The Board 2012
Timothy Grau
President
Tim Grau, the founding Managing Director of Springboard Australia Pty Ltd has more than 20 years experience in the public, private and non-government sector. He provides high- level strategic counsel in public relations, communications, corporate affairs, public policy and advocacy to a wide range of an international, national and local business and organisations, including non-profit associations. Tim has a strong track record of assisting organisations to promote and grow their reputation, business and relationships with stakeholders and membership. Prior to establishing his business, Tim spent almost 15 years as a senior communications and public policy adviser, including as Chiefs of Staff and Communications Directors to Federal Governments and State Premiers and Ministers. Tim has a powerful knowledge and understanding of public policy, government and the political process and now uses his experience to help organisations develop beneficial and effective engagement with governments.
Alison Copley
Committee Member
Ali has spent 12 years living and working in the Northern Territory where she was employed as the Indigenous Arts Officer at Top End Arts, a not for profit arts organization based in Darwin. Ali has successfully managed the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair for the past two years and has unique experience producing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander events and festivals.
Ali holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Adelaide and a Post Graduate Diploma of Management Arts and Culture from the University of South Australia. Ali has a keen interest in festivals particularly local Indigenous community cultural festivals and was awarded a Winston Churchill Fellowship in 2009 to 'Investigate Capacity Building around Indigenous Cultural Festivals in New Zealand, Canada and the Northern Territory of Australia.
Donna Patane
Committee Member
Donna Brooke joined MacDonnells Law as an Articled Clerk in January 2005 and was admitted as a Lawyer in January 2007. While she spent some years working with the MacDonnells Law Commercial Litigation team on debt recovery and civil litigation matters, she is now part of the Commercial team working on various matters including residential and commercial conveyancing, business transactions, business structuring, leasing, and intellectual property
Kerry Egerton
Committee Member
Kerry Egerton is the General Manager Corporate Services of Ports North and has been with the organisation for over 10 years. Ports North is responsible for the management and operation of the Ports of Cairns, Karumba, Thursday Island, Mourilyan, Skardon River, Cape Flattery, Quintell Beach, Cooktown and Burketown as well as the Cityport project in Cairns. Kerry is responsible for the areas of human resources, safety, ICT, procurement, administration, communications, media, community and public relations. Kerry has over 18 years’ management experience in both public and private sector organisations involved in mining, forestry, aviation and maritime industries. Kerry has also had extensive involvement in sporting organisations holding both committee and coaching roles. Kerry is a Cairns local and after moving away for 20 years to work in Melbourne relocated back to Cairns in 2001 with her husband and two sons.
Eric Holowacz
Committee Member
In early 2010 Mr Holowacz was offered the role of producer and team leader for Cairns Festival, a long-standing creative celebration in Tropical North Queensland. He continues to work as the driving force behind an annual arts season that includes over 80 events, dozens of external partnerships, and audiences of nearly 100,000 over a 17-day run. Mr Holowacz has ambitious plans to shape the 50-year old festival into an innovative and culturally significant part of Australian life. Mr Holowacz hopes to contribute to cultural identity, expression, sense of place, and local histories. He is dedicated to the unfettered creative process, the goodness in people, and the advancement of the communities he is privileged to serve.
Robin Macpherson
Committee Member
Robin Macpherson has a background in cultural development spanning some 25 years, chiefly in the last 15 years in event management and IT, including arts and community development. He has a long-standing involvement with many festivals such as Burning Man, Rainbow Serpent, and Confest. In 2003 Robin began planning for Eclipse Down Under, an astronomical event that will attract an estimated 50,000 people to the region. He has been the initiator with local Governments, Tourism and Economic Development agencies ensuring our regions ability to cater for such a large number of people. Some personal favourite projects at the moment are: The House - a fifteen year project exploring private and public spaces in it’s fifth incantation as Digger Street, SOS - Self Organising Systems and of course the Solar Eclipse in 2012, Robin continues to be an innovator of web marketing with the creation of eZines and digizines
Tracey Paterson
Treasurer
Tracey is a born and bred Cairns local having completed all her schooling here in Cairns. Tracey holds a Bachelor of Business Degree and is a Chartered Accountant, holding current membership of the Institute of Chartered Accountants. Tracey’s 20 year career in the accounting field includes experience in both public and private sector organisations. Initially Tracey began work with Price Waterhouse as an undergraduate and progressed through the ranks to Manager. In 1998 having completed all her studies (and been studying for 8 years), Tracey took two years leave of absence and spent time travelling and working in London. During this time she worked for leading multinationals including NEC and Data General.
Upon returning to Cairns in 2000, Tracey returned to PriceWaterhouseCoopers as a Senior Tax Manager until 2001 when she decided it was time to venture out into the private sector. Tracey took up a role as Financial Controller within the Tourism industry in Cairns, firstly with Raging Thunder Adventures Group and then for Down Under Tours Group. Having gained valuable experience over the years, in May 2010 it was time for another change, so Tracey took up a role with The 20/20 Group in Cairns as a Senior Business Consultant.
Currently Tracey works for Ports North as the Accountant having joined them in November 2010. On a personal level, she is a past president of the Rotary Club of Cairns, having been the first female president of the Cairns club during the 2010-2011 year. She is also vice-chair of the Management Committee of Worklink Employment Support Group Inc.
Joann Schmider
Committee Member
Joann Schmider is a Millaa Millaa rainforest, Waribara clan woman of the Mamu native title claimant group centred around Innisfail in Far North Queensland. She grew up in Mt Isa and Townsville, and came from Canberra to Cairns in 2005. Joann has deliberately focused in the last decade on community and organisational capacity development models and on-ground practice. She brings analytical and conceptual skills to eliciting, understanding, analysing and developing outcomes from the usually varied inputs arising through client and wider stakeholder discussion and engagement. Joann’s passion is promoting participation, awareness and understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, their interests, and their place – past, present and future – as the unique and central weave in the diverse fabric of this country. She brings skills, practice and networks, knowledge and understanding of Indigenous affairs and development, culture and heritage, and natural resource management in Far North Queensland. Her Arts Nexus’ related interests include regional coverage, engaging community in cultural development, Indigenous interests, and heritage and tourism ie more the culture side of Indigenous ‘arts and culture’.
Rhonda Sorensen
Committee Member
Rhonda Sorensen is known as a strong advocate for rural communities, particularly emphasising the role of collaborative partnerships to create sustainable communities in the face of rural challenges and change. Rhonda has an extensive background in science, agriculture, manufacturing, community cultural development, business, government and politics. Hence her networks are extensive, robust and strong. Rhonda has been involved in the economic and community revitalization of rural towns under stress. This led to her role as Ambassador for the Blueprint for the Bush program advising the Minister for Rural and Regional Queensland prior to entering Local Government as Division 3 Councillor for the newly created Tablelands Regional Council. She believes the new regional councils can now take advantage of greater opportunities to build vibrant and energetic communities with good leadership, strong vision, and strategic action plans for the future.
Dr Reesa Sorin
Committee Member
Dr Reesa Sorin is a Senior Lecturer at James Cook University in Cairns, where she has taught in Early Childhood Education and Arts Education since coming to Cairns in 2000. She is a visual artist, and has had her work in exhibitions in Australia, Canada, Latvia and China. Her research includes arts-based teaching and learning in the early years of school.
Gayle Cargill
Ex-officio Member - Executive Officer
Gayle has over 15 years experience in managing small not for profit arts organisations. Working across artforms, Gayle has worked with youth, emerging artists, established artists, community groups, in regional Western Australia, capitol city councils and as an independent agent for artists.