Priya Chandra is a business consultant, non-executive board director and military officer with more than 25 years service in the Royal Australian Navy. Priya’s military service included two deployments in the Middle East and executive roles in many different areas including marketing; communications and public affairs; information technology; human resources; and risk and governance.

Born in India and brought up in Adelaide, Priya has lived and worked in nearly every State and Territory, as well as in the UK. She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has a Masters in Strategic People Management.

Dr Helen Hickson is a Researcher and accredited Social Worker. She has worked internationally and has a long-standing interest in sustainable and healthy rural communities.

Her interests include health workforce planning, community recovery after disaster, and community health and wellbeing.

Helen is a Graduate of the AICD Company Director’s Course and holds Board Director roles, where she contributes skills in stakeholder engagement, strategy and planning, and risk management.

Tonye has over 30 years’ experience in legal and social policy sectors, working in roles at Victoria Legal Aid, Department of Human Services and the Australian Association of Gerontology. Her qualifications include Bachelors of Arts and Law, Graduate Certificate in Management and Master of Policy.

Tonye has served on several not-for-profit boards, including Uniting Care Werribee, Flemington-Kensington Community Legal Centre and Women’s Health West. In 2014 Tonye was awarded a Victorian Women’s Governance Scholarship, enabling her to complete the Australian Institute of Company Directors course.

Tonye moved to central Victoria in 2020 and proudly identifies as a person of colour and member of the LGBTIQA+ community.

Margaret is a qualified Social Worker and has worked in the not-for-profit community services sector for over 35 years in many settings including family counselling, community health, community legal services, and advocacy and rights organisations.

Margaret presently sits on the Board of Safe and Equal, is the Victorian representative and Treasurer of the WESNET Board and on the Board of the Global Network of Women’s Shelters. She has presented at many conferences nationally and internationally including side and parallel events at several sessions of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.

Margaret is a passionate supporter of human rights and ending gender-based violence against women.

Lauren’s responsibilities include leading the Corporate Services team, driving corporate services strategy, executing purposeful and targeted outcomes that reflect CNV vision, streamlining and integrating corporate processes and systems, and developing robust integrated management frameworks.

Lauren has significant leadership and management experience with more than 26 years in senior leadership roles within the Not-for-profit sector. She has Diplomas in Governance, Financial Services, Human Resource Management and Management.

Yvette is instrumental in establishing strong partnerships, delivery of services and practices that deliver positive outcomes for service users and the broader community, in line with the CNV strategic plan and feminist philosophy. Starting her career as a social worker, Yvette has been working in the community sector since 2000. Since then she has held senior strategic leadership positions in mental health, homelessness, youth services and family services. She has a strong commitment to women’s and children’s safety and to women’s empowerment.