National Board Members
Graham Flower (Board Chair)
B Arts; Advanced Dip Marketing; GAICD
Graham was elected to the National Board in November 2009. He has been a Board Member of Lifeline Hobart since 2004 and was elected President in 2005. He brings a breadth and depth of practical experience from marketing, business development and training in blue-chip, international businesses from the manufacturing and service sectors. For the past ten years Graham has been a consultant, specialising in employee communication and engagement, leadership development and organisational change. He is delighted to be involved with Lifeline and takes constant inspiration from the dedication and skills shown by both employees and volunteers.
Richard Bialkowski (Deputy Board Chair, Chair of the Governance and Remuneration Committee)
B Bus (HR Mgt); M Bus (Gen Mgt); Grad Dip Applied Corp Governance
Richard was elected to the National Board in November 2007. He was a director of Lifeline Canberra from 2001 to 2009 and the board chair from 2004 to 2008. Richard has extensive senior executive and governance experience in community based, not for profit organisations both in Canberra and at a national level, and holds undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications in business management and corporate governance. Richard continues to be actively involved with Lifeline Canberra and the broader community services sector and he recently took up the position of CEO of Home Help Service ACT.
Allan Gray
BSc (Forestry); Dip Forestry; M Forest Resources
Allan re-joined the National Board in 2010. He has been involved with Lifeline South East for the past seven years as a member of the board, and he became the chair in 2005. Before retirement, Allan was a senior manager with Forestry South Australia and has degree, diploma and masters in the areas of science and forestry. He was the deputy chair of the Limestone Coast Area Consultative Committee and brings experience in corporate governance, policy development and strategic development to the National Board.
Geoffrey Robinson
Geoff joined the National Board in November 2008. He has extensive experience in senior positions in the public sector and in leading teams involved in service delivery. In particular, Geoff has led the delivery of telephony assistance to clients in multiple sites across Australia. Through his involvement in these roles, Geoff has gained a broad understanding of service delivery models for meeting the needs of different client segments. He also has significant experience in corporate governance and was instrumental in setting up the national Tax Practitioners Board. Geoff is currently a deputy commissioner of taxation leading a major organisational change process in the Enterprise Solutions and Technology area.
Greg Field (Audit and Risk Committee Chair)
BA (Hons); FAIM; FCPA; FCA; MAICD
Greg Field joined the Board in August 2010 and is currently the General Manager ACT and Head of Public Policy and Advocacy at the Australian Institute of Management NSW & ACT. His previous roles include Managing Partner of Ernst & Young’s Canberra Office, Chief Finance and Chief Information Officer of Austrade, and Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers. He has been a Council member at both the local and national level in a variety of organisations including the Australian Institute of International Affairs, Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, CPA Australia and the Institute of Public Administration Australia. Greg has been appointed to the Audit & Risk Committee.
Brett Goodridge (Funding and Sustainability Committee Chair)
Tertiary studies in business, finance and administration; MAICD
Brett joined the National Board in 2010 and is currently the CEO of McMullen Nolan, Western Australia’s largest privately owned surveying and mapping company. Brett is also the Deputy Chair for Lifeline WA and has 35 years of commercial experience at senior management levels in both the private and public sectors. Brett is also currently Chairman of leading financial services group NKH Financial Services and Chairs meetings for principals of law firm Allion Legal.
His career has been characterised by a requirement for ‘organisational change and restructure’ requiring highly developed skills in strategic thinking and planning to ensure the long term viability and profitability of organisations. Brett undertook tertiary business studies at the Western Australian Institute of Technology, now Curtain University.
Jill Napier
BA Social Psychology; Post Grad Dip Administration
Jill Napier works with UnitingCare NSW ACT in the role of Community Services Consultant. Jill has over twenty years experience and training in management and consulting in community services within Australia and in international development. Jill holds tertiary qualifications in social psychology and management and has worked in senior management roles with metropolitan and regional local governments, in State and Commonwealth government agencies and UnitingCare’s Children Young People and Families. Jill has worked for approximately 10 years as consultant in service development and planning within Australia and in organisational change and capacity building in international development in Solomon Islands, East Timor and Afghanistan.
Jill’s current role is a capacity building role with a number of Uniting Church affiliated community services including 9 of the NSW Lifeline Centres. Jill also represents UnitingCare on various boards, including Lifeline and the Churches Housing Inc. Jill was for a number of years an active Board member of Relationships Australia (NSW).
Annie Corlett
BEc Sydney, MAICD
Annie joined the National Board in November 2011. She is currently Deputy President of the University of Sydney Alumni Council, the University’s peak alumni body, where she is also a member of the Executive Committee and Chairs its Regulatory Taskforce. Annie is also Deputy Chair of the External Advisory Committee for the Dept. of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney.
Annie has had extensive business experience. For much of the 1980’s she was an executive director of two publicly listed mining companies. She has also had a long time involvement in supporting various groups in the not-for-profit sector. Annie has been an accredited Lifeline Telephone Crisis Supporter and is currently a Facilitator and ‘Supervisor on Call’ for Lifeline.
Annie is also a Volunteer Court Supporter/Counsellor for the Homicide Victims Support Group (NSW) and volunteers on the Support Line for this Group.
Geoff McClellan
Geoff joined the Board in November 2011. He is a Senior Litigation Partner at one of Australia’s largest law firms, Freehills, where he was Chairman and Senior Partner of Freehills for six and a half years. Geoff is widely recognised as one of Australia’s leading commercial litigators and has extensive experience advising major public companies across a broad range of significant strategic issues. He brings to the Board, from both his professional practice and the leadership of a major law firm, extensive experience in matters of corporate governance, strategy and organisational change. Geoff is a director of the Australia Centre for International Commercial Arbitration and a member of the Chairman’s Council of the ACO.
Bob Gilkes
Bob became Executive Director of UnitingCare Community (previously Lifeline Community Care Queensland) in June 2010. UnitingCare Community is one of the state’s largest community service providers offering Lifeline services, child and family care, counselling, disability support and social inclusion programs across Queensland. It employs 2 500 people and is supported by 5 500 volunteers. Bob came to UnitingCare Community with over 28 years experience in the disability, aged care and community services.
His experience in disability ranges from on-the-ground direct client support to executive levels both within government and NGO’s. He has also had state-wide portfolio responsibility for child protection, youth justice and youth detention, domestic violence support services, out of home care, adoption, sexual assault support services and
supported accommodation services for people without a
home.
Some of Bob’s previous roles include Director of Organisational Development and Regional Director for Blue Care. He has also worked for Health and Human Services as Director of Child, Youth and Family Support as well as other executive roles within the Tasmanian Government.
Bob has a passion for social justice and personally longs for the day when all members of society are valued regardless of their circumstances. He is very committed to finding a way to help ensure that the most vulnerable and disadvantaged people in our community are
safe and supported and receive the assistance they need to live with independence, dignity and respect.
Bob strongly values family and is married to his wife Deborah and together they have five children and ten grandchildren. Bob’s personal interests include his family, church and his motorbike as well as working with various community groups in his area to help where he can.