People
Women’s Circus runs on the energy and enthusiasm of its Staff, Board and Community.
STAFF
General Manager - Dianne Toulson
Outreach Program Director - Annemarie Ferguson
Head of Circus Training - Debra Batten
Administration - Jo Whatley
Bookkeeper - Maralann Damiano
BOARD MEMBERS
Chair - Leharna Black
Deputy Chair - Kirsten Mander
Directors - Beth Child, Ursula Dutkiewicz, Toni Jones & Dawna Wright
Leharna Black – Chair - Appointed 15 August 2006
Leharna consultants to some of Australia’s blue chip businesses including the Victorian State Government, BHP Billiton, NAB, Telstra, ANZ and Optus. She is a senior manager with a successful career in business improvement, organisational effectiveness and change management. She is a member of the Australian Society of CPA’s, the Institute of Management Consultants and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Leharna was previously Finance Director of the Women’s Circus between 2003 and 2004. She has been a non executive director for the People and Parks Foundation, Moreland YMCA, Bosa Engineering, CERES & ACNEM. Leharna has a Bachelor of Business in marketing, a Diploma in Accounting and an MBA.
Kirsten Mander – Deputy Chair – Appointed April 2008
Kirsten is a senior businesswoman and lawyer with substantial broad experience across public companies, not-for-profit and private organisations. She brings to the Board over 20 years experience in business, legal and risk management, including as General Counsel and/or Company Secretary for some of Australia’s top companies, such as Australian Unity, Sigma Pharmaceuticals and Truenergy. She is also a Director of Hadsel Grace & Associates, MEGT Australia Ltd and the Consultative Council for Human Research Ethics, past Victorian President of the Australian Corporate Lawyers Association and a former director and Ethics Committee Chairman of the Law Institute of Victoria. Kirsten holds a Masters of Law from Melbourne University, a graduate diploma in company secretarial practice and is a member of the AICD, RMIA and CSA.
Dawna Wright - Finance Director - appointed February 2009
Dawna is a Chartered Accountant in Australia and Canada, and a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Fraud Examiner in the USA. She has over 17 years of financial experience gained Canada, the United States, France and Australia. She was formerly a partner at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, a global accounting firm. She is now a partner at McGrathNicol, one of the leading boutique financial advisory firms in Australia. Her background includes over six years of audit experience of local and multinational private and public companies, and over ten years of forensic accounting experience, including giving testimony as an expert witness. Dawna is also a Director, Treasurer and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee for Amnesty International Australia.
Ursula Dutkeiwicz – Director - Appointed 20 September 2004
Ursula has been involved in the arts industry for the past thirty years in various ways including: musician recording and touring: organising and running performance events and evenings: stage-managing for bands and theatre and as a professional Ceramic Artist. She has been a resident artist at Gasworks Arts Park for many years and until recently involved with Footscray Community Art Centre regularly taking part in community days, festivals and events. Ursula has been an active member of The Women’s Circus since the first show in 1991 and during this time has had many roles including Stage Manager, Crew Co-ordinator, Technical Co-ordinator, Assistant Production Manager and currently is on the Board of Management
Beth Child – Director – Appointed May 2008
Beth has a wide range of experience in the Performing Arts. She began as an actor, appearing with most of the major theatre companies in Australia, on TV, radio, commercials and in film. During her career she has added writing, producing, teaching and directing to her list of skills. She has appeared as an actor in Australian films “My Brilliant Career”, “The Everlasting Secret Family” and “Razorback”; devised her own cabaret and music theatre shows (“ Late Bloomers”, Abreast of the Times”, “Bedtime Stories”, “Beth in Venice”) and was part of the Adelaide Fringe award-winning creative team of “Zen and Now”. She is the recipient of three Australia Council performance development grants. Most recently she directed two short films, the first of which “Love …and the Space Between” was a finalist in the MQFF Oz Shorts 2009.
Toni Jones – Director – Appointed July 2008
Toni Jones is a Canadian-qualified accountant. Toni began specialising in tax services in Australia in 2000, and is currently a tax specialist at UBS. Her areas of tax expertise include GST, taxation of trusts and charitable funds, tax on various types of investments and investment structures, tax implications of mergers and de-mergers, and international taxation. In private practice, she advises a variety of businesses on tax planning, strategic management, and business modelling. She has assisted a broad range of enterprises, including owner-managed enterprises, publicly listed companies, and charities. Professional experiences include accounting, auditing, statutory compliance, tax compliance, and staff training. She has been an active member of The Women’s Circus since 2006.