Ivan McKay

Ivan lives in Merimbula on the far south coast of NSW. He works as Compliance Manager for a local not-for-profit, and was formerly the Chief Engineer of SBS TV and Radio. He is the President of a local Mens Shed, past board member of a local Chamber of Commerce, a current Board member of the Mumbulla Foundation, and instigator of a range of innovative events for the public, including “Politics in the Pub”, and technology “Start Up Camps”.

Ross is management consultant with a strong interest in governance, partnerships, strategy and civil society. His passion for developing communities through social capital has included direct involvement with a range of community services organisations, various levels of government, volunteer groups, corporations and small businesses. He lives in the Southern Highlands of NSW.

Cliff is Ombudsman at La Trobe University in Melbourne. He is one of the founders of the University of the Third Age ((U3A) movement in Australia, and is a Director of the ANZ College for Seniors, a non-profit organisation providing educational travel for older people. He has written a number of books and been a regular broadcaster on issues of ageing, grief and loss, disability and families.

Greg Bondar is the CEO of Tharawal Aboriginal Land Council, covering southern and south west Sydney down to Nowra. He is a former Deputy Mayor of Kogarah Municipal Council. He previously worked in the NSW Small Business Development Corporation, and has been a senior adviser to a federal Minister for Transport and Regional Development.

Frank migrated to Australia from Germany and is an entrepreneur and community developer and a Director of the Global Foundation for Sustainable Communities. He has been a real estate developer and business and property broker, specialising in in buying and selling pharmacies and other businesses. He was a key developer of Bunjil Community Village and Mannawood Community Land Trust in Victoria.

Kyle is Manager of Community Relations for Deaf Children Australia, and a founding Director of the Australian Consumer Communications Action Network. He is a deaf person and was previously President of Deaf Australia and a founding board member of the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations. He lives in Melbourne.

Maria lives in Adelaide, the daughter of a post World War Two migrant family. She is passionate about mental health and disability (married to a war veteran) and has extensive experience in disability advocacy.  She advocates for the introduction of self-directed services and breaking down government silos in social support.  

Coll is a self-employed IT consultant and lives in Alice Springs. He is passionate about indigenous affairs, and is strongly influenced by Catholic Social Teaching and Distributism (distributed power and wealth, smaller structures, a new role for government).

Robyn lives in Tasmania and is an academic with expertise in rural and regional development in Australia and overseas. She has written extensively on participatory development, local and community-based economies, and participatory governance.  She has worked in rural and regional communities in Western Australia, Victoria and currently Tasmania. 

Paul lives in Brisbane and is is passionate about education and community economic development. He runs a family company that manages child care and early learning centres and undertakes adult learning commissions. He also runs a niche publishing business. He was previously a Director of Vocational Training in Queensland, and Director Employment with Queensland TAFE.

Greg lives near Launceston and is a company director in information technology. He is an electrical engineer and has worked in the defence industries. He has been an advocate for accountability and transparency in public institutions, and a campaigner for reform of the legal and justice systems.