Venessa Paech is an internationally regarded online community expert and educator.

She has been engaged by numerous organisations as a community principal, consultant and strategist, including Lonely Planet, REA Group (realestate.com.au), Envato and Australia Post.

In 2009 Venessa founded the Australian Community Manager Roundtable, which grew into Australian Community Managers (ACM), the national centre of excellence for online community management training and resources, co-founded by Venessa and Alison Michalk.

ACM hosts a 6000+ community, produces research into community management,  facilitates the national Code of Ethics for community professionals and offers training for anyone working with online groups or communities (professional or volunteer). ACM runs the annual APAC conference for community builders, Swarm.

Venessa works in several international community management leadership collectives, and liaises with industry, government and researchers to grow community management practice in APAC.

Venessa developed and teaches the first post-graduate online community management Unit for the University of Sydney and is the Community @ Work coach for the Future Work Skills Academy. She is a published academic, and a PhD Candidate (University of Sydney) studying AI and online communities.

Before online community, Venessa trained in musical theatre at Tisch School of the Arts (NYU) and worked in New York and Australia as a performing artist.