PRESIDENT – Adjunct Professor Mary Mahoney AO
MBBS Qld, Hon MD, Qld, Grad Dip Clin Ed UNSW, FRACGP,
FAIM, FAMA
Adjunct Professor Mary Mahoney is a general practitioner and was director of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Training Program for 25 years. In January 2009 she was appointed Adjunct Professor, School of Medicine, University of Queensland. She has been a member of the C&K Board of Management for many years and president since 2000. Prior to this, Dr Mahoney was a member of the Brisbane Kindergarten Teachers’ College Council. She is a member of the University of Queensland Senate and Deputy Chair of the Brisbane Girls Grammar School Board of Trustees. Having four children and three grandchildren, Professor Mahoney recognises the importance of early childhood education and understands how vital the first five years of a child’s life are. At C&K, she believes we are privileged to have the opportunity to influence children’s experiences in helping them achieve their full potential and to be happy, healthy and well adjusted.
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT – Hon Professor Peter Fardoulys AM
LFAIB, Dip Mech & Elec Eng, JP
Peter Fardoulys’ interest in C&K dates back almost four decades, when he first held a position on the C&K Board in 1967. As managing director of Peter Fardoulys Constructions, Peter is heavily involved in the building industry in Queensland. He is an active community member and is a member of the Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital Research Foundation and Opera Queensland Board. He is also a past national president of the Australian Institute of Building. Peter is a Life Governor of C&K. In October 2007 he was appointed Honorary Professor (Building & Construction) at Central Queensland University.
VICE PRESIDENT - Dr Noelene McBride
(Dip. KT., B.Ed., M.Ed.St., PhD)
For more than 30 years Dr Noelene McBride has been involved in many aspects of early childhood education and care and worked in a range of early childhood settings and services as teacher, TAFE and university lecturer, researcher, parent and grandparent of twin girls. She has worked in kindergartens, preschools, childcare centres and primary schools in Australia and overseas and taught early childhood tertiary students − both in universities and TAFE. Her active involvement on steering committees for Playgroups, Family Day Care and Child care Centres and through working at the Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian have been important in an awareness of many of the issues facing parents, young children and educators, particularly within the childcare sector. Her doctoral thesis focussed on the nature of care and childcare training. Her research found that the way we care for young children is linked to our own experiences of being cared for; that is, ways of being cared for, endure. Her experience as president of Early Childhood Australia (ECA), Queensland branch, has provided her with opportunities to advocate on behalf of young children and increased her awareness of current issues facing professionals and practitioners in their work of caring for and educating young children.
Mr Bill Lowah BA
Bill Lowah has been prominent in social justice and community based organisations in Queensland for more than 30 years. As a Torres Strait Islander, he brings an Indigenous perspective as well as a vast breadth of knowledge and networks from the grassroots, people-centred organisations that enrich Queensland. He has worked in the area of training in both the public and private sectors.
Mrs Angie Russian
Angie Russian is president of the Dayboro Community Kindergarten and is the current chairperson of the C&K Management Committee’s Forum. As the mother of three small boys Angie became involved with the C&K kindy in Dayboro when her first child started in 2005. Originally from Newcastle, NSW Angie worked in radio and advertising for eight years before being transferred to work at Triple M Radio Brisbane in 2000 as promotions manager. After meeting her husband Tony and having her first child in 2002, she left radio and is now involved with the local community in Dayboro. Angie believes that C&K, through the Dayboro Community Kindergarten, is helping her children to gain independence and self confidence.
Mr John Sneddon LLB
John Sneddon is a lawyer and partner at Shand Taylor Lawyers. John attends C&K board meetings as a non-voting co-opted member and provides legal advice to the Board. John has been acting for C&K for more than three years and has a background in industrial relations law, commercial litigation, discrimination law and defamation law. John has a strong interest in the legal issues affecting the early childhood education sector and is the father of two young children. John is a member of the Queensland Law Society, the Industrial Relations Society of Queensland, the Migration Institute of Australia, the Australian Lawyers Alliance and the International Commission of Jurists.
Laurel Zaicek - BA, Grad. Dip Mgt, M. Mgt
Laurel is a Project Manager and Business Analyst. She is the current Chairperson of the C&K Parents Advisory Group Forum and represents C&K Branch Centres on the Board. As a mother of 3 small children, Laurel became involved with C&K when her eldest child began attending a C&K kindy in 2007. Laurel has worked in a variety of management roles for airlines in Brisbane, Sydney and Dubai. She is now actively involved at Yelangi Kindergarten and St Lucia Kindergarten in the inner western Brisbane suburbs. Laurel has seen the benefits a C&K early childhood education can offer young children and is passionate about C&K continuing to ensure accessibility and affordability for all children.
TREASURER - Mr Barry Salmon
Dip T, BA, B Ed, M Ed St, FAIM
Barry Salmon first became involved with C&K in the early nineties when his children attended a C&K centre. His involvement grew through his work with the former Children’s Services Council. Barry has worked in education since the mid seventies, both as a teacher and in a managerial capacity. He is currently the Assistant Commissioner for Children and Young People where he advocates strongly in promoting the rights, interests and wellbeing of Queensland’s children. He believes that C&K’s commitment and dedication to young children is unique in today’s world.
Mr Tom Kettleton
JP (cde), M Labour Studies, WHS officer and auditor,
Cert IV Workplace Assessment and Training
Tom Kettleton is the chief executive officer of Industrial Relations Advice and Support. He has wide and varied community experience and brings a wealth of networks and knowledge to C&K.