Chair

Professor Jennifer Radbourne is a retired academic, working at QUT in Brisbane for over 25 years in the Faculty of Business, and from 2006 to 2011 at Deakin University in Melbourne, retiring as Pro Vice Chancellor of the Faculty of Arts and Education. Her research in arts management and marketing, audience development, philanthropy in the arts and governance in non-profit organisations is published nationally and internationally. Professor Radbourne has held positions on a variety of government, arts and tertiary education councils and boards. She has consulted to Queensland and Victorian State governments, arts organisations across Queensland and Hong Kong and to the Vietnam Ministry of Culture. Her skills and experience include management and administration, leadership and governance, cultural and aesthetic understandings, communication and visioning and entrepreneurship.

Image: Barry Alsop

Ferre De Deyne is owner operator and managing director of iconic tourist attraction Big Kart Track for over 30 years. He is a former director of Caloundra Tourism, Sunshine Coast Tourism Board and SunnyKids Board. Ferre is a member of several community organisations, especially in the arts and is a generous philanthropist.

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Company Secretary

Tony Sowden is a commercial lawyer with specific expertise in business structures and relationships, organisations law, governance, corporate advisory and not-for-profit entities. Holding a Bachelor of Laws from The University of Queensland, Tony was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1986. Having owned and managed commercial law firms on the Sunshine Coast since 1992, Tony has held numerous roles including director, company secretary and/or general counsel for many Sunshine Coast public and private corporations and institutions.

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Councillor Rick Baberowski has held the Sunshine Coast Council seat of Division 1 since 2012, holding the portfolios for Transport, the Arts and Heritage. Prior to politics, Rick was a senior planner and coordinator of cultural development in local government for 10 years, delivering a range of award-winning projects. He was a creative industries consultant working for over seven years in a partnership which delivered a wide range of arts and cultural development projects across Queensland including Brisbane, Rockhampton, Mackay, Noosa, Mitchell, Logan, Caboolture, Narangba, Tingalpa and Redlands. He has served on several arts sector boards and policy review panels and was the 2011 recipient of the Gallery and Museums Achievement Award (GAMAA) for individual achievement.

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Robert Forbes is a chartered accountant and has been involved in the accounting profession for some 45 years. He trained in Sydney with the then firm of Coopers & Lybrand and after qualifying spent two years with the firm in their London UK office. After returning to Australia Robert relocated to Brisbane and joined Bentleys chartered accountants as a manager and was admitted as a partner in 1988. During his time in Brisbane Robert had an extensive client list from the three levels of government, the private sector and not-for-profit organisations.  He retired from the firm in 2011 to make the Sunshine Coast his home. Robert is currently treasurer of Queensland Air Museum Inc and a director of Sunshine Coast Events Centre Pty Ltd.

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John is a director of Hollindale Mainwaring Architecture and Sunshine Coast resident. He is a life fellow of the Institute of Architects, fellow of the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation, member of the Queensland Historical Society and the Sunshine Coast Council’s Urban Design Advisory Panel. John studied art while completing an architectural degree at The University of Queensland and has an Honorary Doctorate from the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC). Major awards include Sir Zelman Cowen, Robin Boyd, Robin Dods, Job and Froud, and national environment award. He gifted his art collection, ‘An Architects Eye’, to the USC and currently chairs the USC Art Advisory Committee.

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A graduate of the New York School of Interior Design, Karen has worked in design and development throughout Australia for the past 30 years. She has represented the community on school, medical and women’s business boards. Arts, culture and society have played a significant role in Karen’s professional and personal life since moving to the Sunshine Coast from Melbourne in the early 1990s. She is committed to elevating the quality and patronage of the arts on the Sunshine Coast and to creating opportunities for community engagement through arts and culture.

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Since she was old enough to realise she didn’t have the talent for a successful performing career, Karyn has instead contributed to thriving arts communities behind the scenes. A former chair of world-renowned contemporary circus company Circa, she has also served on the boards of a writer’s festival, a theatre company and a literary trust and in her previous executive roles in Australia and the UK has curated, hosted and sponsored arts and culture events. When not soaking up the arts, Karyn is an accomplished and trusted coach for executive women in transition. She has lived on the Sunshine Coast for a decade.

Image: Phill Jackson