Board

Current Board
Clare Petre – Chair
Kate Barnet – Treasurer
Clark Butler
Sue Donnelly
Ian Enright
John Gillies
Jann Kohlman
Jane McDermott

Board biographies

Clare Petre – Chair
Clare Petre has been the Energy & Water Ombudsman NSW since 1998. 

Clare has extensive experience in the community sector, with government, and the media. 

She was previously Senior Assistant Commonwealth Ombudsman and has worked with community legal centres, as a reporter with ABC TV’s 4 Corners and The Investigators, and in the health system. 

Clare has served on a range of NSW and Commonwealth government advisory bodies, and on the boards of community groups, including ACOSS. Clare has a Bachelor of Social Studies and Diploma of Criminology (Sydney University) and a Masters in Social Administration (London School of 
Economics).

Kate Barnet – Treasurer
Kate Barnet is a Partner at Bentleys Chartered Accountants. She is Treasurer of the Queensland Council of Civil Liberties, and was previously Treasurer of the International Women’s Insolvency and Reconstruction Confed (Qld Branch). Kate has a Master of Commerce (Law) and is a Chartered Accountant.

Clark Butler
Clark Butler is a Principal of Ironbark, a corporate advisory firm, where he advises on strategy, structuring, transaction design and execution, technology infrastructure and asset structuring. Clark was previously head of Sourcing at Westpac, and responsible for the establishment and management of the Bank’s third party transactions. He is a former Partner at Minter Ellison Lawyers, and is currently on the Board of the Australian Human Rights Centre.

Susan Donnelly
Sue Donnelly has been involved in arts and cultural development for several years. She has held senior management positions in Arts NSW, South East Arts (UK), Company B Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney Symphony Orchestra and UNSW Foundation. She has also been a board member of a number of arts and community organizations, a Ministerial appointee to various government tribunals and boards, a consultant in social and cultural planning and a lecturer in arts management. She is currently Executive Director of the Australian Major Performing Arts Group.

Ian Enright
Ian Enright is a Partner at Henry Davis York Lawyers, and author of Professional Indemnity Insurance Law and Australian Insurance Law and Regulation. Ian is on the Board of various financial services businesses, arts and entertainment bodies and charities including RGA Australia and NIDA Foundation Trust.

John Gillies
John Gillies is an artist and lecturer at College of Fine Arts, University of NSW. His work encompasses film, sound, installation and video, and often evolves from collaborations with performers from a variety of disciplines. John’s screen work has been shown in festivals such as Videobrasil, Ars Electronica and the London, Sydney and Melbourne film festivals.

Jann Kohlman
Jann Kohlman has 20 years marketing experience gained in the consumer goods and IT industries. She has a breadth of experience across all aspects of the marketing mix from product and strategy development, research, marketing communications and sponsorship. In her current role at Optus she is responsible for the sponsorship portfolio as well as Corporate Social Responsibility. Jann has a Bachelor of Commerce (Marketing) from the University of NSW, and an Executive Management Diploma from INSEAD France. She is a member of the Australian Marketing Institute, a Certified Practising Marketer, and is Vice President and Acting President of the Australasian Sponsorship Marketing Association.

Jane McDermott
Jane McDermott is an independent producer, and for many years worked as an actor in Sydney and London. Her producing experience has included SBS’s Arts Program Imagine, Mike Leigh’s Greek Tragedy at Belvoir Street, QANTAS in-flight radio, Sundance cable television, and co-producer of Robert Drewe’s South American Barbeque with Performing Lines and Belvoir Street. Jane was also a researcher & reporter for ABC’s Children’s television.