Alicia Linley is a Managing Director at Mitchell Harris Wines and has overseen the business excel from the startup phase to an award-winning venue. Through sound financial management and strategic business development she has been able to elevate Mitchell Harris from more than just a winemaker and hospitality venue, into a genuine tourism destination for Ballarat. Alicia was a Victorian finalist for the 2019 Telstra Business Women’s Awards.

Leila Chalk is the Managing Partner of Forty Four Degrees Lawyers and Consultants. She is a published author and obsessed baker. Her excitement for festivals, events, and travel is only matched by her dedication to her clients and her community. In her legal practice Leila advises on complicated commercial and property matters, drafts and negotiates deals, and leads the family and criminal law teams. Having been an asylum seeker, a refugee, a mother, a student, and a mentor, Leila is passionate about social issues, access, and diversity.

Gayle Boschert has long experience of working with for-purpose boards which has fostered a capacity to think and act strategically in guiding the growth of and strong commitment to both the Ballarat community and the health of local community for purpose organisations. Gayle has significant knowledge of for-purpose organisations and strong commitment to the power of local board governance fuells her volunteering spanning the last 20 years.

Zoë Croggon is a Melbourne-based photographic artist holding a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honours from the Victorian College of the Arts. She has held solo exhibitions at the National Gallery of Victoria, the Perth Centre for Photography and Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery and was the recipient of the Art Gallery of New South Wales Studio Scholarship at the Cité Internationale des Arts (Paris, 2018). Zoë brings her versatile and expansive knowledge of contemporary art and specifically expanded photography to the Ballarat International Foto Biennale board. Zoë is represented by Daine Singer, Melbourne..

Nici Cumpston OAM brings a resolute passion for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the development and recognition of their artistic practice to the Ballarat International Foto Biennale board. Born in Adelaide, Nici Cumpston, who is of Afghan, English, Irish and Barkandji Aboriginal heritage, is a descendant of the Darling River people of north western, New South Wales. Nici is simultaneously an artist, a curator, a writer, an educator and a builder of relationships.

Georgia Manifold has experience in a range of arts platforms throughout the Asia Pacific region. As an art advisor, she has developed programs for the hospitality, aviation and investment banking sectors and initiated cross-cultural collaborations for Australian and South-East Asian artists, collectors and galleries. Her background is in art practice and cultural entrepreneurism with an interest in audience engagement intiatives, place-making and technology. Georgia lives in regional Victoria and continues to consult on local and international creative projects.

James Remington is a Director of Nevetts Lawyers specialising in commercial litigation and workplace relations. He also a board member of the Midlands Golf Club, an advisory member of Ballarat Clarendon College’s Audit and Risk Committee, and a former President of the Ballarat and District Law Association. He grew up in Ballarat and spent 10 years studying and working in Melbourne before returning home in 2016. James is passionate about Ballarat and passionate about the arts.

Jane Ross is the Founder of The Culture Farm, a business specialising in arts marketing and cultural tourism. Jane has 20 years’ experience working in arts marketing and cultural tourism in state and local government, not-for-profit and commercial organisations both nationally and internationally. She wrote and oversaw the implementation of the Victorian Government’s first Arts, Theatre and Cultural Tourism Strategy; she has delivered tourism campaigns and overarching marketing campaigns for some of Australia’s most loved and highly attended visual arts exhibitions; she has been Head of Marketing and Tourism for some of the world’s most successful theatre productions and has been responsible for the launch and management of a collective of some of Australia’s most influential cultural attractions focussed on presenting Australia’s best cultural tourism offerings to the world. Jane attended school in Ballarat, has worked in Ballarat and is a regular visitor to Ballarat. The opportunity to give back to a city that has given so much to her is a privilege.

Joseph van Dyk is a Ballarat local and passionate supporter of regional Victoria. He has more than 15 years’ property development experience in Australia and the UK, specialising in residential and mixed-use developments. His experience includes site acquisition, complex joint venture structuring, legal, finance, planning, design, sales and delivery across multiple projects. He has also been heavily involved in stakeholder management, particularly with affordable housing providers, government departments and infrastructure authorities. Joseph has been responsible for national award-winning master planned communities and urban regeneration projects.

Chris brings two decades’ experience leading corporate strategy, communications, marketing, stakeholder engagement and ESG initiatives across the public and private sectors; currently as an Executive Director for leading public infrastructure investor, developer and manager, Plenary Group. A Ballarat local, he is also a passionate advocate for public and private organisations demonstrating benefit to the communities in which they operate. Chris is a Trustee of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia, a member of Committee for Melbourne’s Future Economy Standing Committee and former board member and treasurer of International Association of Business Communicators Victoria.