Menaka Iyengar Cooke has been in private practice as a Psychotherapist and Counsellor for over 20 years.  She holds a Masters in Applied Psychotherapy and Counselling from the Jansen Newman Institute (now Torrens University). She has worked as an Educator at the Australian College of Applied Psychology, besides doing group facilitation, coaching, cultural training and management consulting.

She has coaching qualifications and loves coaching people to achieve personal and professional goals. She believes in helping people become the ‘best versions of themselves, not copies of someone else’.

Before moving to Psychotherapy and Counselling, Menaka had a successful corporate career, working as H.R. Manager and later as H.R. Director for well-known Australian and multi-national corporations. During her HR career, she won awards for ‘Best SME for involving staff in strategy’ and for Australia’s first Family friendly policy as well as being made a Fellow of the Australian Human Resources Institute. Her consulting work in Change Management, then HR Transformation in Education (WSU) won awards followed by her work in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) with the Indigenous Employment Unit of WSU. She continues to work in heightening DEI awareness with organisations as well as supporting Aboriginal and CALD organisations.

Menaka is a board member of the Indian (sub-continent) Crisis & Support Agency (www.icsa.net.au), Older Women’s Network NSW (www.ownnsw.org.au) and the Women’s Electoral Lobby (www.wel.org.au) as well as various other women’s organisations e.g. Women Chiefs of Enterprises, Zonta District 24 clubs.  She has been on the boards/management committees of community service organisations such as Economic Security for Women, The Junction Works, The Bower and Women in Adult & Vocational Education. Now she represents WEL and ICSA on the Equality Rights Alliance (ERA), a government funded network which advocates for women’s equality and leadership as well as promoting intersectional diversity.

She was awarded the Prof. Shirley Randell AO-Women Chiefs of Enterprises Award for Social Contribution in 2021 and the International Alliance for Women (www.tiaw.org) Award for Community Service in October 2022.