Board members

Dr Judith Slocombe AM

Board Chair

BVSc (Melb), Post Grad Dip Management (Melb), MBA (Melb), FAICD, FAIM

Judith is a professional board director and business consultant with extensive experience across corporate, Government and non-profit organisations. In 2001 Judith was awarded Australia’s most prestigious award for women in business, the Telstra Australian Business Woman of the Year.

Judith is an entrepreneur, having built and sold her own business followed by many years’ experience as a CEO and in senior executive roles in both the corporate and non-profit sectors, operating across Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia. Judith was CEO of the Alannah and Madeline Foundation for ten years and has since held a number of Interim CEO roles. Judith has held a portfolio of non-executive directorships in various business sectors for over 20 years. She sits on Oxfam International’s Board and is a director of Fight MND. Former directorships include Australian Red Cross Blood Service, VicHealth, Open Universities Australia, South East Water, Young and Well CRC, Agriculture Victoria Services, Gardiner Dairy Foundation, Chair of the Consumer Advisory Panel at WEHI and Chair of the Lort Smith Animal Hospital.

Judith has an MBA from the Melbourne Business, has studied Senior Executive Management at Harvard and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. In 2003 she was awarded the Centenary Medal for service to the Australian Society in Business Leadership and received an Order of Australia award in 2018.

Aleem Ali

BA, GradDipCommServMgmt, GradCertDiv, AMICDA

Aleem has spent more than two decades seeding and mentoring the development of leading initiatives and social enterprises that advance inclusion, belonging and justice for diverse communities.

He serves as a mentor and advisor to various startups, community enterprises, and government agencies.

As the CEO of Welcoming Australia, Aleem is working with leaders and organisations across the country to cultivate a culture of welcome and advance communities where people of all backgrounds can belong, contribute and thrive.

Geoff McClellan

LLB BEc

Geoff is an experienced senior executive, director and chairman. He is one of Australia’s leading corporate litigators dealing with major strategic corporate disputes and regulatory matters for a significant cross section of ASX100 listed companies. He combines this with many years of experience in senior leadership, governance and global management positions at leading global law firm Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF). Until 2019 he was a partner of HSF. Geoff is a Director of Lifeline Australia Ltd, a past Chairman and Senior partner of Freehills and former Managing Partner of HSF.

Anila Aftab Schroers

Staff Participant

MSc Clinical Psychology

Anila is currently the Strategic Lead for Gender Justice at Oxfam Australia. Anila’s international career spans over 20 years of leadership roles across Asia, the Pacific, and South Asia with government, UN agencies, and civil society organisations. She has led initiatives on gender equality, social inclusion, climate resilience, and economic empowerment in contexts ranging from grassroots organisations in Pakistan to UN programs in Afghanistan, and regional work in the Pacific.

Since joining Oxfam Australia in 2016, she has worked across a range of teams and country programs in the Asia and Pacific regions. At Oxfam, she leads critical analysis of systems, policies, and practices through a GEDSI (Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion) lens, and champions integrated programming models that challenge flawed economic systems which privilege a wealthy few at the expense of sustainability and equity.

Originally from Pakistan, Anila brings deep awareness of the complexities of engaging communities in conversations around gender, intersectionality, and inclusion. She is committed to co-creating locally determined and culturally grounded solutions with partners and communities.

Margaret Thomas

BA (Hons) Masters of Development Studies

Margaret is a senior international development professional, having held various strategic leadership and management positions in both national and multilateral settings. From 2012 until early 2021, she worked for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in New York, most recently as the Head of the Effectiveness Group and formerly as the Senior Adviser for the Corporate Strategy and Governance Group.

Prior to joining UNDP, Margaret worked for the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) for over twenty years. Margaret’s positions in AusAID included extensive country office experience including as Head of the Papua New Guinea and Timor Leste country offices, and an earlier posting in the Philippines. In Canberra, Margaret served as Head of the Pacific Branch and concluded her career with AusAID as First Assistant Director General with a focus on corporate reform issues.

Margaret was also an adviser to the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs on development cooperation and South Pacific matters for several years.

Dr Jasmine-Kim Westendorf

PhD, BA(Hons)

Dr Jasmine Westendorf is an Associate Professor of Peace and Conflict, Australian Research Council DECRA Fellow and Co-Director of the Initiative for Peacebuilding at the University of Melbourne. Her research focuses on peace and humanitarian processes, particularly examining how the international community supports societies as they respond to conflict and crisis. Her current major project, funded by the Australian Research Council, focuses on sexual exploitation and abuse in peace and humanitarian operations; her past work has looked at the challenges to effective international involvement and inclusivity in peace processes.

Jasmine is the author of Violating peace: Sex, aid and peacekeeping (2020, Cornell University Press), Why peace processes fail: Negotiating insecurity after civil war (2015, Lynne Rienner Publishers) and co-editor of Sexual exploitation and abuse in peacekeeping and aid: Critiquing the past, plotting the future (2024, Bristol University Press). Her articles have appeared in journals such as International Affairs, International Studies Quarterly, Australian Journal of International Affairs, Global Studies Quarterly, Peacebuilding the Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding and the Bulletin of the World Health Organization. She has undertaken field research in Timor-Leste, Cambodia, Nepal, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Poland, Moldova, Romania, Sicily, Palestine and Cyprus, and has worked with and advised a range of UN and other international organisations on issues related to peace processes and sexual exploitation and abuse.

Carole Brownlee

BCom (Qld), FCPA, AICD

Carole is an experienced Board and C-Suite Executive with a strong focus on finance, operations, business development, risk management and governance. Her distinguished career includes extensive experience as a senior strategic leader within the media, film, entertainment, production, and not-for-profit (NFP) sectors. Currently, Carole serves as a senior C-Suite Executive with the Village Roadshow Group. Her extensive board roles have included chairing Finance, Risk, and Remuneration committees across both the Private and NFP sectors. Notably, she recently concluded a 9-year tenure on the Board of ActionAid Australia. In addition, Carole is an active Board member of the PGA of Australia, where she serves as the Chair of the PGA’s Finance, Audit, and Remuneration Committee. Her leadership and expertise continue to make significant contributions across various sectors both in Australia and abroad.

James Morgan

LLB, Grad Dip (Legal Practice), Diploma of Government.

James Morgan is a Bininj man from Kakadu in the Northern Territory. He has worked across the Commonwealth Public Service for 10 years, with experience in project management, human resources, communications and operations in both Canberra and Kakadu. James is passionate about economic self-determination for First Nations people, founding Yibekka Kakadu Rock Art Tours to increase local Aboriginal employment. He also co-founded the Bininj Mungguy Aboriginal Corporation, where he serves as Managing Director. The corporation partners with Kakadu National Park, national science projects and other industries to deliver jobs for Bininj/Mungguy people through a locally designed and managed labour hire service.

James has contributed to a number of advisory bodies, including the ACT Minister’s Youth Advisory Council, Tourism NT’s Aboriginal Tourism Committee and Kakadu’s Bininj Mungguy Research Advisory Committee. He also volunteers as an auxiliary firefighter and is the captain of the Jabiru Fire Station.

James holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and has been admitted to practice in the Northern Territory Supreme Court. He is currently practising as a lawyer at Bowden McCormack Lawyers.

Siobhan Vivian

BA, Grad Dip (Human Resources Management)

Siobhan Vivian (she/her) is a proud Aboriginal woman who lives, works, and raises her family on Wurundjeri Country. She is currently the Deputy Director of Human Resources at the University of Melbourne, where she provides strategic leadership across people management, workplace culture, organisational performance, and diversity and inclusion. Siobhan holds a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in History and Social Sciences from the University of Melbourne, and postgraduate qualifications in Human Resource Management from Deakin University. With extensive experience in both Higher Education and Local Government, she has developed deep expertise in business partnering, policy development, legislative compliance, and industrial relations within complex, highly regulated environments.

Siobhan is a trusted leader who has guided teams through transformational change, building inclusive, values-driven workplaces. She is also a strong advocate for Indigenous development, having worked in the Faculty of Science at the University of Melbourne in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to decolonise scientific practice and embed Indigenous Knowledge into teaching and research.

Siobhan has a passion for supporting inclusive, diverse, and connected communities, and her engagement in any space is guided by strong cultural values that centre on people’s rights to self-determine. Siobhan is an advocate for creating inclusive practices that empower communities and individuals to be their authentic self.

Elizabeth Grinston

BA, LLB, GAICD

Elizabeth is a governance and legal professional with extensive experience leading and advising complex organisations to manage commercial transactions, risk and regulatory compliance. She has served on Boards in the financial services and retail energy sectors and is currently a non-executive Director of the Black Dog Institute, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council and Woodville Alliance. Previously a partner of Freehills and Special Counsel at Gilbert + Tobin, Elizabeth has also held Executive Leadership and General Counsel/Board Secretary roles at the University of New South Wales, Airservices Australia and Screen Australia.

Elizabeth is an experienced Tribunal member at Commonwealth and State level and is currently a senior member of the NSW Civil & Administrative Tribunal. Elizabeth also serves on the Human Research Ethics Committee of Family Planning Australia.

Natalie Siegel-Brown

BA, LLB, G Cert (Corp Management), Masters of Politics

Natalie is the Inspector-General of Aged Care for Australia, and most recently prior, was the Commissioner for Social Policy at the Australian Productivity Commission. She was also member of the Queensland Independent Truth and Treaty Body, and a Board Member of Ageing and Disability Advocacy Australia. Natalie concurrently serves as specialist advisor to the UN and Fijian Government in child protection and youth justice. She is an experienced CEO, government oversight body and independent statutory appointee. Her expertise ranges across domestic and family violence, sexual violence, child abuse and neglect, youth justice, mental health, disability, aged care and elder abuse. Prior to being Commissioner, Natalie was the Queensland Public Guardian; the government-appointed oversight for child protection, youth justice, mental health and disability. Natalie was the independent human rights defender for the State’s most vulnerable children and adults. Her role was the only government appointment in the World with powers to investigate and intervene in elder abuse. Natalie’s career history includes having been CEO of an international NGO that delivered expert advice to organisations all over the world in preventing adult and child sexual assault; and a senior Executive in NSW Government overseeing the Women NSW, statutory child protection, prevention and early intervention, disability inclusion and strategic policy portfolios. Her career includes working as a lawyer in roles at the former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the Australian Human Rights Commission. Over the last two decades, Natalie’s has worked for communities and Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations from Cape York to the Kimberley.