Our Board

Frances’ natural drive and pursuit of excellence resulted in her former employer gaining accreditation as an Employer of Choice for Women, and ACT Employer of the Year for Apprenticeships & Traineeships. 

Frances was drawn to YWCA Canberra in 2010 as she had always identified as a feminist, and has a strong belief in social justice, which she attributes to her mother’s influence. Having faced discrimination during her own career journey, she is now committed to being a strong voice for women. 

Frances has been the CEO of YWCA Canberra since 2013. She has led YWCA Canberra through a significant change process in integrated services delivery, corporate service review and evaluation frameworks. In response to identified community need, including during the COVID-19 crisis, Frances has spearheaded a range of new programs in the areas of addressing domestic and family violence and women’s homelessness, as well as empowering women to take authentic leadership journeys. 

Frances is currently a Council Member for the ACT Work Safety Council as appointed by the Minister and the ACT Work Safety Commissioner. Frances also volunteers on a variety of boards and committees, including Homelessness Australia. Frances was formerly on the board of ACT Council of Social Service (ACTCOSS), is a former Board Director of WESNET, former Chair of the ACT Ministerial Advisory Committee for Women and former Co-Chair of Anti-Poverty Week in the ACT.  

In 2015, France received an Edna Ryan Award for advancing the status of women in the ACT. In 2016, Frances was named ACT Leader of the Year at the Australian Leadership Excellence Awards run by the Australian Institute of Leadership and Management. She also attended Commission for the Status of Women in New York in 2017, 2018 and 2019.  

In 2021 Frances was selected to participate in the inaugural Social Impact Leadership Australia (SILA) program, where she completed a 10-month program on leadership development and capacity building for CEOs of for-purpose organisations in Australia. 

As a practicing lawyer in the areas of property and commercial law, Carina is passionate about implementing sound practices through innovation, strong governance, management, service delivery and partnerships.

An ACT Government employee since 2004, Kristin has worked in a variety of roles in social and economic policy, transport planning, and the ACT light rail Stage one project, where she led the project office team for the 12 months before services began.

Since 2019, Kristin has led the development of the ACT Wellbeing Framework, Australia’s first wellbeing framework that is being embedded into budgets and other parts of government decision-making.

After returning to a leadership role following parental leave for her second child, Kristin connected with small social enterprise Lead Mama Lead to help other mothers returning to work or negotiating flexible work.

Julie is currently the National Finance Manager of the Planning Institute of Australia. Before this role, Julie was Company Secretary and the Director of Finance and Corporate Services at the Law Council of Australia, and in leadership roles at the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia and the Pharmacy Guild of Australia. During her time at these organisations, she implemented significant improvements to finance, administration and corporate governance operations, policies and procedures.

Maree currently serves on Property Council of Australia and Australian Property Institute committees related to residential property and planning.

She has a keen interest in the provision of housing for families and older women in need. She believes the mission of YWCA Canberra is more important than ever in a post-pandemic world, given the rise in domestic violence against women and economic conditions pushing some families to the brink.

Renee is passionate about gender equality and particularly the gendered experienced surrounding women’s interactions with the law. Her goal is to help all women, particularly young women, feel better represented and recognised as part of the legal system.

Her efforts include implementing programs that bolster female participation, offering support to working parents, and facilitating professional growth for women navigating male-dominated industries. Lauren is an advocate for STEM-education and girls education, proudly serving on the Board of Directors for Robogals.

 As a proud Canberra local, mother of two, and client of YWCA after-school-care services, Lauren has a firsthand understanding of the importance of Children Services for the community and its role in empowering mothers and supporting local families.

Fern is deeply passionate about women’s rights and education which, drives her project management and policy pursuits. She has a background in delivering welfare services to Australian Families and providing support and learning programs for her teams delivering emergency payments.

Beyond her professional pursuits, she is a musician with a love for the piano and music composition.

Caroline has held a diverse range of senior appointments, including working for the Australian federal government at the executive level. Caroline is commercially astute, and competent in corporate governance; business management and performance (strategic and operational); change management and business transformation; program/project management and business analysis; policy and advocacy; compliance, assurance and quality management; finance; risk; regulation and accreditation. With an early career in information technology and business transformation, Caroline transitioned to leadership positions responsible for governance, strategy and operations.

Caroline holds several qualifications complementing her skills and experience, including being a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).

Jacqui is passionate about gender equality and ensuring that young women have all the necessary tools to lead a safe and empowering life.

Tahlia is a confident and assured communicator which has been integral to her approach in change management across her clients in Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney. She is a well-rounded individual with experience in stakeholder engagement, communications, learning and development and organisational design. She is also a named co-author for the Australian Business Guide to Implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and was a key individual in the successful application of funding to support On Country learning for remote communities. Further to this, Tahlia worked across Australia with various Communities and the Department of Health to further the Commonwealth’s work around the Closing the Gap initiative.

She has over 30 years’ experience in life course risks both in Australia and internationally and is a Certified Enterprise Risk Actuary and a Fellow of both the Institute of Actuaries of Australia and the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, UK.

She has completed the Company Director’s Course to become a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Bridget has lectured in actuarial studies and risk management at the Australian National University with a research focus on aged care, mortality, longevity and securitisation of these risks, and is a member of the Centre for Excellence in Population Ageing Research in Australia.

With a background as a Clinical Risk Manager and Clinical Incident Review Coordinator, Victoria is passionate about applying her nursing knowledge, skills and experience to create practical, quality outcomes for clients. She has worked with public, private and not-for-profit organisations on projects including incident reporting and management, auditing and quality assurance, continuous improvement, customer feedback, performance appraisal, and policy review and development.