Governance at YWCA starts with our Board who oversee 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 Robyn Clubb AM.
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.
Bachelor of Arts, Master of Management (Finance)
Location: Melbourne
Claudia is a queer woman, feminist economist and management consultant. She has a decade’s experience providing financial, economic and policy advice to governments and NFPs.
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.
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.
B Com/Laws (Hons)
Location: Victoria
Linda is a committed advocate for gender equality, youth rights and climate change. She firmly believes in the power of young women’s leadership and intersectional feminism, and is keen to leverage her experiences to advance YWCA’s vision of a future where gender equality is a reality.
Relevantly, Linda was the 2024-2025 YWCA Board Trainee and a 2021 YWCA Delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW65). She also has experience in advocacy, leadership roles, impact measurement and research / report writing.
Linda is also a lawyer by trade, with a broad commercial practice advising a wide range of for-profit and not-for-profit clients across many sectors.
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 commercial finance leader with 19+ years of experience across finance, operational excellence, transformation and strategy. She has led and developed group-wide solutions for transformation programs by providing strategic and financial expertise across key business activities and drivers.
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 in the Development & Construction business across Business Solutions, HSE, Sustainability, Quality, Digital and Product Strategy. She is also a member of the NSW Property Council of Australia Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee.
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 Law (Hons), GDLP (in progress), Certificate of Mediation Accreditation
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.
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.
Jessica Haddrill is a proud Aboriginal woman who grew up on a farm in rural NSW and now has extensive experience leading large and diverse teams across the NSW Government sector. She has a strong background in organisational leadership, service improvement, and fostering inclusive workplace cultures.
Jess is passionate about identifying and addressing inequities, educating others, and advocating for stronger outcomes for women, particularly First Nations and rural women. She believes education is one of the most powerful agents for change, creating opportunities for individuals, families and communities to thrive. Through her Master of Education studies, she focused on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education policy and explored how Aboriginal pedagogical principles can be meaningfully embedded within contemporary education systems. Her academic achievements were recognised with the Executive Dean’s Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement.
Guided by the belief that “you can’t be what you can’t see,” Jess is committed to continuing her own leadership journey while helping create pathways for others to learn, grow and achieve their potential.
Sarah is a paralegal and policy consultant who is deeply passionate about feminism and gender equality, particularly in online spaces. For the past two years, she has dedicated her career to advocating for policy changes to online safety law at Policy Australia.
Her Honours thesis focuses on how our current online safety laws simultaneously fail to protect women whilst limiting key information to sexual and reproductive health information, suggesting reform to make the Internet a safer place for women and girls.
She will soon be admitted as a lawyer and hopes to continue her work in the community advocating for women and girls.