Lindy Hume (Chair) Co-opt member
Cr Graham Scobie (Deputy Chair) Council delegate - Eurobodalla
Penny Bonnell (Secretary/Public Officer) Co-opt member
Cr Stephanie McDonald Council delegate - Cooma-Monaro
Karen Cash Council delegate - Bombala
Cr Liz Seckold - Council delegate - Bega Valley
Cr Bill Smits - Council delegate - Snowy River
Bettina Richter - Co-opt member
Catherine Andrews - Co-opt member
Lindy Hume
Lindy Hume is one of Australia's leading directors and artistic directors, acknowledged internationally for her diverse repertoire and for progressive artistic leadership of several Australian arts organisations. Her appointment in 2008 as Festival Director of Sydney Festival 2010-2012 follows her term as Artistic Director of Perth International Arts Festival from 2004 to 2007.
After leaving school at 15 to become a dancer, Lindy worked through a variety of roles from assistant director and choreographer to director. On completing a Graduate Diploma in Arts Administration at the University of South Australia she became the first Artistic Director of West Australian Opera from 1993 to 1996, moving on to lead the Victoria State Opera until the 1997 merger of the VSO and the (then) Australian Opera. She then became the Artistic Director of OzOpera, the Melbourne-based touring and development arm of Opera Australia, until 2001.
Lindy has created more than fifty major opera productions in Australia for companies including Opera Australia, Opera Queensland, West Australian Opera and State Opera of South Australia, including
Batavia which won both the Helpmann and Green Room Awards for Best Production (Opera) and Best Director. Numerous international productions for companies including Houston Grand Opera, Theater St Gallen Switzerland, Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, Aldeburgh Festival, Music-theatre Transparant Belgium and Handel Festspiele Halle. Recent projects include Rigoletto for Houston Grand Opera and Fledermaus for Opera Australia.
Lindy Hume is a recent recipient of an Australia Council Theatre Board Fellowship, and in 2007 was awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters by the University of Western Australia in recognition of her contribution to the cultural life of Western Australia. She serves on the South East Arts Region board, the Australia Council’s Major Performing Arts Board, the Regional Arts NSW Board and is a member of the Global Foundation’s Advisory Council.
Bettina Richter
Bettina Richter is a freelance media specialist, event manager and producer and has worked in the media for over 10 years and has worked in all facets of the arts since she can remember. From 1998-2006 she worked at the ABC in Sydney as a producer and researcher working on documentaries, arts and factual programs including
Dynasties,
Compass,
Dimensions with George Negus and
Sunday Afternoon with Andrea Stretton. Bettina has also written, directed and produced radio documentaries for Radio National’s
Life Matters,
Hindsight and
Street Stories including 1 hour feature
An A-Z of My Grandmother and the 30 minute feature
Ocean Rd which featured her own compositions.
Bettina has a Masters in Writing (UTS) and has written for online arts journal Arts Hub and has written plays and screenplays. She has taught drama to young people at Marian St Theatre for Young People and given educational talks at various institutions. Bettina was the researcher and production manager on Bruce Petty’s AFI-winning documentary, Global Haywire. Bettina now directs 2 companies – Miss Bettina Media, which specialises in public relations, communications and event strategy in the arts; and Wish Bone Films – a film production company on the far south coast of NSW whose first film
AQUA tells the story of the Great Barrier Reef – the chronicle of a world in peril. In 2009
AQUA (Preview Edition) screened at Parliament House and the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Denmark.
Graham Scobie
Graham Scobie was elected to Eurobodalla Shire Council in September, 2008, and has been a member of the South East Arts Region Board since then. At the March, 2011, AGM he was elected Deputy Chairman of SEAR. He has been a resident of Moruya since 1981 and has been involved in the arts industry for over 30 years since making his debut as a busker in the London Underground in 1977. He joined a bush band when he arrived on the coast in 1981 and has maintained a music career ever since, releasing four albums and receiving two national song writing awards.In 1999 he commenced his own business, Scentertainment, which is a licensed entertainment agency booking acts from Victoria to Queensland. In 2006 he launched a weekly community email newsletter called the Moruya Voice and that project recently celebrated its' fifth anniversary. He has also been president of the Moruya Chamber of Commerce since 2006 and, as such, was Chairman of the River of Art in 2007. He was also the director of the Moruya Festival of Music in the early 1990's and this evolved into the Moruya Jazz Festival fifteen years ago.
In addition to SEAR, Graham is also a member of the following Eurobodalla Shire Council committees: Aboriginal Advisory, Action Plan Access (Disability), Botanic Gardens, Landcare and Moruya Showground (Chair). He has also had a long association with social justice issues in the region having been Employment Development Officer for South Eastern Employment Task Force from 1984 to 1986 and had a founding role with Campbell Page in 1984.
Stephanie McDonald
Stephanie McDonald is renowned for her ability to design and develop processes and systems that create efficiencies and quality outcomes. Over a 13-year period she built a career in the tertiary sector in Sydney not only through her process engineering and systems design talent, but also her capacity for collaborative project management, implementation and training/communication skills.More recently, Stephanie has been, and continues to, develop processes and systems on a social and community scale resulting in the formation of Resilience Inc in 2010.
Informed by her concurrent work as a local government councillor, community sector worker, small business operator and serving on a number of local and regional boards, Stephanie is passionate about addressing social, environmental and economic issues facing rural and regional communities. Her connection to, and passion for the arts started at an early age. Growing up in Adelaide she witnessed the visionary development of Adelaide’s Festival Theatre and the birth of subsequent high quality festivals and a flourishing artistic and cultural environment.
Stephanie completed a Craft Certificate course in jewellery production, production pottery, photography and painting. She has worked in the theatre as a dresser (Theatre Royal, Les Miserables) and taken to the stage rarely (Sherwoodstock, Queensland Performing Arts Centre) and has close connections with both professional and amateur artists both within Cooma-Monaro and further a field.
Stephanie has been on the South East Arts Board since 2008, and served as Treasurer from 2009 to Nov 2011.
Penny Bonnell
Penny Bonnell is a qualified and awarded arts manger with over 30 years experience in the development and management of a wide variety of arts organisations in both Australia and New Zealand. Since 2000, as a consultant operating her own business, PGB and Associates, her clients have included Gorman House Arts Centre, Muse Magazine and AIATSIS in Canberra and the Mika Haka Contemporary Pacific Dance Co and other arts organisations in New Zealand.
She was the founding Director of the Uxbridge Arts Centre in Auckland that has established a reputation for excellence over the past 30 years. The Centre offers classes in all art forms to all ages and has an extensive exhibition and concert program as well as, during her time there, a resident Children’s Theatre, Youth Theatre and Childcare Centre.
Penny is experienced in developing both the visual and performing arts. Her most recent achievements whilst on the SEAR staff, include spearheading the development of The Mechanics’ Institute, Moruya as the sole Council operated arts venue in Eurobodalla and the initiation of the ‘Going Public Program’ of exhibitions, performances and film. She contributed to the initiation of the ‘River of Art Festival, Moruya by introducing touring programs and artist and creative industry development workshops to the community based program. She also made a significant contribution to the development of the Basil Sellers Art Prize.
Skilled in Strategic Planning, Penny made a significant contribution to SEAR’s facilitation of the Eurobodalla Shire Cultural Plan that won the LGSA Cultural Award for the Best Local Government Cultural Plan NSW, 2007. She has extensive experience in working with local government, government agencies and funding bodies. She brings considerable skills in audience development, marketing and sponsorship development to her work in the arts.
The wide scope of Penny’s cultural development practice includes working with Maori, Pacific and other cultural groups as well as communities with special needs and in projects addressing social issues. She was contracted by NZ Race Relations Office to deliver “Our Face”, a theatre project aimed at addressing cultural differences within South Auckland High School students. Most recently she introduced Arts Access programs in Eurobodalla and managed a major exhibition by Aboriginal Artists for Eurobodalla Shire Council. Throughout her career Penny has worked with voluntary groups and has trained volunteers in policy development, strategic and business planning, marketing and sponsorship development.
Penny has represented contemporary visual artists in New Zealand, successfully selling their works in the Hong Kong and South East Asia Corporate Market and continues to advise individual artists in south east NSW. An experienced event manager, Penny has been responsible for numerous successful events e.g. Manukau City Council’s Millennium Event 2000 and Waderbirds NZ– Odyssey of the Wetlands – an international arts/science/ environment/education project.
Qualification: Arts Management Diploma, Auckland
Award: New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal for services to the arts and the community
Catherine Andrews
Catherine Andrews is Managing Director of a National Consulting company providing professional support services to the public sector. She has held this role for 5 years. Prior to managing her own company, Catherine had 30 years experience working at senior levels in recreation, culture and major events across the public sector and the tertiary sector.
Catherine’s experience has included;
• the establishment of philanthropic organisations in the arts, the
community and the tertiary sector (CAPO* GreaterGood* UC Foundation)
• Key roles in senior management for major events such as: the X11 Commonwealth Games, the National Festival of Australian Theatre, The World Cup Games, the National University Games, UC 20th Anniversary
• Ten years as Deputy General Manager for the Canberra Theatre Trust (Multi venue Performing Arts Centre)
• Five years as General Manager of a University Union with 200 staff and 6 business streams
• Four years as inaugural Executive Director of a University Foundation
• Key client roles for major constructions in the cultural sector and the University commercial sector
• Director and Board Member roles have included
- The ACT Arts Council - Musica Viva
- Canberra Symphony Orchestra
- Reid Residents Association (President)
- Capital Arts Patrons Organisation (Founding Board member) CAPO*
- World Cup Games 1985
- 1995 Australian University Games (Director)
- GreaterGood (Founding Committee and Board member), The Capital Region Community Organisation*
- The University of Canberra Foundation (Founding Executive Director)
- Canberra Arts Marketing
Catherine’s professional and personal interests and involvements are focussed around community development in the cultural sector, developing sustainable models for cultural activity, supporting and mentoring cultural practitioners, and enhancing the awareness of the importance of the public sector as a fundamental organisation for change and creativity in social structures. Catherine has studied Fine Arts at the ANU, holds an A.MUS.A, is a graduate and Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, has a Diploma in Government and is an accredited HR practitioner, MRSCA. Personal interests include: equestrian, cultural, travel, photography, business development, community development and philanthropy.
Karen Cash
Karen Cash - as a representative from a small Council area I know only too well the importance of building strong networks and partnerships to deliver identified outcomes. I have a strong background in small business and community development and over my 10 plus years with Council I have devised and delivered numerous projects and programs designed to foster the ongoing development of the Council area. We have been using art to assist community development for many, many years and have had some outstanding results with programs like Be Involved…Be Inspired a holiday workshop program for youth and now our ArtEscape program which combines both tourism and cultural development.
I believe my strengths lie in community engagement, strategic thinking, marketing, grant writing and Council procedures. I am a strong advocate for the principles of social inclusion and believe firmly that for sustainable growth a grassroots approach needs to be taken. Over my years with Council we have successful developed the local area applying the “economic gardening” philosophy to all our development activities. The Bombala Council area is entering an exciting new phase with major tourism development planned and we look forward to SEAR being part of the plans.
Liz Seckold
Liz Seckold has a background in teaching and has had along term interest in performance and alternative” films. She taught drama in secondary schools in ACT and NSW and was a keen member of an award winning amateur theatre for children in Canberra. Her specialist skills relate to education, training and research. As a councilor she is aware of political processes and advocacy.
Liz Seckold arrived in Australia as ‘ten pound Pom’ in 1955 aged 12 years. She has lived in the Bega Valley area for nearly 30 years and during this time taught at Bega High School for 25 years. Liz has five children/step-children who have all left home. Her youngest child Ellie is currently Australia’s Commonwealth Youth Representative.
Liz was appointed as the first Head Teacher Welfare in NSW. This entailed setting up welfare programs plus looking after the welfare of over 1000 adolescents, on top of her teaching load in English, History, French and Exploring Early Childhood (for senior students). She was awarded an Excellence Service Award NSW for ‘outstanding contribution to public education and training’ in 2004.
Liz ran the Student Representative Council for which she received the Regional Award of Leadership. She is currently on the following committees: South East Arts, Cultural Planning Committee, On Track, Bega Valley Suicide Prevention Action Network, South East Regional Academy of Sport.
Bill Smits
Bill Smits has 30 years of experience as an employee in local government in regional and rural NSW culminating in the position of Shire Clerk / GM of Snowy River Shire Council. Since retiring in 1994 he was elected to Snowy River Council in 1995 and continuing, served two terms as Mayor and Deputy Mayor. He has been a member of all standing committees and various advisory committees as well as a member of 5 community-based section 355 committees including Berridale Beautification committee and Dalgety Showground management committee. Bill’s extensive management experience includes financial management and accounting as well as personnel management. His current interests include tennis, golf, sailing, music and gardening.
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