Patron
Julia Gillard was the 27th Prime Minister of Australia.
She currently serves as the Chair of Beyond Blue, one of Australia’s leading mental health awareness bodies; is Chair of the global funding body for education in developing countries, the Global Partnership for Education; is the inaugural Chair of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, which through research, practice and advocacy, is addressing women’s under-representation in leadership. She was recently appointed as the Chair of Wellcome, a global charitable foundation which supports science to solve urgent health challenges. Her second book ‘Women and Leadership: Real Lives, Real Lessons’ which is co-authored by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, was released in 2020.
Advisory Board
Chair
Professor Sir Edward Byrne AC Kt FMedSci was appointed as a trustee of the Ian Potter Foundation in April 2021. Prior to his appointment, Prof Byrne was the President and Principal of King’s College London, and Chairman of King’s Health Partners from 2014 – 2021. At King’s, Prof Byrne established a new university mission and vision for 2029 and significantly increased the range of degrees and programmes available to students. Prof Byrne also founded the King’s Business School and oversaw the full re-engagement with Engineering through new, state-of-the-art facilities and programming in the School of Engineering on the Strand Campus. Through his work and connections with industry and business, King’s has grown its global links as well as partnerships within London. Prof Byrne is a neuroscientist and clinician by background. He qualified in medicine at the University of Tasmania in 1974 and subsequently trained as a neurologist in both Adelaide and London. He is a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, the Royal Colleges of Physicians of London and Edinburgh, the American Academy and the American Association of Neurology. He holds the higher degrees of Doctor of Medicine (UTAS) and Doctor of Science (University of Melbourne). Prof Byrne received the AO (Officer of the Order of Australia) in 2006, the AC (Companion of the Order of Australia) in 2014 and was awarded a Knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2020.
Ms Liberman is Principal and Chair of the Lee Liberman Foundation, which provides strategic funding to non-profit partners in Australia, Israel and the United States. Lee is Chair of the USC Shoah Foundation. The Shoah Foundation preserves a Visual History Archive of more than 55,000 video testimonies of survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust and other genocides; the largest digital collection of its kind. The Shoah Foundation works to counter identity-based hatred by developing empathy, understanding and respect through teaching with testimony. Lee serves as Deputy Chair of the General Sir John Monash Foundation. As a committed supporter of the arts, Lee has served on the Council of the Australian National Gallery and the Australian National Gallery Acquisitions Committee. Lee is publisher and editor of A Day in the Life of Africa, A Day in the Life of Israel and Jerusalem in the Shadow of Heaven. She also is Chair of the Day in the Life of Africa AIDS Education Fund.
Wellings CBE
Professor Paul Wellings CBE joined the University of Wollongong as Vice-Chancellor in January 2012. Paul sits on the General Sir John Monash Foundation Board. Prior to his current role, he held the position of Vice-Chancellor of Lancaster University from 2002-2011. Educated in the UK, Professor Wellings’ career experience includes a NERC research fellowship and senior positions at the CSIRO and Department of Industry, Science and Resources. He has extensive board experience, including with the Australian Research Council (ARC) Advisory Committee, the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), and some of the UK’s peak education and research bodies. He is currently a board member of the University of Wollongong Global Enterprises and a Trustee of the University of Wollongong USA Foundation. Professor Wellings also serves on the Ministerial Advisory Council for Free Trade Agreements, NSW Innovation and Productivity Council, NSW Domestic and Family Violence and Sexual Assault Corporate Leadership Group, the Global Foundation Advisory Council, Bundanon Trust and Regional Development Australia-Illawarra board. Professor Wellings was appointed Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2012 Queen’s Birthday Honours list for services to higher education. He received an Honorary DSc from Lancaster University in 2014 and an Honorary DUniv from the University of Surrey in 2019.
Bob Cameron holds degrees in engineering, economics and business. He is a non-executive director in the commercial, for-purpose and government sectors. His current roles include Chairman of HVTC Limited, a not-for-profit group training organisation, a Director of the UNSW Foundation, and a Member of the Library Council of New South Wales. He also chairs the Library’s Audit and Risk Committee and is a Trustee of the Library Foundation. He previously worked in the resources sector and founded Centennial Coal Company of which he was Managing Director and later Chairman. Among many industry roles, he was Chairman of the NSW Minerals Council and ACA Low Emissions Technology Limited. He has received the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Medal and the Hunter Business Person of the Year Award. UNSW has recognised him with the Alumni Award for Business and Innovation and an Honorary Doctorate in Engineering. Mr Cameron has been an active participant in many community and educational organisations and was made an Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia for service to the mining industry, higher education and the people of the Hunter Valley.
Karen Wood is the non-executive Chair of South32 Limited the mining and metals company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange with operations in Australia, South Africa, Mozambique, Colombia, Brazil and the United States of America. She is a former executive of BHP and held a number of senior roles with that company including Company Secretary, Chief People Officer and President, Public Affairs. Until 2019 she chaired the BHP Foundation, a charitable organisation funded by BHP that works to address some of the world’s most critical sustainable development challenges. She serves on the Boards of Djerriwarrh Investments Limited, State Library of Victoria and the Robert Salzer Foundation. She has worked in business, legal practice and as an academic in the Faculty of Law at Monash University. She is a fellow of Monash University.
Thomas Hanna (BSc Advanced) (BSc Hons.) (DPhil – Quantum Physics) is a 2004 John Monash Scholar who enjoys using advanced analysis and scientific rigour to achieve real-world benefits. In 2018 he founded Hypercube Scientific to help organisations devise data-driven and mathematical optimised solutions that are efficient and sustainable. Since then, Hypercube has expanded to a team of 7 scientists across Australia, serving clients around the world. Tom's background in industry includes time as a technical consultant and then as head of Supply Chain Analysis at Fortescue Metals Group. He was a key part of Fortescue's journey of cost-reduction, efficiency enhancement, and expansion. Tom used his John Monash Scholarship to study for a DPhil in Atomic and Laser Physics in Oxford, before working as a postdoctoral fellow in the USA. Tom specialised in the theory of ultracold atomic and molecular collisions and successfully collaborated with experimental groups around the world. A family man with three children who enjoy the outdoors, Tom has served the General Sir John Monash Foundation for a long time as a reviewer and on the WA Selection Panel for the John Monash Scholarships.
May Samali (CPCC) (MPP) (LLB) (EcoSocSc) 2014 NSW Premier's John Monash Scholar, is passionate about investing in people and ideas that can transform the world. Current Founder and CEO of Coaching by May, she works with individuals and organisations to define their purpose and unleash their potential. She is also a Venture Partner at NextGen Venture Partners, a network-driven venture capital firm providing critical advantage to entrepreneurs across a variety of industries. In addition, May boasts an impressive employment history which has revolved around advising, investing in, and coaching entrepreneurs and executives across Australia and the US. This includes providing strategic advice to Australian governments on innovation policy and working with not-for-profit organisations. May is published on topics such as leadership, entrepreneurship, impact investing and wellbeing across the world, including in TechCrunch, Forbes, VentureBeat, Stanford Social Innovation Review, The Australian and San Francisco Chronicle. She is also an Australian American Young Leadership Dialogue Fellow, a Glieitsman Leadership Fellow and a Social Enterprise Fellow at Harvard's Center for Public Leadership.