Michelle Tuahine is a Gangulu/Ngāti Kahungunu woman with a background in journalism. She is a descendant of the Gangulu people of Central Queensland, and a member of the Brisbane Murri community.

Born in Brisbane, Michelle became interested in a career in the industry after seeing the portrayal of her community in the media in the lead up to the 1982 Commonwealth Games. The then Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen had banned street protests by declaring Queensland a ‘State of Emergency’. It became the catalyst for a career in news and current affairs reporting, becoming a cadet journalist with ABC TV News and Current Affairs in 1990, and later working with the ABC’s Indigenous Programs Unit on its award-winning series ‘Blackout’. Michelle has also worked with National Indigenous Television (NITV) and National Indigenous Radio Service (NIRS News).

Michelle is currently assisting her family in their aspirations for native title, as well as helping plan, manage and protect cultural heritage on country.

In 2012, Michelle was appointed to the Indigenous Advisory Group (IAG) for Brisbane Festival – Queensland’s largest cultural event. Michelle helped develop the Festival’s ‘Statement of Intent’ with a vision for healing and meaningful engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and communities. In 2018, Michelle continued sharing her knowledge and experience with Brisbane Festival staff, as well as taking part in Acknowledgement of Country ceremonies with the Festival’s visiting international artists. 

Elverina (Bunya Badjil – good woman) is a Kunganji Gurugulu Woman of Yarrabah on her Grandfather’s linage and Idinji Gimuy on her Grandmother’s linage. She is a direct descendant of King Menmuny of the Gunganji Nation of Yarrabah and a direct descendant of King Yinnie of Cairns.

Elverina has been involved in the arts and creative industry for over 25 years as an artist in visual and performing arts and as a manager. She is a performing artist in her own right and has performed as a singer for various projects including Yarrabah the Musical by Opera Australia (OA), and Yarrabah Brass Band Festival by Queensland Music Festival. Elverina has been instrumental in bringing to life the history of the Yarrabah Brass Bands which became a major exhibition for the Queensland Performing Arts Centre.

Elverina is a recipient of major civic awards, such as the Rona Tranby Trust Award and the state of Queensland’s Smart Women/Smart State Award for Community Innovation. In 2017 Elverina was awarded the National NAIDOC Artist of the Year. In 2018 she was awarded the Yarrabah International Women’s Day Woman of the Year and was a Finalist in the Cairns Business Women’s Award for Indigenous Business Woman of the Year.

Elverina has represented her community at the United Nations highlighting the issues regarding domestic violence and other issues that Indigenous women face. She is also a Graduate and Fellow of the Australian Rural Leadership Program.

Bruce Heiser is a Brisbane-based art dealer, valuer, and researcher.

Before opening his own gallery space in late 2004, he worked with Brisbane gallerist Philip Bacon AM for eight years, between 1996 and 2004. Since the closure of the Heiser Gallery space in 2017 Bruce has continued to curate exhibitions in less formal surrounds, while continuing his valuation and research services.

He has previously served on the national board and as Queensland State Chair of the Australian Commercial Galleries Association (2007-2012), and on the Queensland Regional Committee, The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust (2010-2018). Bruce has also mentored disadvantaged artists through the Wesley Mission’s initiative Art from the Margins.

He has been a registered valuer with the Commonwealth’s Cultural Gifts Program since March 2005.

His interest in history and research led to the publication of Tempting Dame Fortune: A Brief History of the Dee Gold Rush, Central Queensland (Koro Press) in 2018.

Bruce studied Classics and Ancient History at the University of Queensland, graduating in 1988. 

Lorraine Dinsey’s early professional career was in primary school teaching. Subsequently, Lorraine pursued her passion for drama-in-education and taught in high schools as well as at tertiary and vocational education levels.  She then pursued a career in public policy areas with a focus on the arts, and then on social justice.

Lorraine successfully led whole-of-Government strategic policy areas as well as Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) programs and projects.

Lorraine has managed a range of public and interdepartmental consultation processes, always with a focus on access and participation of individuals and groups in the community with targeted strategies to engage culturally diverse groups and regional communities. She enjoys drawing together people with diverse agendas and empowering them to find common ground on which to build effective working relationships.

In 2013 Lorraine moved to the private sector and established the Queensland Office for TSS Cyber (a national cyber security company) which is now part of the Cyber CX Group.

Lorraine has an academic background in business administration, project management, applied finance and investment, education and teaching. She also have extensive committee experience in not-for-profit organisations and professional associations in the areas of drama, broader arts, social justice and education. 

Mary-Clare Power’s diverse experience brings a broad range of skills to the role of company director. She has well developed corporate governance and board reporting abilities, with clear focus on financial and risk management. Mary-Clare has more than 25 years’ experience in senior positions within the tourism, events, and cultural industries across both the private and public sectors in Australia and overseas. Mary Clare has been an adept influencer at the decision-making table at all levels of government. A highly creative strategic thinker, she is well regarded within the Arts, events and tourism industry in Australia and has a strong network of industry contacts.

Mary-Clare’s most recent position was CEO of Southern Queensland Country Tourism (SQCT) – the first ‘super’ Regional Tourism Organisation (RTO) in the state and one of thirteen RTOs in Queensland.  Hand-picked for this challenging role in 2012, the key focus of Mary-Clare’s appointment was to manage the consolidation of the two organisations and create a new entity.  Mary-Clare left this role in May 2019 to pursue new career opportunities based out of her home city of Brisbane.   She is currently advising several clients across a broad range of industries.

Mary-Clare is a ‘big picture thinker’ with the ability to switch focus to the  detail required to get the job done; she is a calculated risk taker with a strong commercial sense; a creative problem solver with highly developed conceptualising skills; and is known for her practical  approach,  strategic  thinking  skills  and believes the sum of the parts is always greater than the individual components.

She prides herself in creating a work environment that enables and empowers individuals and teams to take responsibility for outcomes – celebrating achievements and learning from mistakes.

Mary-Clare is a passionate advocate for equality and diversity.

Josephine is the Director of Education Services at Independent Schools Queensland.

She is a Board Director and Chair of the Audit and Risk committee of the Queensland College of Teachers (QCT), the Deputy Chair of the Queensland Institute for Educational Leadership (QELi) and a Board Director of the Flying Arts Alliance.

She has led national projects and teams as Manager of Policy and Programs (Professional Learning) at the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) and with the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA).

Josephine has a Masters of Education from Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Josephine was awarded a Fellow of the Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences for her work in Arts Education.

Steve Munnings is Head of Performance Marketing for LGIAsuper. Steve is an experienced executive with over twenty-five years of customer and marketing management experience in the energy, telecommunications, information technology and aviation industries. Steve has extensive experience in developing and implementing business and marketing strategy in B2C and B2B environments. Steve is a passionate champion of the customer.

Steve has a strong interest in aviation and is a qualified commercial pilot and flight instructor. Steve is committed to giving of his time and for many years was an active volunteer member for Surf Life Saving. Steve has also served as a board member for a small arts organisation in Queensland.

Damien Bourke is a partner at Holding Redlich Lawyers in Brisbane. Damien’s area of expertise in Taxation – Disputes and Litigation. Damien has more than 20 years’ experience dealing with complex tax litigation.

A former partner at Ernst and Young law he led the firm’s Queensland tax disputes practice. He advises on all aspects of Australian and State revenue disputes as well as complex cross border tax investigations, tax litigation, management of raids by revenue authorities and strategic discussions with tax authorities. More recently Damien has practiced in his own specialised tax disputes and litigation firm.

Damien is a member of the Tax Institute. He is a member of the Queensland Law Society Revenue Committee (which advises the Society on all aspects of State Revenue taxes including stamp duty and payroll) as well as being on the Law Council’s Business Tax law committee – which advises the national body on all aspects of Federal Tax law.