WEN (South Australia) AGM & Women in Leadership Event (1 March 2023)

Special Invitation: WEN (SA) AGM & Women in Leadership Event 

The SA Women in Economics Network (WEN) invites members to attend its 2023 AGM. The AGM will be held in-person on March 1. Please join us to discuss our achievements in 2023, our plans for the upcoming year, and to nominate our new committee.

Following our AGM, we will hold our WEN event, “Women in Leadership Panel Discussion” to commemorate International Women’s Day this year to highlight the importance of women in leadership roles. Our guest speaker for this event is Cathie Brown, CEO of the Leaders Institute of South Australia.  Cathie will be joined by a panel of senior women who are alumni of the Governor’s Leadership Foundation program to discuss their approaches to leadership and their experiences as well as taking questions from the audience.

The WEN Committee meets once every quarter to discuss ways to support and connect women in economics, improve representation of women in economics, promote contributions of female economists and encourage young women to study economics. All members of the WEN Committee assist in organising WEN events, programs and initiatives throughout the year.

Contact wen@esasa.org.au if you have any questions about committee roles. Positions may proceed to a vote on the basis of these governance arrangements.

Date: Wednesday 1 March 2023

Venue: Yungondi Building UniSA, Room Y1-70, 61 North Terrace, Adelaide SA 5000

Time: 5.00 – 5:30 pm – the AGM will begin promptly at 5.00 pm

5:30-6:30pm: Women in Leadership: Interactive Panel Discussion

6:30-7:30pm: Networking and catering

Cost: Free for WEN members, $15 for non-WEN members

Note: Please note that AGM is for WEN members only. Women in Leadership Event is open to public. Both men and women are welcome to attend. To check the status of your membership, login to the ESA portal to ensure your membership is current and that you have ticked the WEN box in My Profile.

Please register by 24 February 2023. Limited number of seats.

Women in Leadership Discussion Speakers

Cathie is passionate about growing impactful and positive leaders. She has been the CEO of the Leaders Institute of South Australia for five years where she has curated programs to develop more holistic leaders who are self-aware, more adaptable and better able to lead others.  These programs include the Governor’s Leadership Foundation program and emerging leader programs like Amplify and Northern Leaders.  She is fortunate to witness the huge impact these programs have on a participant’s self-confidence and sense of purpose, with the effects evident in their work, home and community lives.

Prior to this role she has held many senior executive roles including inaugural CEO at the Media Centre for Education Research Australia, in TAFE SA, Rural Solutions and SAFECOM.  She has directed major projects including the purchase of the State’s rescue helicopter service and directed and co-wrote the Equal Opportunity Commission report into sexual harassment and sex discrimination in SA Police.

She is currently on the REISA Board and the Advisory Board of UniSA’s MBA.  She has previously been Chair of the 5MBS Board and Fulham North Primary School Council and a member on a number of boards including Uniting Communities and Study Adelaide.

She is a graduate of the AICD Company Directors Course, holds a Master of Business Administration (awarded the Alec Ramsay Award and MBA prize), a Bachelor of Arts and is a qualified project manager and journalist. She is married to Scott and has two adult daughters and a fondness for dogs, the environment and mid-century modern design.

Catherine Whitington has an academic background in Psychology, Human Rights and Law. Catherine has assumed government and non-government leadership roles in the fields of health, child protection, disability and homelessness. Catherine has a keen interest in the neurobiology of trauma, and is passionate about applying this knowledge to help achieve practical outcomes for real people. As a woman living with disability, Catherine also feels strongly about lived experience leadership in the design and implementation and ongoing working of care systems.  Catherine is a mum, foster-mum and an other-person guardian, and is currently the South Australian Commissioner for Health and Community Service Complaints.

Astrid Kuivasaari is an experienced Executive and Board Director with particular expertise in Corporate Governance, Finance, Operations and Strategy. For the last fifteen years she has held executive leadership roles in the not for profit sector: Finance Manager at The Memorial Hospital, General Manager, Resources at The Uniting Church of South Australia, and Executive Manager Operations and Corporate Services at LHI Retirement Services. Astrid has previously held Board roles in a number of not for profit organisations, and is currently a Board Member of Stirling Hospital.  She is married and has three sons.

Paola Niscioli is the General Manager, Operations at Ukaria Cultural Centre.  She has broad experience in marketing, communications, fundraising and business development specialising in the arts and cultural sector. This has included leading large teams at the Adelaide Festival Centre and at the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.  Enjoying sharing her skill set with the community, Paola joined the board of Brain Injury SA in 2019, after being introduced to the organisation her while undertaking the Leaders Institute’s Governor’s Leadership Foundation program in 2018.

Jackie Sincock is an experienced executive working in change leadership in a variety of health and human services sectors.  She now runs her own consultancy specialising in projects relating to changing mindsets, systems and culture, integrating services and delivering strategic projects.  She specialises in facilitating the ongoing development of people, teams and organisations within the community and human services sector to create social benefit. Jackie is a wife, mother and daughter and an over-empathy for most things – the earth, animals, the underdog!