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Click on any of the below names to view biographies. Founding Patron Board Members The Board meets monthly to organise and oversee the Greatconnections programme. Biographies Lynne Landy, Founding Patron of Greatconnections, was born and educated in the U.K. Following six years working in the textile industry in New York as the Fashion/Fabric Coordinator for Eastman Chemical (the Fibres Division of Eastman Kodak), a job offer brought her to Australia and she promptly met and married her husband John and produced two children, Matthew and Alison, in rapid succession. After a few years at home, Lynne changed direction and worked as a journalist, firstly for the Herald & Weekly Times, then with Home Beautiful magazine, and for ten years as Melbourne Editor of Australian Country Style magazine. When John was appointed Governor of Victoria in 2000, Lynne resigned from her full time job to support him, an equally demanding role. Their time at Government House behind them, new challenges beckoned and it was the unusual overview of the community occasioned by recent experiences that was partly the reason that Lynne started the Greatconnections organisation. "I don't believe in retirement', she says” Rather a change of direction. There is a huge need in the Not for profit sector for the gathered wisdom and business experience of older people - and it's vital to keep the brain cells moving as we get older." Thus Greatconnections was born.
Bachelor of Arts (Hons), Diploma of Social Studies, Master of Social Work, Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management, Fellow Australian Institute of Company Directors. Sandie’s career in the child and family welfare field commenced in the early 1970’s with the Department of Human Services, where she worked as a case worker and then in senior positions in management and policy development. In 1994, Sandie was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Berry Street, now the largest independent child and family welfare organisation in Victoria, providing services across the State, employing over 700 staff and with an annual turnover of over $55 million. In 2009, Sandie became a Member in the Order of Australia for her service to children and families. She was also awarded the Robin Clark Memorial Award for Inspirational Leadership in the same year. She was awarded Life Membership of the Children’s Welfare Association of Victoria (now Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare) and the Vida Goldstein Award for Women in the Professions – Welfare in 2001. Sandie also received a Harvard Club of Australia Fellowship to attend Harvard Business School in the USA to undertake the Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management course in 2004 and became an accredited partnership broker through the Partnership Brokers Accreditation Scheme in 2006. In all her roles, Sandie has always demonstrated a strong commitment to working together and a passion for improving life opportunities and choices for children, young people and families.
Director, Just Ideas • Diploma of Social Studies (Melb) • Bachelor of Social Work (Melb) Rosi's career began in Victoria, in Aboriginal Affairs followed by Guys Hospital in London. These early experiences sparked a life long commitment to two particular interests: working with vulnerable children and with Indigenous families and communities. Rosi has held a number of leadership and management positions in the Victorian Departments of Health, Labour and Community Services She was among the first women in the Victorian public service to combine raising children with senior executive positions and the challenges she experienced juggling a career with the care of two small children turned into an idea for a book, and then a business. She has published two child care handbooks, been commissioned to produce a number of research studies, appeared on radio and TV as a social commentator and run a successful Work and Family consulting business. Rosi was Chief Executive Officer of the Victorian Children's' Protection Society- Victorian from 1999-2005. She is now Director of Just Ideas; a consulting firm which assists organisations design, develop and introduce creative policy and service innovations. Just Ideas has built a close association with Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Organizations, working collaboratively on policy developments, new initiatives and research opportunities. She is Deputy Chancellor of the RMIT University and has been a Board member of the Peter McCallum Hospital and the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare. Her experience of setting up a Family aide program in country Victoria, and recruiting a foundation team of volunteers from the local community engendered a lasting commitment to, and respect for, the contribution volunteers make to the quality of community life. Being a member of the Great Connections Board provides yet another welcome opportunity to work with skilled volunteers to help further build the capacity of the not- for- profit sector.
Kimina Lyall is currently the Group Executive for Corporate Development at Australian Unity and is responsible for group strategy, public affairs, corporate communications, group marketing, sponsorships and community engagement. As Australian Unity is a company with business operations in healthcare, financial services, aged care and retirement living, this portfolio of responsibilities is designed to equip her with a strong mix of skills that she can volunteer with in the not for profit sector upon her retirement (which is hopefully not too many decades away!). Before joining Australian Unity Kimina spent almost 15 years as a journalist, including a period as Southeast Asia correspondent for The Australian. Her experiences during that posting led to the publication of her first book, Out of the Blue - Facing the Tsunami. She is now a member of the not for profit Dart Foundation, which aims to support journalists who are exposed to trauma through their work. Prior to her study and work as a journalist Kimina spent time in the community sector including working in youth housing and on policy issues concerning young women and care and protection issues. Kimina has also been involved in volunteering at several community radio stations in Melbourne. Kimina is honoured to be part of GreatConnections and its growing army of great people!
Jane's career has spanned a broad range of industries: insurance and financial services, emergency services, technology solutions and not for profit services for and on behalf of people with a print disability. Jane has held senior or executive management positions with the Insurance Council of Australia, GIO Australia, Colonial Retail, Country Fire Authority, State Emergency Service, CSC Financial Services Group and the National Information and Library Service. The constant in Jane's working career has been the ability to initiate and lead improvements to organisational performance. Several roles have required strong change management skills while leading structural change projects, and a preparedness to take on challenges such as building a new not for profit organisation servicing the library and information needs of people with a vision impairment. Jane's Board experience includes: Vice President Ardoch Youth Foundation Ltd. (current), Secretary and director, from 2007 to 2010, of Regional Board International Coach Federation of Australasia Inc., Vice President Retina Australia (Vic) Inc. (2005-08), DAISY Consortium (2004-05), Country Fire Authority (1983-4). Since retiring from full-time work in 2006 Jane has been active as a Greatconnections volunteer specialising in facilitating strategic planning and mentoring senior executives in nonprofit organisations. In 2007 Jane completed the Australian Institute of Company Directors Course and Diploma examination, as well as the Leadership Victoria ExperienceBank program and is now active as a LV alumni volunteer. In 2010 Jane participated in the AICD Director Nexus forum, an opportunity for directors to share problems, issues and solutions in a confidential environment. Murray Campbell
Murray Campbell was Managing Director of Manchester Unity for 22 years prior to the merger with ANA (Australian Natives Association) in 1993 which created the Australian Unity Group. Following the merger he served as Joint Managing Director for two years becoming Deputy Chairman in 1995 to 2004 and finally retiring as a Director in 2007. He chaired the Audit and Compliance Committee and was a member of the Risk Management Committee and the Nominations and Remuneration Committee. During his 32 years as a member of the Executive of the Australian Friendly Societies Association he served the office of President on 12 occasions. A member of the Executive for many years including Vice President of the Australian Health Insurance Association and Chairman of the Commonwealth Health Insurance Advisory Committee until it was discontinued by the then Commonwealth Health Minister, the Hon Michael Woolridge. He was also co-opted to the Council of Management of the International Federation of Health Funds on two occasions. He was also active in Victorian State Councils which included Chairman of the Friendly Societies Advisory Committee. Current Directorship
Past Directorships
Commonwealth Committees Former member of panel of advisers to the Commonwealth Office of Asset Sales and IT Outsourcing
Jenny Varcoe-Cocks
Jenny specialised in Board and Director Effectiveness in the public, private, government and not-for-profit sectors. Since leaving the executive search profession as a partner of an international firm, Jenny has provided Board governance advice to organisations in a wide range of industries and government entities throughout Australia. Her experience in working with Boards to achieve best practice includes Performance Reviews and Evaluation, Board and Strategic Planning, Board Charter/Governance Policies, Dynamics and Peer Assessment, Director training in International Forums and Executive Leadership Assessment. Jenny is a Foundation Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and a qualified Chartered Management Consultant.
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Lynne Landy
Sandie de Wolf AM 
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