Our Board oversees everything we do, including strategic planning for the whole organisation. Our Board also oversee our subsidiary bodies YWCA National Housing and YWCA Housing. Above all, our Board have a commitment to our overarching goal of achieving true gender equality.
YWCA’s board is skills-based, includes women from around Australia and is led by President Helen Conway.
We’re passionate about maintaining a Board that reflects our values and the work we do. Our Board is constitutionally required to have at least 30% of the Board be young women.
Click the links to the right to jump to individual profiles.
The Board has established a range of specialised sub-committees which support YWCA Australia and each subsidiary. These are: Finance, Audit and Risk Committee and Nominations Committee.
The Committee assists the Board of YWCA Australia (and its subsidiary board/s) to discharge their duties in relation to:
The purpose of this Committee does not extend to operational financial management of the Company (and its subsidiaries).
Members:
Download FAR Committee Charter (169 KB)
The Committee is charged with providing the Board with advice and guidance on relevant issues as outlined in the Constitution and summarised below.
Download Nominations Committee Charter (151 KB)
BEc., CA, SF Fin, MAICD
Location: Regional NSW
Robyn has over twenty years of senior executive experience within the financial services industry, including roles with Citibank and AMP. She is also an experienced non-executive director within the agribusiness, energy and government sectors, and is currently a director of Elders Limited, Australia Post, and ProTen Limited. Robyn is a former Councillor of the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW (RAS) serving over 30 years as a volunteer. She was also the Chair of the RAS Foundation, the charitable arm of the RAS.
She resides on a farm in rural southeastern NSW and maintains a strong interest and involvement in rural and regional issues, including youth education and involvement with local Landcare groups.
B Law (Hons), GDLP (in progress), Certificate of Mediation Accreditation
Location: Melbourne
Khayshie is a passionate lawyer, speaker and change maker with over 10 years of experience across government, legal, leadership, housing, health, mental health, youth, gender equality and multicultural sectors.
Khayshie proudly served two terms as the Multicultural Youth Commissioner of Victoria and has represented Australia at the United Nations multiple times. Khayshie is an Independent Consultant and serves on boards including The Iceberg Foundation, YWCA Australia and Gender Equity Victoria.
Khayshie has been recognised as Young Citizen of the Year, Premier’s Volunteer Leadership Award winner, Victorian Multicultural Award for Excellence winner and has been named in the Top 100 Future Leaders of Australia.
GAICD, Master of Project Management, BEng (Mech) Hons
Location: Brisbane
Lavinia is an experienced leader with expert skills across the built environment life cycle including leading business case development, procurement strategy and delivery of significant property developments and projects. This includes experience across a wide range of asset classes including new developments and asset renewal.
Lavinia is passionate about gender equality and is a prior member of the Property Council of Australia’s Queensland Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, is a repeat sponsor in their 500 Women in Property program and a long-term volunteer with the National Association of Women in Construction. Through a scholarship from Chief Executive Women and the Property Council of Australia, in 2024 Lavinia attended the Women Transforming Leadership Program at Oxford University’s Said Business School.
BA (Hons)
Location: Sydney
Melanie Fernandez is a prominent gender equality advocate and activist with over a decade of experience leading membership-based and not-for-profit organisations. Currently, she’s the GM Policy, Communications and Research of Chief Executive Women and previously served as Deputy CEO at the NSW Council of Social Service.
With a wealth of Board Director experience, Melanie has held key positions with the Women’s Electoral Lobby Australia (as Chair), Rape and Domestic Violence Service Australia, and Reproductive Choice Australia. She is dedicated to empowering young women and fostering intergenerational learning at YWCA.
BA (Hons), MA, Postgraduate Diploma (International Law), PhD, GAICD
Dr Caroline Lambert has been contributing to social change for over 35 years, particularly in the area of gender equality. She has held senior management roles in feminist organisations in Australia, with a focus on gender equality within Australia and in the Pacific and Asia. As a Board Director and Chair she has contributed to organisations focused on women’s housing, young women’s leadership, human rights activism, and the creative industries (with a particular focus on artists with disability).
She currently works as an independent consultant with feminist and human rights organisations, providing accompaniment on evidence-informed strategy, governance, impact evaluation, and organisational development – with a particular focus on intersectional feminist tools to support this work. She works with clients in Australia and internationally, and has significant experience working in cross cultural contexts.
Caroline has authored books and articles on feminist governance, and feminist and human rights activism. Her doctorate focused on feminist economics and political theory in the context of human rights and trade.
Bachelor of Arts, Master of Management (Finance)
Claudia is a queer woman, feminist economist, and Associate Director in EY’s Strategy and Transactions division. She has over eight years’ experience in advising on economic and social policy and supporting funding bids.
Claudia is dedicated to upholding human rights, fighting for social justice, and improving outcomes for people and systems. She has experience working across family violence, gender equality, justice reform, housing, early learning, mental health, employment services, and disability services.
Claudia is committed to supporting the NFP sector in financial sustainability, data management and outcomes measurement. She is passionate about intersectionality and the recognition of lived experience as expertise, drawing upon her own experiences as a queer woman to inform her work.
LLB (Hons) BIS (Distinction); GCLP; PGCert(Distinction)(Human Rights); LLM (in progress)
Claudia Robinson is a passionate solicitor and human rights advocate dedicated to advancing equity, justice, and social inclusion. Admitted to practice law in both Australia and New Zealand, Claudia’s work is focused on supporting marginalised communities and fostering systemic change. Beyond her legal expertise, Claudia is deeply engaged in community service, mentoring emerging professionals, and creating accessible resources to empower others. She brings a trauma-informed and culturally sensitive approach to her work, ensuring that every voice is heard and valued.
Claudia undertakes a range of volunteer activities in the not for profit sector. Currently, Claudia serves as the Chair of the NSW Young Lawyers Human Rights Subcommittee and the Deputy Chair for Australian Lawyers for Human Rights’ Human Rights Act(s) Committee, in addition to being part of the executive management team.
Claudia’s work has garnered international recognition, including receiving the Education Leadership Award from the Legacy Project.
B Bus, CA
Marina is a senior commercial finance leader with 18+ years of experience in finance, business transformation, process excellence, risk & governance, and strategy. She has led and developed group wide solutions for strategic projects by providing operational and financial expertise on business activities and drivers. She has held roles with oversight and critical accountability of large finance functions driving strong visions for business partnering, governance, process excellence and digitisation. Marina is a Chartered Accountant, holds a Bachelor of Business from UTS, and was a finalist in AFR BOSS Young Executives 2021. Currently, she is the General Manager, Strategy & Operations for Development at Mirvac, responsible for a number of functions across Business Solutions, HSE, Sustainability, Quality and Product Strategy.
Marina is passionate about change and driving gender equality by recognising that different backgrounds and life experiences colour one’s circumstances. She believes that education and empowering women are essential for gender equality. Marina strongly values diversity and inclusion in the workplace and the broader community. Creating a community of diverse people and ensuring everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute, influence and feel safe is key to achieving a healthy society. Marina’s experiences to date both professionally and personally provide strong appreciation and key foundational skills to support the core activities of YWCA Australia and YeS 2026.
B Sc (Hons), Investment Management Certificate
Rebecca is a banking and funds management professional with deep experience in debt and equity financing, having led large scale investments across both Europe and Australia over the last 15 years. She has a strong passion for driving change, especially in the Australian housing sector believing that everyone should have a safe place to call home. She works with the impact investment firm Sentient Impact Group.
She brings her enthusiasm and extensive expertise in investment in the social and affordable housing sector to her Board Director role.
B Sociology (in progress)
Location: Adelaide
Shaylem is a proud Ngarrindjeri woman and passionate advocate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander self-determination and intersectional feminism. Shaylem has several years’ experience working in the education and child advocacy sector. Shaylem currently works at the Office of the Guardian for Children & Young People as the Principal Aboriginal Advocate. Shaylem is a knowledgeable leader and wants to see an equitable future for marginalised women and children.
As a non-Executive Director, Shaylem hopes to empower young women to challenge the status quo and overcome barriers impacting female representation in leadership, especially for women from diverse backgrounds whose journeys to leadership are often challenged by experiences of discrimination. Shaylem is excited to lead through her lived experience, to further highlight the importance of Aboriginal perspectives in these spaces of intersectional feminism and gender equality.
Charis Yang is a political scientist and philosopher in training. Her interests lie in how institutions — political, economic, and technological — structure participation and decision-making, particularly for culturally and racially marginalised communities in Australia and across the Indo-Pacific.
She currently works as a research assistant on the How Politicians Evaluate Public Opinion project and at the Machine Intelligence and Normative Theory Lab (ANU). She has contributed to social and economic policy research through internships at the Australian Human Rights Commission, the Australian Parliament, and the Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance, and studied Chinese in Taiwan as a New Colombo Plan Scholar.
Her Honours thesis explored the under-representation of people of colour in Australian party politics. In 2025, she will join the Yenching Academy at Peking University to continue her study of power, pluralism, and institutional change through comparative and non-Western traditions.
She approaches policy and research as tools to ask sharper questions and to imagine more honest institutions.
Clara Conheady is a passionate advocate for intersectional gender equality, committed to ensuring decision-making spaces reflect the full diversity of our communities. A Melbourne Global Shaper and current Observer on the Victorian Government LGBTQIA+ Health and Wellbeing Working Group, she brings a strong foundation in youth advocacy, public policy, and education, with a focus on amplifying marginalised voices, particularly women and gender-diverse young people, whose rights and wellbeing she champions through both lived experience and professional leadership.
Clara has worked across the public, private, and non-profit sectors, with experience spanning education, diplomacy, and community policy. She interned at the Embassy of Finland, considering what Australia can learn from the Finnish Green Energy transition and gender equality in diplomacy, and at the ACT Office for LGBTQIA+ Affairs, where she led policy research and recommendations. As the former Youth and Gender Expert on the UN Women Canberra Committee, she has contributed to shaping youth-informed approaches to global gender justice. Clara is also passionate about gender equity in sport and has published academic research on sex testing in elite women’s athletics. In 2025, she was awarded the Global Leader Impact Fund to support menstrual equity for women and gender-diverse Australian Rules Football players.
Her experience spans local, national, and international contexts, from delivering sex-ed and consent education to thousands of young Australians with Elephant Ed, to representing Australia through the 2024/25 Australia-Indonesia Youth Exchange Program. Clara holds a deep belief in feminist leadership that centres care, collaboration, and community. Through the YWCA traineeship, she hopes to further develop her board-level governance skills and continue building inclusive systems that work for and with those most impacted.
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