Philanthropy Committee

Ms Sally Bateman is the Chief Executive Officer of Make-A-Wish Australia, one of the country’s most inspirational charities for children.

A former Senior Publishing Executive, Ms Bateman was Penguin Random House’s inaugural Asia Pacific Director of Marketing, Publicity and Digital following the international merger of Penguin and Random House. Previously, she spent 17 years with Penguin Australia where she led marketing and digital strategy during a decade of disruption.

Ms Bateman is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and holds a Bachelor of Arts, Public Relations and a Graduate Diploma of Psychology.

Ms Janice Thomas is an Executive & Board Member with 20+ years’ success at the forefront of advancement and engagement strategies in Secondary and Higher Education. She pioneered sustainable funding streams and built new collaborative cross-sector partnerships central to delivering the Teaching, Learning and Research agendas of some of Australia’s most iconic institutions.

Founding her career in education in fighting for the continued provision of K-12 schooling in the community of Bendigo, she built a reputation for transformational leadership with a succession of appointments to roles involving ground-up functional establishment and key strategic contributions.

Ms Thomas is the Director of Hamilton’s Consulting Australia Pty Ltd. She has held senior roles in the tertiary education sector including: as Inaugural Director of Development at the University of Western Sydney, Senior Director, Advancement & Communications and Senior Director of Engagement in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at the University of Melbourne.

An active not-for-profit and NGO Board Member & Advisor, she holds expertise across the ecosystem of fundraising, marketing, communications, external relations, community, philanthropic and corporate engagement. In addition, she brings transferable skills in government relations, multi-party stakeholder management and governance. 

Professor Kristjanson is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering.  She is Chair of the Board of the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre. Professor Kristjanson is Non-Executive Director of Seek Ltd., Skalata Ventures Ltd., Education Australia Ltd., and Global Citizen Ltd.  She is a member of the Australian Council for International Education.

Professor Kristjanson served as Vice-Chancellor and President of Swinburne University of Technology from 2011, retiring in August 2020. In 2002, Linda was named Australian Telstra Business Women of the Year in recognition of her entrepreneurial work in health and science.  Professor Kristjanson was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2017 Queen’s Birthday Honours list, acknowledged for her distinguished service to tertiary education through leadership and governance roles, strategic and innovative university reforms, and contributions to cancer research, palliative care and to women.

Tony is an experienced leader both within the community, education and corporate sectors. He has a particular passion for early intervention in community challenges and has a strong track record working within the disability, homelessness and medical research space. He also has been a community leader volunteering in education, medical research and local community initiatives.

Tony is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD), and in 2015 reached the world wide accreditation as a senior fundraising executive (CFRE). He sits on the Board for the Forum of Indigenous Directors and is an experienced working within Traditional Owner communities and is an experienced leader within this space.

Tony has the personal mantra of wanting to minimize the unmet need for sick and disadvantaged kids in Western Australia and is passionate about the work that Variety- the Children’s Charity conducts worldwide. He is currently the Western Australian CEO, Chair of the Australian CEO group and is a member of the Council for Asia Pacific for Variety International.