The Volunteering NSW State Conference is the primary forum in NSW where leaders and practitioners come together to build knowledge, leadership and best practice in the volunteering sector.
The Conference has been developed for volunteer coordinators and managers in the not-for-profit and community sectors, bringing together experts, academics and industry leaders to allow delegates the opportunity to advance their knowledge, develop skills and grow their networks.
About the 2024 Volunteering NSW State Conference
The theme for this year’s conference, held on 6 June was Volunteering is for All of Us. Key focus areas were:
- Leadership and Stewardship of Volunteering
- Innovation, Diversity and Inclusion
- Valuing and Repositioning Volunteering
- Health, Safety and Dispute Resolution
The conference explored how to best manage the significant challenges we face in this era of unprecedented natural and human centered disruption, to build knowledge, leadership and best practice in the volunteering sector.
Speakers
Annabel Crabb (Keynote)
Annabel Crabb is one of Australia’s most beloved journalists. She is an ABC writer and presenter who has covered Australian politics for 20 years but also is nationally well-known for her insightful and humorous analysis on gender and current affairs.
Annabel has written and presented six seasons of the ABC’s enormously popular Kitchen Cabinet, as well as the groundbreaking documentary series on life inside Parliaments the House, With Annabel Crabb. She also presents Back in Time for Dinner, the top-rating ABC series on Australian history and food and co-starred in Tomorrow Tonight with Charlie Pickering.
Clint Bertenshaw
Clint Bertenshaw is the Director: Sector Development and Engagement at the Centre for Volunteering. He is an experienced operations manager, people leader and learning and development consultant who applies pragmatic approaches to tackling organisational problems. Clint also volunteers for Youth Community Radio station, Edge Radio Hobart, where he is an on-air host, training coordinator and committee member.
Throughout his career he has worked across the telecommunications, customer service, IT and Not for Profit industries, gaining a broad range of skills, in project and change management, negotiation and mediation, people management and development.
Clint is an avid technology enthusiast with a deep interest in mobile technologies, internet and cloud solutions, radio broadcasting and podcasting.
David Brett
David has extensive experience in developing policies and strategies across Commonwealth and State Governments in various portfolios, including central agencies, community services, fair trading, housing, and disability.
David has worked for the Office of Sport in the NSW Government for seven years, where he has worked on initiatives regarding high performance sport, combat and motor sport regulation as well as supporting the Office’s involvement in CASRO and MSRM.
Kim Busuttil
Kim Busuttil is a Senior Solicitor with the Work and Development Order (WDO) Service at Legal Aid NSW. Kim services the Southern and Far West of NSW, delivering legal advice to vulnerable clients, and community legal education to community members and organisations about fines and WDOs.
Michelle Chate
Dedicated leader with over a decade of experience in connecting compassionate volunteers with meaningful opportunities. Passionate about fostering connections that provide a sense of purpose, emphasising the value of time, care, companionship, and making individuals feel they truly matter.
Inspired by the beautiful connections forged through volunteerism, Michelle continue to lead and support those who share in this mission of making a positive impact in the lives of older individuals.
Bijinder Dugal
Bijinder Dugal is the Co-founding Director of AASHA Australia Foundation, a not-for-profit charity that was formed in 2017 to assist the health and wellbeing of older members from the Indian community. Volunteers fully run it.
Bijinder is passionate about educating and empowering seniors to live rich cultural lives through activities and events steeped in Indian music, dance, and art knowing that these promote health and wellbeing.
Stephanie Georgy
Stephanie has worked within the NFP Space for just over 6 years and then moving to Local Government in Volunteer Management
- Ronald McDonald House Westmead – House Manager (2 years and 2 months)
- Ronald McDonald House Randwick – Volunteer Coordinator (1 year and 2 months)
- Lifeline Macarthur and Western Sydney – Volunteer Program Manager (3 Years and 4 months)
- Camden Council – Volunteer Program Coordinator (1 year and 5 months)
Jo Johnston
Jo Johnston, co-director of Collappor8, excels in business transformation, restructuring, and corporate finance. With a Bachelor of Economics and a knack for small business management, Jo’s brain ticks with analytical genius and boundary-pushing ideas.
She’s the mastermind turning complex challenges into actionable triumphs at work.
Phil Hunt
Phil has been an archaeologist with the Aboriginal Heritage Office since 2003. He has been a keen (and sometimes reluctant) volunteer in different roles in different parts of the world for many years and continues to co-manage an animal sanctuary in Nepal and a charity here.
Paul Muller
Prior to co-founding the Institute of Project Management, Paul enjoyed 15 years of senior management experience across Australia, Asia and Europe in a wide range of project-driven businesses. He currently advises a diverse community of public, private and not-for-profit organisations on management issues relating to strategy, risk, projects, operations, marketing and people.
In the early 2000’s, Paul was engaged at the Australian Innovation Research Centre as a PhD scholar, extending his postgraduate qualifications in International Sports Management and Law. A published author, he has pioneered new approaches to research in volunteering, sport and the creative industries, and has presented his unique perspective on value as a keynote speaker at a number of international conferences and events.
Paul has a particular interest in challenging institutional assumptions and improving the quality of executive decision making, as is excited now to be mentoring and inspiring the next generation of creative and critical thinkers.
Clare Pearson
Clare Pearson, CEO at Little Wings, has dedicated her career to the not-for-profit sector. Clare is a qualified psychologist, specialising in child and adolescent welfare, and passionate about working on community-based projects that make a difference in the lives of children and their families.
Kellie May
Ms May has been involved in the implementation of the NSW Government’s volunteering strategies since 2016. During this time, she has been responsible for the implementation of a range of initiatives, including volunteer recruitment initiatives, promotion campaigns, and volunteer recognition programs.
Ms May led the development of the NSW Volunteering Strategy 2020-2030, where she worked in collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders to ensure the voices of the sector were reflected in the Strategy.
Danielle Plumb
Danielle Plumb is a Community Engagement Officer with the Work and Development Order (WDO) Service at Legal Aid NSW.
Danielle is based in Wollongong but services the Southern and Far West of NSW, assisting vulnerable clients with their fines and supporting organisations to engage with and administer the WDO scheme.
Catriona Rose
Catriona has over 10 years’ experience across sport, academia, health and medical research, and government. As well as governance and leadership experience as a previous Board Director for Disability Sports Australia (DSA) and member of the Research Advisory Group for Invictus Australia. Current Senior Program Manager – Volunteering at the ASC.
Adam Weir
Appointed in 2018, Adam is the current CEO of SLSA and holds additional roles as Chair of the International Life Saving (ILS) Rescue Commission and a member of the ILS Rescue Operations Committee.
Adam is a leader in aquatic public safety risk management, and innovation, advancing the operational capacity of SLSA to aspire to the mission of saving lives, creating great Australians, and building better communities.
Susan Whitby
Susan is an Archaeologist and Physical Anthropologist with 25 years of experience working in cultural heritage. For the past 4 ½ years, Susan has been the Volunteer Coordinator for the Aboriginal Heritage Office’s volunteer site monitoring program.
Lynette Edwards
Lynette Edwards is a mediator and conciliator at the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, Consumer and Commercial Division; she runs her own private mediation and consulting business and is a Director at Voluntas Inc, a not-for-profit, offering pro bono mediations in the volunteer sector.
Lynette has mediated and conciliated over a thousand matters, including disputes amongst directors and stakeholders of sporting federations, global IT companies, partnerships disputes, children’s sport, community groups, consumer and commercial disputes, small business disputes, residential tenancy disputes, motor vehicle and heavy vehicle disputes, building and construction disputes, and workplace, interpersonal and neighbourhood disputes.
In addition to mediation Lynette offers clients the benefit of over 25 years of diverse experience in government, private and not-for-profit sector with her working career spans the health, IT, infrastructure construction, in government at Transport for NSW including the delivery of Opal card to the education sector, and investigations in the education sector.
Lynette has over 15 years of volunteer experience, currently volunteering with Lifeline and Voluntas.
Ahranee Vjayaseelan
Ahranee is a specialist insurance lawyer with particular expertise in public and product liability claims, disability claims, dust diseases claims and policy response.
Ahranee has extensive experience defending personal injury claims for a diverse range of businesses and organisations, including not-for-profit associations, owners and occupiers of commercial and residential properties, managing agents, head contractors, building contractors, and cleaning and security contractors.
Ahranee also acts for underwriters of accident and health policies, with a focus on disputed disability, TPD, trauma and death claims.
Ahranee is a former President of The NSW Association for Women in Insurance. She is a recommended public and product liability lawyer in NSW in Doyles’ Guide to the Australian Legal Profession and has been listed in The Best Lawyers in Australia in Insurance Law.