YWCA Canberra operate under a strong governance model and is governed by a board of up to 12 company directors who define the strategic goals of the organisation.
Our Board of Directors operates according to a Code of Ethics and Proper Practice. A governance manual guides the work of the Directors and establishes the relationship between the Board and the Chief Executive Officer.
Our Constitution guides our work and sets out the fundamental principles under which our organisation is governed. It was last amended at the Extraordinary General Meeting on 16 May 2018.
We actively seek potential Board candidates who have a belief in and commitment to our values and vision, and a commitment to work for the greater good of the organisation. We also look for potential Board candidates who possess the knowledge, expertise, experience and networks relevant to our needs.
To register your interest in joining our board, please contact the Chief Executive Director on 02 6185 2000 or email us.
* Denotes young women (aged 30 years or under) at time of appointment. The YWCA maintains a commitment to ensuring that 30% of all leadership positions and decision-making bodies are held by young women.
Members
Frances Crimmins
Chief Executive Officer
Frances Crimmins is the Chief Executive Officer of YWCA Canberra. Frances has a passion to see women achieve their potential and shape their communities. Having started her career in hotel management she soon developed strong leadership and management skills which saw her take on senior human resources roles in the health sector.
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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.
Carina Zeccola*
President
Carina Zeccola first served on the YWCA Canberra board from March 2017 to October 2019 and was elected again in October 2019. During her first period on the Board, Carina was the Governance Committee Chair and on the Merger and Nominations subcommittees. Before her time on the YWCA Board, Carina was a Treasurer for Canberra Women in Business from 2013-15.
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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.
Kristin Blume
Vice President
Kristin Blume was appointed to the board in October 2019. With a background in policy, program management and public sector leadership, Kristin has skills in risk management and program evaluation, governance and policy understanding, and stakeholder engagement.
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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.
Natalie Hyde
Treasurer
Natalie Hyde is an experienced CFO with a proven track record in developing and growing new and existing businesses. She has extensive experience in implementing operational excellence and innovative systems to create high performing teams that focus on outcomes rather than historical reporting. She believes that finance should play a role across all of aspects of a business and drive to implement systems to allow this.
Julie Lean
Julie Lean was appointed to the board in October 2019. She is a senior finance and governance professional with significant experience in professional practice. Her passion especially lies in the not-for-profit sector, having spent a combined 20 years in senior finance and governance roles within the sector. She is wholeheartedly committed to instituting best practice finance, risk and governance operations while actively promoting and encouraging all forms of diversity.
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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 Harman
Maree Harman was appointed to the YWCA board in March 2021. She has approximately 25 years of experience in the property sector in the ACT and region and has a wealth of understanding of property valuation, statutory and master planning, and the financial aspects of property development.
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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 Mastrolembo*
Born and raised in Canberra, Renee is a proud local girl. With a Masters of Applied Law (Family Law), Renee works at Farrar Gesini Dunn, a national family law firm. She specialises in parenting, property and family violence legal matters.
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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.
Lauren Hassall
Lauren is a Chartered Engineer and P3 Manager, specialising in delivering high-impact projects and capabilities within the Defence and Security sectors. Lauren has been instrumental in driving business transformation and fostering growth, from small enterprises to large corporations. Lauren is an advocate for gender equity, actively spearheading initiatives aimed at empowering women in the workforce.
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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 Denton-McDermott*
Fern is a Management Consultant and Project Manager with experience in policy analysis, strategy and business case development, workforce planning and producing learning and development mechanisms within teams. Fern has a Bachelor of International Relations and a Master of Terrorism and Security. She is also currently pursuing a Master of Public Policy.
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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 Khalil
Caroline is an experienced senior executive with a career spanning the public, private and not-for-profit/for-purpose sectors, working in the Australian and Australasian context.
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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 Dowling*
Jacqui was appointed to the board in October 2023. With a background in tax compliance and business advisory, Jacqui understands the importance of instilling a robust finance system to achieve the goals of the organisation.
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Jacqui is passionate about gender equality and ensuring that young women have all the necessary tools to lead a safe and empowering life.
Bridget Browne
Independent member for the Audit and Risk Committee
Bridget is a Partner at EY providing actuarial consulting advice principally to the government sector in health and human services, and risk quantification.
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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.
Victoria Oakden
Independent member for the Audit and Risk Committee
Victoria is the Director of Oakden Enterprises, an innovative small business that provides specialised advice and services to the community, disability and aged care sectors. A registered nurse with over 25 years’ experience, Victoria has an MBA from the Australian National University and worked for over a decade as a Registered Quality Assessor for the Australian Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.
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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.