Moderator
DR. KAREN HUSSEY
Dr Karen Hussey is Deputy Director General, Environmental Policy and Programs in the Queensland Department of Environment and Science where she leads the Government’s policy and programs relating to the Great Barrier Reef, climate change, resource recovery and waste, biodiversity conservation, and broader environmental policy, for example relating to mine rehabilitation, wetlands and migratory birds.
Guest Speakers
BRIT ANDRESEN
SUBJECT: A WOMAN’S PLACE IS IN THE HOME
Brit Andresen studied architecture in Norway (NTH), is a Registered Architect in Queensland, AIA member, and has taught architecture at the University of Cambridge,the Architectural Association London, School of Architecture and Urban Planning UCLA and the University of Queensland. She contributes to the annual Glenn Murcutt International Master Class and has initiated student travel studios to Japan and Finland.
Her private practice in Cambridge and partnership with Peter O’Gorman in Brisbane have resulted in design research and built works that have been published and exhibited widely. Her current teaching and research include building design with landscape, the relation of architecture to urban change and relationships between ideas and practice.
Brit Andresen was a member of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Queensland Regional Selection Committee from 2008 to 2016, and she continues to practice, teach and research as an independent scholar.
JO THOMAS
SUBJECT: CULTURAL LEADERSHIP
Jo Thomas (2012) is CEO and Creative Director of Metro Arts, Queensland’s preeminent multidisciplinary arts hub. Over the past three years, Jo has guided Metro Arts through a period of once-in-a-generation change redesigning the organisation’s business model and creating the Metro Arts Future Fund (MAFF) to sustain art and artists into the future. For this work Jo was awarded the 2020 Queensland Telstra Business Woman of the Year; as well as being the state winner of the For Purpose and Social Enterprise category.
Jo’s previous experience is in programming, producing and performance, working on projects for Brisbane Festival, Brisbane’s contemporary circus company CIRCA, Queensland Music Festival and Bleach* Festival to name a few. Jo has also worked in film, television and theatre and toured locally and nationally with her works and was a 2012 recipient of the prestigious Churchill Fellowship. She holds a Masters Fine Arts (Cultural Leadership) from NIDA.
FIONA HAWTHORNE PhD
SUBJECT: IS IT WRONG TO CARE ABOUT YOUR TEAM: THE PLACE FOR COMPASSION IN LEADERSHIP.
Across her career, Fiona Hawthorne (2007) has worked as a registered nurse, academic, pre-natal counsellor, and bioethicist. In 2007, Fiona completed her PhD and was awarded a Bob and June Prickett Churchill Fellowship in perinatal palliative care. In 2018, Fiona was one of three Churchill Fellows to participate in the Global Leadership Practices Program. Currently, Fiona is the General Manager of Hummingbird House, Queensland’s only children’s hospice, and sits on the Metro Arts Board. Outside of work, Fiona sings loudly in her car and is trying to convince her husband and two adult children to worship her as a living goddess.
Fiona will discuss the lessons learned from 5 years of leading the team at Hummingbird House, Queensland’s only children’s hospice. Forging a compassionate path between leadership and management can be tricky and demanding but it can be done. Not only can it be done, it should be done.
FIONA GUTHRIE AM
SUBJECT: WHAT I WISH I HAD BEEN TOLD ABOUT LEADERSHIP
Fiona Guthrie AM (2014) is the CEO of Financial Counselling Australia, the peak body for financial counsellors. She was the recipient of a Churchill Fellowship in 2014. Fiona has held directorships on a number of bodies, including the Financial Ombudsman Service, and was previously chair of ASIC’s Consumer Advisory Panel. Fiona is currently a member of the ACCC’s Consumer Consultative Committee and on the boards of Choice and Way Forward. Fiona was made a member of the Order of Australia in 2017 for her work in social welfare and financial counselling.
ANNA MARSDEN
SUBJECT: LEADING THROUGH CHANGE
As Managing Director of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, Anna Marsden (2003) is a leading voice in the protection of the Great Barrier Reef. Securing key investments from government and philanthropic stakeholders for the Foundation, Anna has driven record fundraising growth, ensuring the commitment to new projects and research that will continue to protect and restore the Reef.
With 20 years’ experience spearheading organisations across the not for profit and creative arts industries, Anna brings unparalleled leadership to the GBRF’s fundraising and project development and delivery, sitting on the GBRF’s International Scientific Advisory Committee and the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program executive committee.
Anna’s experience has been honed at some of the most iconic Queensland institutions, including CEO of Queensland Ballet, Development Director of QAGOMA and GM of the Institute of Modern Art, as well as board positions with Brisbane Festival, Brisbane Powerhouse and Circa.
In addition to her professional achievements, she has been recognised by the community for her leadership and charitable endeavours, having been awarded the Australian Institute of Management’s Not for Profit Manager of the Year (2013), a Winston Churchill Memorial Fellowship (2003) and Young Arts Manager of the Year (2001).
