coach, facilitator, and Director of New River Leadership, a consultancy dedicated to transforming leadership and organisational culture through experiential learning and systemic change. With over 25 years of experience, Paul specialises in team dynamics, group processes and intercultural leadership development, helping organisations of all sizes foster inclusive, agile, and collaborative ways of working.
A respected practitioner, Paul’s work integrates creative intelligence, adult development theory, and experiential methods to address power dynamics and cultural barriers in workplaces. He has designed and facilitated large-scale leadership programs, enabling teams to navigate complexity and align across diverse cultural contexts.
As a sought-after collaborator, Paul has partnered with several institutions and think tanks to advance leadership education and discourse – with a passionate bias toward team dynamics in complex environments. He also serves as a consultant to Thirriwirri and First Peoples Leading, organisations focusing on intercultural competence and social justice in organisational design.
A bilingual facilitator (English/Spanish), Paul brings a unique blend of Latin American and Australian perspectives to his work, alongside a background in group therapy, academia and film production.