Bundanon

Mr Samuel Edwards grew up on the south coast and has raised a family here. As the Managing Director of Edwards Constructions, he brings global experience in project procurement and delivery.

Educated in engineering, building, and law he also provides skills in governance, contracts and construction, and practical experience in community and public facility stewardship. Edwards has an abiding commitment to the region and to the arts.

He is a past chair of Crown Lands Killalea State Park Trust Board and sits on various advisory committees for NSW Government and the private sector.

Philip Bacon is Director, Philip Bacon Galleries Pty Ltd; Deputy Chairman, Brisbane Festival; Chairman of Opera Australia Capital Fund; Trustee, Gordon Darling Foundation; Trustee, Margaret Olley Art Trust; Trustee, Historic Houses Trust and Sydney Living Museums, NSW; Member of the Board of the Foundation of Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art and Member of the Board of the Foundation of the National Gallery of Australia.

From 1996 to 2003 he was a Council Member, National Gallery of Australia. From 1994 to 2011 he was a Director of Opera Australia, and was reappointed to that board in 2014.

He was made a Member, Order of Australia in 1999 receiving in the same year a Doctor of Philosophy (honoris causa) from the University of Queensland. In 2002 he received a Doctor of the University from Griffith University, and Doctor of the University from Queensland University of Technology in 2005. In 2021 he was made an Officer (AO), in the Order of Australia.

Holly is the founder of HB Migration Pty Ltd and has over 10 years’ experience in Australian immigration law and practice.

Holly Byrne previously worked with the Australian Government as a Ministerial Adviser to the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship and the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and the Minister for the Arts. Her role included developing public policy relating to immigration and industrial relations and the Arts.

Byrne is a current national committee member of the Migration Alliance and a former national vice-president.

Professor Patricia M. Davidson joined the University of Wollongong as Vice-Chancellor in May 2021. Prior to her current role, Professor Davidson was Dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing in Baltimore in the United States.

As a global leader in nursing, health care, and advocacy, Professor Davidson’s work focuses on person-centred care delivery and the improvement of cardiovascular health outcomes for women and vulnerable populations.

Professor Davidson serves as counsel general of the International Council on Women’s Health Issues, and was a past board member of CUGH and secretary general of the Secretariat of the World Health Organizations Collaborating Centres for Nursing and Midwifery. She also serves on the Board of Health Care Services for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in the United States.

Anne Flanagan was the former Deputy Director of the Art Gallery for New South Wales. Her academic background includes visual arts, interior design and education. For more than two decades she has worked in arts organisations, including the Crafts Council of NSW, Powerhouse Museum, Biennale of Sydney, Australian Bicentennial Authority and Historic Houses Trust of NSW.

Mr Ben Maguire AM is currently Chair of the National Museum of Australia Council.

He has previously held leadership positions as Executive Manager of AGL Energy Limited, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Trucking Association and Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame and Outback Heritage Centre.

Mr Maguire is a serving Officer in the Royal Australian Navy (Active Reserve) and is currently Director and Chief Executive Officer of Remount, a not-for-profit organisation that delivers horsemanship programs for returned service men and women and their families experiencing stress related to their service.

Mr Maguire was made a Member of the Order Australia this year for his significant service to veteran rehabilitation and support, and to the community.

Uncle Gerry Moore is a Yuin man from Wreck Bay on the south coast of New South Wales.

He has over 40 years' experience in Aboriginal affairs. His previous positions include Chair of the Nowra Local Aboriginal Land Council and Chief Executive Officer of the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care – Australia's peak body representing the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and their families.

He was previously Chief Executive Officer of the Aboriginal Legal Service New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.

In 2020, Uncle Gerry’s work as an Indigenous advocate was recognised with a Medal of the Order of Australia for his service to the Indigenous community.

Jasmin Shahin is a leader with significant experience in professional services and industry. Qualified as a lawyer with over 10 years’ experience in private practice and corporate environments, Jasmin brings legal, business and board experience.

Jasmin works directly with executive and management boards to deliver strategic outcomes, with expertise in mergers & acquisitions, commercial and property law. She also serves as a Board Member of the Adelaide Festival Centre Foundation.

John Sharp AM served for 14 years in the Federal Parliament as the Transport and Regional Development Minister. He is the Deputy Chairman of Regional Express (Rex) and owns Thenford Consulting. He is also Chairman of Pel Air, and a director of Luerssen Australia, Australian Maritime Shipbuilding and Export Group, and National Jet Express.

John also serves as a director of the Tudor House Foundation and the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal. He was a member of the Climate Change Authority and the University of Wollongong Vice-Chancellor's Advisory Board, and former Chairman of the Aviation Safety Foundation of Australia.

He was appointed as a member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his services to Parliament, the community, and the aviation industry.

Ezekiel Solomon is Senior Adviser at international law firm Allens, and is a member of the Board of Directors, National Gallery of Australia Foundation as well as Patron of the Australia World Orchestra.

Formerly, Solomon was longstanding partner at Allens, including 7 years as Resident Partner in New York; consultant to the Indonesian Government and a member of the Council of the National Gallery of Australia.

Solomon has been member of the Boards of Directors of the US Studies Centre at Sydney University, American Australian Association Ltd, Griffin Theatre Company and the Australia Indonesia Institute.

Solomon graduated Bachelor of Laws (Honours), Sydney University Law School and holds a Master of Laws from Harvard Law School as a Fulbright Scholar.

Courtney West is a Partner in KPMG’s Enterprise tax, transactions and accounting practice. Courtney has over 20 years’ experience in the delivery of tax compliance, business and advisory services to privately owned businesses, not-for-profit organisations and family groups.

Courtney works directly with business owners and key decision makers to ensure their accounting, tax and business advice needs are met. Supporting them through the challenges they face as they focus on running a successful business.

Courtney is a University of Wollongong alumni, a member of Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand and serves on not-for-profit boards.

Rachel Kent is an experienced arts leader, art historian and curator with extensive experience working with international museums and cultural institutions. Prior to joining Bundanon, Rachel was Chief Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia.

Rachel is an outstanding advocate for contemporary and First Nations art, nationally and internationally, as well as being highly effective at building philanthropic and government support for the arts.

Mark was recently the COO for Unisys where he had oversight of the GovConnectNSW Account Management Office, supporting nine separate Government agencies including Treasury and the Office of Children and Guardian.

Previous roles include Director of Finance and ICT at the University of Sydney and consulting roles with Qantas, ISG, JDE, Westpac, Chubb, and Fujitsu among others. Mark began his career in the UK where he was trained as a chartered accountant. Mark is based at the Trust’s Illaroo offices in the Shoalhaven.

Sophie O’Brien is a curator, director and writer. She has previously worked in senior curatorial leadership roles at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in Aotearoa New Zealand, and at the Serpentine Galleries and Tate Britain in London, UK.

Sophie has worked on numerous large-scale commissions with artists including Marina Abramović, Ruth Buchanan, Fiona Connor, Jimmie Durham, et al., Gustav Metzger, Richard Hamilton, Susan Norrie, Thomas Schütte, Javier Téllez, Wolfgang Tillmans, Rosemarie Trockel and Adrián Villar Rojas, as well as architects Peter Zumthor, SANAA and Herzog+deMeuron+AiWeiwei. She has previously led the exhibition teams for the Australian Pavilions at the Venice Biennale (2005-2007) and the Biennale of Sydney (On Reason and Emotion, 2003).

In the curatorial teams at Artspace Sydney and the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Sophie delivered numerous exhibitions and publications, and curated the visual arts programme for the Perth Festival (1999-2001). She has a MA in Directing Performance from the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne (2018-2019).

Hetty Wilson joins Bundanon from the Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), where she was responsible for managing the Contemporary Collection Benefactors as well as communications for the Foundation.

Her career in the arts has encompassed philanthropic, communications, project and grants management roles at organisations including Sydney Theatre Company, the National Art School, the Australia Council for the Arts and the Queensland Art Gallery & Gallery of Modern Art.

Hetty holds a Bachelor of Art History and Journalism from the University of Queensland, and a Masters in Art Business from the University of Manchester/Sotheby's Institute of Art.

Executive Chef Douglas Innes-Will brings his local eye and longstanding knowledge of South Coast produce to Bundanon, working with local purveyors to source sustainable ingredients for signature dishes.

Doug joined the Bundanon team at the beginning of 2022, after serving four years as Executive Chef at QAGOMA, overseeing GOMA Restaurant and other dining offerings. Prior to working at QAGOMA, Doug helmed the culinary operations of Hamilton Island’s 6 star offering Qualia as Executive Chef from 2016-18.

Doug’s first Head Chef role came in 2006 at the iconic Hyams Beach Café. In late 2013 Doug was appointed as Executive Chef again at Spicers Peak Lodge in Maryvale, Queensland, where he was awarded two hats two years running by the Good Food Guide 2015-2017 and Australasia’s Best Culinary Boutique Hotel at the World Boutique Hotel awards in 2015.

Raised in Glamorgan Vale, west of Brisbane, Doug’s family later relocated to the South Coast and he began his culinary career completing his apprenticeship under Horst Bleuel at Theodores Brasserie in Nowra. Followed by a move to James Viles’ Biota Dining in Bowral, Doug held a two year tenure as head chef at Paperbark Camp in 2010 before joining David Campbell’s Hungry Duck in Berry as Sous Chef in 2012.

Danielle is a curator, creative producer and polymath, who works across live performance and digital spaces to create layered programs that connect deeply with audiences.

Danielle has been responsible for many large-scale installations, theatre, dance, cabaret and comedy productions showing in Sydney over the past twenty years. Past roles include Head of Contemporary Performance at Sydney Opera House, Director of Engagement for The Ethics Centre and Festival Executive Producer of the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras.

As director of multidisciplinary creative company Dancing Giant Productions her recent works have included the large-scale immersive experiences Eternityland and A Midnight Visit. She is the founder of pop and screen-culture festival BingeFest; founder of Antidote: a festival of ideas, art and action, former Executive Producer of popular podcast It’s A Long Story and former co-curator of All About Women. Danielle continues as the Festival Director of the infamous Festival of Dangerous Ideas.

Jerome Comisari is a Wiradjuri man from the Riverina who grew up on Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country. He has a passion for the arts and has championed the work and practice of many First Nations creatives and cultural practitioners.

Previously Jerome held various jobs at the ABC, including with Radio National’s Indigenous Arts and Culture program, Awaye!. He has also worked in politics as a Media Advisor, communicating with various stakeholders at the local, state and federal level.

Jerome is excited to continue his passion for supporting and promoting the aspirations of First Nations people and communities at Bundanon.