Jane Madden – President

Jane is the founder and Principal of a Canberra advisory firm – Brickfielder Insights –  specialising in strategy, capability and international business development, and also works as an executive coach to private and public sector leaders.  She held positions at the most senior levels of the Commonwealth Departments of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Industry, and Prime Minister and Cabinet. She led a highly successful diplomatic career, including as Ambassador to UNESCO Paris, Counsellor, Australian Embassy, Tokyo and assignments in Asia, Africa and Pacific.  Throughout her professional and personal life, Jane has been passionate about the role of women in society and the work-force.

Jane is also a highly regarded non-executive director with over fifteen years’ experience as chair and member of boards and committees across government, business and the not-for-profit sector. She currently serves on the boards of the Black Dog Institute, Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT), Australian Business Volunteers and a number of start-up ventures.

Sally Moyle – Vice President

Sally Moyle is an Honorary Associate Professor at the ANU, associated with the Gender Institute. Sally has had extensive experience in international development policy and practice, and almost twenty years’ experience addressing gender issues both domestically and in international development.

Most recently, until August 2019, Sally was the Chief Executive Officer at CARE Australia, and, between 2013 and 2016, was the Principal Gender Specialist and Assistant Secretary with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Sally has been in senior executive roles in the Australian Government since 2008, including DFAT, the Office for Women, and working on Indigenous Affairs and in Disability Care in the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. Sally was the Gender Adviser in AusAID between 2006 and 2008.

Prior to joining AusAID in 2006, Sally had senior roles at the Australian Human Rights Commission, the Australian Law Reform Commission and practised as a lawyer.

Professor Helen Hodgson

Helen Hodgson joined Curtin Law School in 2014. She has lectured in Taxation at UNSW, Edith Cowan University and Curtin University. She was also a Member of the Legislative Council in Western Australia between 1997 and 2001. Helen holds qualifications in accounting, business law and taxation, is a Chartered Tax Advisor, a Registered Tax Agent, a Fellow of the Australian Society of CPA’s and a member of the SMSF Association.

Her areas of expertise include superannuation, trusts, the taxation of small business entities and tax policy, and she was a participant at the 2010 Tax Forum. Her PhD was awarded in 2013 for analysis of the tax-transfer system.

She is also a member of the Tax Advisory panel for ACOSS, the Social Policy Committee of the National Foundation for Australian Women and the Women in Social & Economic Research group. In this capacity she has contributed significantly to policy review in the areas of superannuation and the tax and transfer system.

She now chairs the NFAW Social Policy Committee.

Dr Petrina Schiavi – Secretary

Dr Petrina Schiavi is a solicitor of the Supreme Court of the ACT and holds a PhD in Sociology. Petrina is a specialist in corporate governance and social responsibility, and her career has taken her across private legal practice, academia, and government. As a corporate lawyer, Petrina advised clients in corporate governance, commercial contracting, and diversified commercial projects. Petrina has also published academic papers in corporate social responsibility, risk, trust and climate governance.

In her current role as Associate Director, Policy and Compliance at the University of Canberra, Petrina is responsible for the implementation and oversight of the University’s governance frameworks.

Liz Courtney

Liz is a passionate social entrepreneur and visionary leader with a strong background in brand and marketing communication with extended experience in digital production and social media storytelling. A stellar corporate career encompassing big brands, and agency roles has been balanced by her passion for philanthropy and giving back in the not for profit sector.

Liz brings experience as Managing Director of Ogilvy Public Relations, and General Manager, Cartwright Williams Agency where she was active in growth development, stakeholder engagement, creating effective communication campaigns, and inspiring a healthy culture to build team leadership. Liz has also delivered skills and insights in the NFP sector as CEO The Layne Beachley Foundation doubling revenue in 12 months, Global Marketing Director SEED Mantra, and in the Healthcare sector as Head of Media Communications and Marketing at NeuRA, advisor to Mindgardens Neuroscience Network in Sydney, Australia, and was appointed to the Earth Observatory of Singapore as “Artist in Residence” in 2019 to develop translational science and social impact communication for the region.

Kate Gunn

Kate is the Chief Operating Officer of the Children’s Medical Research Institute. Kate has 25 years of business experience and prior to this appointment was the Chief Operating Office of the Garvan Institute as well as the Chief Operating Officer of the ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO) at Sydney University.

Kate is also the Founder and Director of Balance! Healthcare, a leader in multi-disciplinary integrated primary healthcare, with practices in NSW and QLD. In 2015, Kate won a scholarship from Chief Executive Women and the Women’s Leadership Institute to attend the Women’s Leadership Program, Harvard Business School, and in 2012 she was named as one of the inaugural 100 Women of Influence in Australia (by Westpac and the Australian Financial Review).

Kate holds a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from Macquarie Graduate School of Management, and a Graduate Certificate in Management from the University of South Australia. She has previously served as the Chair of the Government funded National Women’s Alliance Economic Security4Women (eS4W).

Sonia Kohlbacher

Sonia has extensive experience leading teams, advising executives, and communicating to empower people. She currently works in a senior leadership role within a New South Wales government agency and previously had a decade-long career as a journalist in Australia and overseas.  She has a Bachelor of Mass Communication and is pursuing a Master of International Relations and a Master of Public Policy and Governance at the University of New South Wales, completing her thesis about the challenges to accessing sexual reproductive health information among adolescent girls in Cambodia and the available solutions earlier this year, which is slated for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.  Her passion lies in amplifying women’s voices and supporting young women to become confident leaders, driving progress toward gender equality, which motivated her to join NFAW, where she aims to leverage the strategy and communication expertise gained from advising organisations such as Diversity Council Australia and Gender and Development for Cambodia. She is eager to contribute these skills to elevate NFAW’s profile and showcase its impactful work in policy. 

Kawshalya Manisegaran

Kawshalya is a practising solicitor and is the Lawyer and Clinical Program Lead at Anika Legal in Victoria. She previously specialised as a commercial lawyer in the projects, infrastructure and construction space, advising government and private sector clients. Having gained valuable training and experiences in the private sector, she moved to the not-for-profit sector in early 2023, aiming to create social impact in a community-based role.  Kawshalya graduated from the University of New South Wales with a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of International Studies (majoring in Development Studies) and relocated from Sydney to Melbourne in early 2021. Kawshalya was born and raised in Sri Lanka and proudly identifies as a Tamil Australian.  As a first-generation immigrant female who has had the privilege of working across corporate, government and not-for-profit sectors, Kawshalya has gained a wide array of experiences in the women’s movement both on what has been achieved and how far we still have to go. This is why she sought out the role of NFAW Board Director and is thrilled to begin contributing to NFAW’s vision and mission.   

Lara Freidin

Lara is a community lawyer, feminist, and social justice advocate. She is the Executive Officer of Women’s Legal Services Australia, the national peak body for 13 community legal centres dedicated to achieving gender equality. She is passionate about improving access to specialist legal assistance for women who have experienced gendered violence.  Lara has over a decade of experience advocating for law reform, policy and systemic change to address violence against women and achieve gender equality. She has held policy roles with Women’s Legal Service Queensland, Women’s Legal Service Victoria, Victoria Legal Aid, and the Federation of Community Legal Centres Victoria. Before this, she worked as a Ministerial Adviser in the Victorian Government to improve support for victim-survivors of crime and as a federal political staffer.  Lara is delighted to join NFAW’s Board and contribute her skills and expertise to NFAW’s work to achieve women’s economic security.

Veronica Williams

Veronica, a seasoned CPA with 15 years of public service, serves as the Director of Finance at the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation. In this role, she focuses on establishing corporate governance, financial management, performance monitoring, policy, and compliance. With prior experience as the Director of the Financial Accounting Unit at the Department of the Treasury, Veronica led a team in handling financial statements, reporting to committees, and managing relations with the Australian National Audit Office. Her extensive financial management background spans various government departments and agencies, including the Infrastructure and Project Financing Agency, the National Blood Authority, and the Department of Finance. Veronica holds accounting degrees from Beijing’s Capital University of Economics and Business and Sydney’s Macquarie University. Before her public service career, she worked as an accountant for Zurich Financial Services. A passionate advocate for gender equality, Veronica, a migrant from a different cultural background, looks forward to contributing to the progress of migrant women with NFAW.

Jen Bushell

Jen Bushell has considerable experience working as a senior policy adviser in federal government, including the Office for Women, and in the community sector. She has particular expertise in relation to women’s economic security, workplace discrimination and women’s safety. Since leaving the Australian Public Service in 2014 she has worked as a gender, policy, and recruitment consultant. She is currently policy officer at WESNET, the national peak body for women’s specialist services in domestic and family violence. Jen has been a long-time supporter of NFAW, having participated on the Social Policy Committee, and served as part-time Administration Officer since 2017. She has been involved in the production of NFAW’s Gender Lens on the Budget since its inception. Jen is excited about taking on a new role with NFAW to further her commitment to improving outcomes for Australian women.