Amnesty International Australia

Read about our leaders, Board and directors and their many and varied areas of specialisation.

Our Senior Management Team

Claire Mallinson - Director of Amnesty International Australia

Claire Mallinson joined Amnesty International Australia (AIA) as National Director in October 2007. Claire has 26 years of experience in rights-based work and the not for profit sector and a degree in Economics, Politics and Sociology.

Claire began her work in the sector at the UK's biggest not for profit disability organisation, Scope. At Scope Claire campaigned for equal rights for people with a disability, was instrumental in implementing a fast-track management development program for people with a disability and oversaw significant income growth.

Claire left Scope to become the youngest Director of a UK top five charity, the Cancer Research Campaign. Claire was part of the team responsible for the largest not for profit merger in the world. Five years after the merger, Cancer Research UK’s annual research spend had doubled and annual income had grown to 468 million pounds. Claire was then appointed as International Partnerships Director for Cancer Research UK, where she developed their international strategy and secured funding and partnership support for tobacco control advocacy in developing countries.

Claire moved to Australia in 2003 to become Director of Fundraising and Marketing for Greenpeace Australia/Pacific. During her time at Greenpeace, the organisation’s supporter base and income dramatically increased, and climate change was placed firmly on the political and public agenda.

At Amnesty International Australia, Claire is committed to enabling people from all walks of life to participate effectively in the international human rights movement. She is passionate about combating violence against women, ensuring all Indigenous Australians enjoy their full human rights, and ensuring everyone, everywhere has equality, justice and dignity. Claire is a member of Amnesty International’s Global Management Team.

Claire believes that the growing movement of Amnesty International’s human rights defenders is a key factor in creating change and holding governments, corporations and individuals to account.

Andrew Beswick - Director of Campaigns

Andrew Beswick is Campaigns Director with Amnesty International Australia. Andrew has been with Amnesty since 1997. During this time he has been responsible for coordinating public campaigning on human rights issues in the Asia Pacific, such as the East Timor crisis of 1999 and the ongoing situations in Burma and China, working closely with community organisations and Amnesty offices across the region.

More recently Andrew has had a lead role in developing Amnesty’s social research to understand Australian community attitudes to asylum seekers and has directed research in partnership with Indigenous communities into the impacts of the Northern Territory intervention.

Prior to working for Amnesty International, Andrew worked for a number of years with other organisations in community education and local organising (including with The Wilderness Society) and in a voluntary capacity as a frontline environmental activist.

Desley Mather - Director of Campaigns

Desley has led campaigning at Amnesty International Australia since joining our leadership team in 2003. Our campaigns in this time have included work to stop violence against women in Australia, our region and globally, to stop Google's involvement in internet repression in China, abolish temporary protection visas for asylum seekers, end the Pacific "solution", and secure fair trials or returns for Guantanamo Bay detainees including David Hicks.

Before Amnesty, Desley worked for Greenpeace International from London, Amsterdam, Dublin, Paris and Sydney. Working on global environmental campaigns for 10 years, she was part of the international communications team, led the international oceans campaign department and campaigned against overfishing by industrial scale fishing vessels from the North Atlantic to the Southern Ocean. Campaigning in partnership with Indigenous communities and organisations representing small fishing communities gave her a real understanding of the importance of protecting peoples’ economic, social and cultural rights. Desley is passionate about working alongside people living in poverty to ensure their voices are heard and their rights are upheld.

Desley oversaw the establishment of Amnesty International Australia's work defending the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and currently leads a great team of people focusing on these campaigns and programs.

She lives with pride and respect on Wurndjeri People's land in Melbourne.

Reuben Young - Director of Communications

Reuben has held the position of Director of Communications at Amnesty International since September 2007. In this role he is responsible for leading Amnesty International’s external outreach, including relations with governments, online engagement, media relations and print publications.

Prior to joining Amnesty International, Reuben worked in Communications for IBM in a range of senior communications positions including: Communications Manager for the Chairman of IBM Europe, Middle East and Africa; and Manager of Public Relations for IBM’s Asia Pacific Business Consulting Group. Reuben holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and a Post Graduate Certificate in Business Management. He has lived and worked in Wellington, London, Paris and Sydney.

Andrew Barker - Director of Supporter Services

Andrew was born in the year Monaco won the Eurovision Song contest with their classic ballard "A Bench, a Tree, a Street", and grew up in suburban Sydney. After completing high school in North West Sydney he read an Arts degree at University of NSW, majoring in modern history and geography. Andrew spent the early part of his working life as a commissioned officer with the Australian Army, mainly serving in North Queensland where he developed an interest in leadership, training and international affairs. During his time with the ADF he was privileged to deploy to Timor Leste in 2000 as part of the United Nations Transitional Assistance Mission.

Continuing his education, Andrew completed an MBA, specialising in Human Resources before leaving the Army to take up a position in the not-for-profit sector as Operations Manager in the primary health care industry. This challenging role broadened his skills to include financial management, quality control systems and business development. In 2008 Andrew joined Amnesty International as Director Support Services and is responsible for finance, human resources, information systems, facilities and other operational support functions.

Andrew is married to Rhona and has two boys, Mitchell and Ashton. In his spare time enjoys sailing, hiking and reading.

Peter Thomas - Director of Marketing

Pete has been part of the team at Amnesty International Australia since 1999 and took up his current role in 2006. During his time with the organisation he has been primarily responsible for the vital area of growth, helping to build a much stronger Australian Section. The organisation is now over 4 times as large as it was in 1999 - and as result is achieving much greater human rights impact in Australian and abroad.

Pete has worked for a period on secondment to the headquarters of Amnesty International in London and is currently a member of the global Fundraising Management Team. With a BA in Industrial Design, Pete brings a creative and analytical approach to Amnesty International's work in building our support.

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Our Board

The NEC is Amnesty International Australia's highest-decision making body and is democratically elected bi-annually by its members. The NEC provides governance, leadership and stewardship for Amnesty International Australia as part of a global movement of human rights defenders. This is achieved by overseeing the implementation in Australia of the global vision, mission and plan as well as decisions of the International Council and National Annual General Meetings.

Seven of the 14 directors of the NEC are elected at Amnesty International Australia's National Annual General Meeting: the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and three directors. The remaining directors are comprised of the seven representatives of the Branchs, either Branch Presidents or Regional Representatives, who are elected each year at Branch Annual General Meetings (BAGMS). The Board appoints the National Director who is the Chief Executive Officer responsible for the operations of Amnesty International Australia.

New and retiring board members 2011

Congratulations to the following board members for their election at the National Annual General Meeting in July 2011:

• Kathy Richards
• Anthony Mitchell
• Kate Cooper
• Giles Gunesekera
• Sarah Holloway
• Gabe Kavanagh
• Kate Wheldrake
• Sarah Holloway

We thank outgoing members of our board, who have made incredible contributions to our organisation and to human rights:

• Nicole Bieske
• Michael Butler
• Dawna Wright

Current Board members

Anthony Mitchell, Director and National President

Anthony Mitchell is President of AIA and a Director on the National AIA Board. He previously served on the Board as NSW Regional Representative, Vice-President and NSW Branch President, and has been on the NSW Branch Committee since 2006, including as Vice-President from 2007 to 2008. He has been an active member of the Speakers Network, has provided liaison support to the Schools Network and the Activist Convener Team, and has been a Branch Committee 'buddy' on major events. His areas of passion include Indigenous rights and the death penalty. Outside of Amnesty, Anthony is a Director of Bendelta, a strategy consulting firm, advising corporations and government agencies around the Asia-Pacific region.

Kathy Richards, Director and Vice-President

Kathy Richards has worked in the non government sector in social policy and campaigning since 1999, currently holding the position of Manager, Equality Rights Alliance (ERA), YWCA Australia. ERA is an alliance of over 50 organisations advocating for gender equality and is led by the YWCA Australia. She has previously held positions with WomenSpeak, Transparency International, Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) and Amnesty International Australia. Kathy has served on the ACT/Southern NSW Branch Committee since 2007, represented AIA at the International Council Meeting (ICM) in 2007 and 2009, and is currently convener of ACT/S’NSW Mums & Dads for Amnesty Group.

Kate Cooper, Director and Company Secretary

Kate has been a member of Amnesty International Australia since 1994. She was a member of the SA/NT Branch Committee from 2005 to 2008 and has previously served on the board as SA/NT Branch President (2006 to 2008) and a general member (2008 to 2011).

She first became involved in human rights campaigns in the late 1970s, and throughout the 1980s helped coordinate events in support of human rights in Central America. Kate's interest in Central America led her to work in Nicaragua for two years, through the Australian Volunteers Abroad scheme.

Kate's volunteer experience includes interpreting for visiting human rights and trade union activists from Central and South America. Her professional experience includes curriculum development and consultation, and language teaching.

Giles Gunesekera, Director and National Treasurer

Giles is the National Treasurer and a Director on the National AIA Board. An active member of AIA since 1990, Giles joined the NSW Branch Committee in February 2005, first becoming Treasurer in March 2006, then holding the position of NSW Regional Representative. He is a member of the Speakers Network and is active in Urgent Action and Online campaigns.

Giles is a Director and Head of Third Party Sales for Principal Global Investors. In addition to his business commitments, Giles is Treasurer of the East Coast Theatre Company and Advisory Board Member of the Securities and Investments Institute of Asia Pacific. He is the co-founder and Chairman of a charity, The Foundation of Goodness which specialises in education for rural communities in South East Asia.

Georgina Perry, Director and Executive Member

Georgina has been a member of Amnesty International for 16 years, including as NSW Branch President. Georgina has served on AI Australia's Board for 6 years, including as Vice President from September 2004 and as National President from July 2006 to July 2008. Georgina is a lawyer at Allens Arthur Robinson, a leading international law firm. Georgina holds a BA, LLB (Hons) from the University of Sydney.

Sarah Holloway, Director and Executive Member

Sarah Holloway has been a member of Amnesty International Australia since 2001 and has been involved in a variety of groups such as The Don College group, University of Tasmania and Tasmanian Legal Network. She was a member of the Tasmanian Branch Committee from 2005-2008, including time in executive roles including Branch President; and the Victorian Branch Committee in 2010-2011. Sarah graduated from the University of Tasmania in 2007 with BA/LLB and moved to Victoria upon finishing the Graduate Certificate in Legal Practice in 2008. After 2 years in the Horsham regional office of Victoria Legal Aid, Sarah now works in the Melbourne office, in the Indictable Crime Team. Her caseload as a dedicated and passionate criminal lawyer is to advise and represent vulnerable people charged with serious offences such as armed robbery, drug trafficking, people smuggling, aggravated burglary and serious assaults, as well as regular appearances as duty lawyer in the busy Melbourne Magistrates' Court.

Helen (Ulli) Corbett, Director and Executive Member

Ulli became the first Indigenous Board member in 2008, and has been involved with Amnesty International Australia since 1987.

Gabe Kavanagh, Director and NSW Regional Representative

Gabe was elected to the Board of Amnesty International Australia in July 2011. Gabe previously served as the President of the NSW branch of AIA, and has sat on the NSW branch for the past six years. Gabe also sits on the Board of Directors of the NSW Rape Crisis centre, the executive of the NSW Women’s Electoral Lobby and is a member of the Equality Rights Alliance Young Women’s Advisory Group.

In 2010 Gabe co-convened a group of 20 Sydney women to organise The F Conference, the first feminist conference in 15 years in Sydney, attended by over 500 women (and some men) from across Australia. Gabe continues to be a member of the F Collective.

Gabe currently works in the Trade Union movement. She graduated from the University of Sydney in 2008 with a Bachelor of International Studies. Gabe is currently completing a Juris Doctor at the University of Technology, Sydney.

Wayne Sanderson, Director and Qld/Northern NSW Regional Representative

Wayne Sanderson is a consultant in Management and Public Policy with Re-imagine Associates, a company he co-owns. He has previously held senior positions with Lifeline, Ecumenical Migration Centre and MS Australia, and has 35 years experience with mental health, refugee and disability NGOs. He has also worked as an applied researcher and tertiary teacher, and has been ordained into the Methodist-Uniting Church. He served as Treasurer on the Qld/Northern NSW Branch Committee. He holds a BA (hons) History and Politics, BD in Clinical Psychology and Theology, D. Min in Service Design and Development and is an Accredited Mediator with Queensland Justice Department.

Denise Skiffington, Director and SA/NT Branch President/Regional Representative

Denise has been an active member of AIA since 1997. Throughout this time she has been a member of the Prospect Group in Adelaide; held the role of group Convenor for the last 6 years; been a General member of the SA and NT Branch Committee for 3 years; and had a brief spell as Vice President in 2008 before assuming the role of Branch President in December 2008. Outside Amnesty Denise works as a medical General Practitioner, holds a Masters Degree in Philosophy in Health Care and has a long history of involvement in refugee and asylum seeker issues.

Caroline Jakeman, Director and Tasmanian Regional Representative

Caroline joined Amnesty in 2008 and became a Tasmanian Branch Committee Member and Treasurer May 2009. She is an active member of the Women’s Rights Team and worked on several actions for the Stop Violence Against Women campaign. Caroline is also a workplace trainer and assessor in business, front line management and human resources up to diploma level. Prior to that she worked in the personal computer industry for 20 years in various sales, technical and marketing roles and for three years presented IT Talkback for the ABC in Tasmania. Caroline has a BSc in Psychology, and is the treasurer of the board of management of the Hobart Women’s Health Centre. Originally from England, as a child Caroline lived in India, Malaysia, Australia, Sweden and Iran and it was her love of Australia that brought her back and she is now an Australian Citizen.

Russell Solomon, Director and Victorian Regional Representative

Russell has been a member of Amnesty International for 25 years, having been a convenor and member of local action groups in various parts of Australia and overseas. He has served as President of the Victorian Branch and previously as Vice President and as a committee member. He is currently on Victoria's team supporting local groups. Russell is a Senior Lecturer and Program Director of Legal and Dispute Studies at RMIT University. His current teaching and research interests include anti-discrimination law and economic, social and cultural rights. His previous experience includes as a lawyer in private practice and for the federal government, a Senior Lecturer in Political Economy, a National Industrial Officer for a union, and as the Executive Officer for a parliamentary committee. He holds a BA (Hons) in Political Science, B.Juris, LL.B, MA (Hons) in International Relations and a PhD in International Political Economy.

Gregory Stitt, Director and WA Branch President/Regional Representative

Greg first became a member of Amnesty International in the early 1990s. He has been a member of the WA Branch Committee a number of times and is a former Vice President of the WA Branch. His primary involvement in Amnesty International Australia has been with group activism or its support. Greg first joined Amnesty International Australia as a member of the Mt. Lawley group, has been its convener in the past and still attends it. He convened the WA China Campaign group and is a member of the Stop Violence Against Women Group. Greg has spent the majority of the last 30 years working in the construction industry; most recently as an Electrical Designer for Industrial and Commercial projects and for subdivision work. He interrupts proper work every few years with oddities like graphics & CAD programming, multimedia projects or video production.

Ronnie Gory, Director and ACT/Southern NSW Regional Representative

Member biography coming soon.