Behind spence

Our Board

We are run by a talented volunteer Board of Directors, made up of professional women from a range of industries who offer their time and expertise to bring to life the vision of Spence Club.
Paula Jacques

Paula Jacques

Paula brings over a decade of hands-on experience in operations, sales, marketing, and diverse projects. Leveraging her extensive background across various industries and departments, she excels in delivering exceptional people experiences and facilitating seamless change adoption in digital transformation projects as a Change Consultant through SynergyIQ. Passionate about people and a hugger by nature, Paula infuses great energy into her work, building strong relationships and enhancing communication between teams.
General Board Member
Laura Smans

Laura Smans

A highly resilient leader in arts and cultural management, Laura specializes in creating unique sensory driven experiences for audiences in events environments through placemaking. Since beginning her career 15 years ago, she has worked with events and festivals such as Womadelaide, Sydney Festival, Adelaide Festival and Next Wave Festival, her experience is defined by creating industry-leading, customer-centric strategies for events through stakeholder and relationship management. Laura holds qualifications in stage and tour management, and Festival and Event design from Flinders University.
General Board Member
Georgia Ross

Georgia Ross

Georgia brings over five years of diverse experience in the advertising industry, from out-of-home media sales to tourism marketing. In her current role in professional education at the University of Adelaide, she harnesses creativity and strategic thinking to develop bespoke education solutions for corporate clients. Outside of work, Georgia enjoys volunteering as an industry mentor and contributing to the Spence Club community as a board member.
General Board Member
Charlene McGrath

Charlene McGrath

With a rich background in education, change management, and community engagement, Charlene joins the Spence Club Board to champion diversity and growth among women leaders. She has two decades of experience across STEM, education, community, emergency services, and defence sectors. Her leadership, passion for inclusivity, and dedication to empowering women are invaluable assets to the club's mission.
General Board Member
Catherine Maynard

Catherine Maynard

Catherine is a Tanzanian Australian. A Marketing, Management and Community Development Specialist. With a career spanning 15+ years, Catherine has held diverse range of roles in the not-for-profit sector, local and State Government. Catherine is an inclusive, collaborative, agile and curious leader with the ability to motivate and inspire others to achieve their organisational and personal goals.
General Board Member
Sara Siami

Sara Siami

Sara, Founder of The People Plugin, melds 15+ years in People & Culture with a startup fervor. Dedicated to cultivating engaged teams, Sara envisions business triumph and human flourishing by guiding optimal employee experiences. A lifelong learner, she studied at Flinders, Monash, and the University of South Australia. Recently featured in the University of Adelaide leadership course, Sara was interviewed for South Australia's premier business and leadership podcast.
General Board Member
Beth Shimmin

Beth Shimmin

Beth has over 12 years’ experience working in marketing, communications and project management roles across the tertiary education, arts and private sectors. Currently the Manager, Global Engagement & Intelligence at the University of Adelaide, she has also won a netball premiership with the Adelaide Thunderbirds. Beth holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Adelaide and a Master of Marketing from the University of South Australia.
Chairperson
Zviko Masiiwa

Zviko Masiiwa

Zviko works in the technology sector, specialising in visitor, contractor and compliance management software. Currently working at Honeywell Sine, she enjoys helping businesses of all sizes make their workplace safer, more secure, and more productive by digitising paper-based processes. Zviko is also a committee member with the University of Adelaide Young Alumni Network.
Secretary
Melissa Day

Melissa Day

Melissa Day is a Senior Project Manager who delivers strategic and complex projects within corporate and government teams. Her current role working for South Australia Police supports various stakeholders, with some of the largest emergency services infrastructure projects in SA. Melissa is passionate about mentoring and as a qualified Yoga teacher, her side hustle keeps her heart open, life balanced and spine healthy.
General Board Member
Alisa Burns

Alisa Burns

Alisa is an experienced Financial Adviser and owns her own holistic advice firm, Align Wealth. She has over 15 years’ experience supporting clients on their wealth journey, and holds a Bachelor of Commerce & Bachelor of Business (International Business) as well as being certified by the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia. She is passionate about supporting sustainability & gender balance in finance.
Treasurer
Michelle Kalsan

Michelle Kalsan

Michelle Kalsan has over 10 years' experience in Marketing and is currently Marketing Manager at tech company, SRA. She holds a Bachelor of Media from the University of Adelaide, a Mini MBA in Marketing through Marketing Week with Mark Ritson and completed the Governance Foundations Course for Not-For-Profit Directors through AICD. Michelle is also a Board Director of Possible Dreams International and a long-standing volunteer at Vision Australia Radio.
Deputy Chairperson
PREVIOUS Board Members
Laura Cremen
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Bridie Letford
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Christina Gulliver
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Sophie Horwood
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Sonali D’silva
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Lisa Pritchard
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Serena Gasparini
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Jackie Chen
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Rebecca Sandford
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Kelly Graham-Sutton;
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Emma Finnie
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Evelyn Johns
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Catherine Purvis
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Sarah Collyer-Braham
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Alexandra May
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Briony Kent
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Sally Storey
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Lucinda Hewitson
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Kasia Jaruzelska
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Tamara Tomic
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Libby Trainor-Parker
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Leila Hallak-Low
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Jordan Bell
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Purdie Hider
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Lauren Novak
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Megan Down
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Ilona Schultz
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Sarah Curtis-Fawley
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Sally Woolford
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Candice Keller
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Jamie Doran
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Natasha Cheshire
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Genevieve Lewis
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Sian Dodd
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Angie Gilchrist
.
Amanda Goodfellow
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Emily Welyhorskyj
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Ashleigh Dumont
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Karina Albanese
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Madhu Jeyakumaran
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Shelley O’Connell
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Kacy Ratta
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Gemma Cooper
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Rebecca Clafton (nee Wu)
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Fiona Stapleton
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Rebecca Bendikov
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Darcey Watson
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Anna Kennett
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Alexandra Paxinos
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Olivia Martin
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