Greater Shepparton Foundation engages the expertise and knowledge of a skills-based Board of Directors to ensure strong governance and leadership to achieve our vision of an inclusive, interconnected communities where everybody has equal opportunity to participate.
Our Board Directors have a strong belief that by truly listening, learning and activating local expertise, we are identifying ways to strengthen our community. GSF is committed to the view that if we are led by community, we can deliver with community.
With some of our board members stepping away from their position on the board due to other commitments at the last Annual General Meeting we have been pleased to welcome three new board members, Vaughan Bradshaw, Kate Long and Ebony Tonks.
Vaughan grew up in Shepparton then spent some time away to pursue a career in Aviation and returned to Shepparton eight years ago with his family for a business opportunity. Vaughan brings a wealth of experience in business and investment, along with his place-based knowledge of our community.
Kate grew up in the Shepparton area and returned to commence her Legal career following University. She has spent most of her career working in crime and child protection and is now working in Therapeutic Justice.
Ebony Tonks is lawyer in the Property and Commercial teams at Dawes & Vary Riordan. She studied at Monash University and later Deakin University, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and Bachelor of Commerce (majoring in Accounting). Prior to working as a lawyer, Ebony worked at a local accounting firm and later in local government.
“I feel extremely fortunate to become a Director of the Greater Shepparton Foundation, an organisation that aligns with my values. I look forward to working with the fellow Directors and staff to tackle disadvantage, drive change and support community organisations,” says Ebony.
Vaughan, Kate and Ebony joined existing Directors Mark De Paola (Chair), Julia Thomas (Deputy Chair), Kara Shields (Treasurer) and Neha Samar.
We invite you to get to know our Board Directors a little better, you can read more about them and the skills they bring to GSF on the ‘About Us’ page on our website here.
When appointing Board Directors, GSF not only seeks the required skills, but it also engages individuals that represent our diverse community, think innovatively to address priority need, our entrenched in the community and foster our nimble approach to deliver the services needed most.
The Board works with the GSF Executive Officer, Amanda McCulloch to achieve the goals of GSF’s strategic plan via our major projects, an annual grants program, evaluation and advocacy, and partnership development.
Our Board Directors have recently undertaken a comprehensive organisational overview, deep diving into the important Bridges Out of Poverty training and undertaking a skills matrix and testing the organization's risk appetite. This work was the final piece in a comprehensive and longstanding relationship between Carmel Riley from CRSE Group and the Greater Shepparton Foundation.
CRSE Group has been a vital community partner of the Greater Shepparton Foundation since it transitioned from the Community Fund in 2019 and Carmel has been alongside the organisation providing strategic advice and support under her social enterprise model ever since.
It is important we acknowledge this longstanding partnership, and take a moment to thank Carmel for her sincere interest in, and dedication to supporting our work at the Foundation. Her deep understanding of community and complex environments has helped us have considerable impact over the past 5 years and will set us up for success in the future.
With our 2025 GSF Strategic Plan due in the new year, the board have been reflecting on our current community priorities alongside our organisational priorities and how the Greater Shepparton Foundation can best support delivering our vision.
The recent Greater Shepparton Philanthropic Summit was one of the many community conversations that will help shape our new 2025 and beyond Strategic Plan.
The event was held on Friday 24th May, a partnership between the Sir Andrew and Lady Fairley Foundation and Greater Shepparton Lighthouse Project, designed to enable community organisations to come together to share insights and discuss philanthropic solutions for systemic transformation in Shepparton.
With GSF’s Annual General Meeting coming up later this year, if you are interested in finding out more about becoming a Board Director or how you can support our important work at GSF please contact Amanda at info@greatershepparton.foundation
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