PATRON
Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC, Governor of New South Wales
Kate Dundas – Chair
Kate Dundas has forged a career in public policy, media and cultural leadership. Senior roles include Executive Director of Performing Arts at the Sydney Opera House where she led programming, event management, production and venue hire divisions. During her extensive career with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Kate held senior executive roles including Director of ABC Radio, Head of Music Networks and Director People and Culture. She has worked in public policy areas in both state and federal government. Her NSW Government experience includes Deputy Secretary Arts and Culture and two executive roles in the NSW Premier’s Department.
Kate is a Board Director of the Sydney Festival, Deputy Chair of Australia for UNHCR and Deputy Chair of the Sydney Writers’ Festival. She also works as an Executive Mentor with private clients and as part of McCarthy Mentoring. Additionally, Kate works on a project basis as a subject matter expert on cultural projects in Australia and overseas. Kate has a Bachelor of Communications, is a Vincent Fairfax Fellow and graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Andrew Cameron AM
Andrew has served on the boards of the Biennale of Sydney, Belvoir, SCAF, ACCA, and Melbourne Art Fair and Foundation. He was Deputy Commissioner for Australia’s presentation at the Venice Biennale, is currently Chair of the Foundation at Art Gallery of New South Wales, Chair of Artspace, and is a member of the International Council of the Tate in London – as well as sitting on the Tate Asia-Pacific Advisory Committee.
He holds the position of Executive Chairman for a group of private businesses and has had previous careers in architecture and merchant banking. In addition, Andrew was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2014 for significant services to the performing and visual arts.
Darren Dale – Deputy Chair
Producer, Blackfella Films
Since joining Blackfella Films in 2000 Darren has produced many award-winning factual productions for SBS including the landmark multi-platform history series First Australians, feature documentaries The Tall Man, Deep Water - The Real Story and In My Own Words, two seasons of the Logie Award-winning First Contact, plus the series DNA Nation, How ‘Mad’ Are You? and two seasons of Filthy Rich and Homeless.
In collaboration with acclaimed UK writer Jimmy McGovern, Darren has also produced, with Miranda Dear, two series and a telemovie of the Logie Award and AACTA Award-winning Redfern Now for ABC1. He also produced with Miranda Dear the telemovie Mabo, commissioned by the ABC to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the landmark High Court decision, and the crime drama Deep Water for SBS.
He was Executive Producer on the Logie and AACTA Award winning teen drama series Ready for This for ABC3.
Darren currently serves on the board of NIDA and AFI and was previously on the board of Sydney Film Festival, Screen NSW and the Council of the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS). In 2012 he was the recipient of the prestigious AFTRS Honorary Degree.
Dr Robert Lang
Director
Dr Robert Lang is a leader in city building, community engagement, strategic urban planning, economic development, creating great public places, transport infrastructure, place management, arts, tourism and energy.
He has extensive experience in the public service, gained within a combination of state & local government businesses.
He has a long involvement in the arts, theatre production and direction, music creation and performance, training young people in the performing arts, delivering arts to western Sydney audiences and significant experience in outdoor events.
He has a focus on place making and place development and bringing together the drivers for making great cities. He has a keen interest in the potential of western Sydney to provide business growth & economic development opportunities and the goal of making Sydney a livable city with more jobs closer to home.
As a former CEO for Parramatta City Council he understands local government, knows how to develop a compelling vision for the city and deliver major new city property & infrastructure developments. He brought major new events to Parramatta, implemented a new place-making focus and initiated the Western Sydney Light Rail project.
Dr Lang currently serves on the Riverside Advisory Committee and has a number of interests in the not for profit sector including disability services, affordable housing, education and the arts.
Karen Mundine
CEO and Company Secretary, Reconciliation Australia
Karen Mundine is from the Bundjalung Nation of northern NSW. As the CEO and Company Secretary at Reconciliation Australia, Ms Mundine brings to the role more than 20 years’ experience leading community engagement, public advocacy, communications and social marketing campaigns. Over the course of her career she has been instrumental in some of Australia’s watershed national events including the Apology to the Stolen Generations, Centenary of Federation commemorations, Corroboree 2000 and the 1997 Australian Reconciliation Convention.
Ms Mundine holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Technology Sydney and is a Director of the Gondwana Choirs and the Australian Indigenous Leadership Centre.
Previous roles include Mary Mackillop Board Director, Deputy Chief Executive and General Manager Communication and Engagement, Reconciliation Australia; Senior Consultant, CPR Communications; senior public affairs and communications roles with federal government departments including Prime Minister and Cabinet and Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Abs Osseiran
Corporate Tax Partner and Consumer Sector Lead at Deloitte Tax & Legal in Australia
With more than 20 years of experience in the professional services industry, Abs Osseiran has collaborated with leading multinational corporations. His career spans private practice and corporate environments, focusing on advising on both Australian and international corporate tax issues.
Hailing from Sydney, Abs holds board roles with Queer Screen Limited and the Can Too Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation focused on raising money for cancer prevention and research.
He has also held positions on the boards of the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras and Sydney World Pride. With strong governance credentials and a dedication to the arts, Abs chairs the Festival’s Audit and Risk Committee.
Yeesum Lo
Head of Development at Paramount Australia and New Zealand
Appointed by Paramount in 2020, Yeesum is responsible for identifying and progressing content commissions across Network 10, Paramount+, MTV and Nickelodeon.
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Yeesum’s career has taken her to New York, Los Angeles, and Sydney. As a content executive, she previously spent nearly a decade at Endemol Shine Group (Banijay) in various roles, including C-level project management and strategy, and was a B&T 30 under 30 winner. As Director of Digital for Australia, she managed digital content and commercial strategy for major programs like MasterChef, Survivor, and Married At First Sight, and implemented industry-leading management protocols.
Yeesum also serves as Co-Chair for Paramount’s Reconciliation Action Plan Working Group and is a dedicated advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion in media and the arts. She is a Dr. John Yu Fellow at the University of Sydney’s Business School and holds a Master of Fine Arts from the Peter Stark Producing Program at the University of Southern California. Additionally, she graduated with merit from the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Dr. Sunil Badami
Dr. Sunil Badami is a writer, broadcaster, academic, digital educator and journalist. He has over twenty years’ experience in the arts and media sectors and has worked with a variety of organisations such as the ABC, Kaldor Public Art Projects, Diversity Arts Australia and Creative Australia. Dr Badami currently serves on the Board of the Canberra Writers Festival and is a member of the UTS School of Communications Industry Advisory Board. Growing up in Western Sydney and the NSW Central Coast, his passion for diversity and representation aligns with Sydney Festival’s mission to celebrate and reflect the communities and interests which make up our city.
