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Board of Directors
There are currently seven directors on the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Foundation Board.
Stephanie Alexander OAM
Frances Laurino
Prue Gill
Natalie O'Brien
Kate Quirke
Lance Stephenson
Helen Murray
Past Board Directors
Is the author of twelve food books, including the Australian kitchen bible The Cook's Companion, and is a renowned chef and restaurateur. Her 35 year career has spanned books, words, food and young people, and she is now preoccupied with giving back wisdom and experience in meaningful ways. In practical terms this has meant establishing the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation as a means by which to convince policy makers that learning about food, how it grows, and the pleasure it can bring are vital to a civilised, healthy, happy society.
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former Principal, Collingwood College, was employed by the Victorian Department of Education for 35 years and was a principal for 15 years. During this time Frances was invited to speak around Australia about the many educational innovations she implemented throughout her teaching career, particularly at Collingwood College. Now retired, she was a highly respected principal, renowned for her ability to see a vision through to reality.
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Is a long time classroom teacher, recently retired from teaching English, Literature and Theory of Knowledge at Methodist Ladies College. She has taught in a variety of settings: government and private secondary schools, TAFE, and the Tertiary sector and in many different types of classroom: discipline based, inter-disciplinary, vertical age groupings, and in team teaching settings. She has been involved at both policy and planning level in the design and implementation of VCE English, and is an assessor of VCE Literature. She is the immediate past president of the Victorian Association for the Teaching of English, and a current member of VATE Council. She is a former member of the (then titled) Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Board.
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Is the CEO, Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, and has been for the last six years. She spent seven years at Tourism Victoria working in marketing of hallmark events, including the Melbourne Festival, Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. Prior to this she had five years working on the Cultural Development Department of the City of Melbourne. Currently Natalie sits on the Victorian Winery Tourism Council.
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Has been involved in the Healthcare Industry for over 15 years, predominantly in the area of sales and marketing of information technology for the hospital sector. During that time she managed and directed very large scale sales campaigns across the Asia Pacific region. This involved interaction with corporations, Health Services and Government Health Departments. Kate has been a Director of several companies,including Healthnet and iSOFT Pty Ltd. Expertise that she brings to the Foundation is in the areas of sales and fund-raising, marketing and event management and corporate governance. Kate is also passionate about food and the importance of it in the enjoyment of life and the opportunity it gives us to share with our families, friends and community.
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Is a fellowship member of CPA Australia (Management Accounting) and a fellowship member. His forty year career has spanned almost two decades in senior financial roles for not-for-profit organizations followed by two decades in managing sales and marketing activities within the corporate sector. Lance is very enthusiastic about the way in which young children have responded to the Foundation¹s school programs, particularly the way in which they have embraced the preparation of their own meals and the sharing of this food with friends. His involvement in the SAKGF has been motivated by a desire to see the Foundation grow into a financially robust organization that will be able to influence the social eating interests of a whole new generation of adults.
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Is a former teacher and school social worker who was employed by the Victorian Education Department before taking a position as a lecturer in the School of Social Work at the University of Melbourne. In 1997 she re-located to the USA with her husband, and for eight years lived in up-state New York where she was Director of the Syracuse University Internship Program. Her responsibilities included arranging internships for students across the United States, and consulting with the internship programs in the University’s centres in Europe and Hong Kong. She is currently employed part-time as the Community Wellbeing Program Manager with the Ian Potter Foundation in Melbourne. She is a strong believer in the importance of intervening early in a child’s life to develop desirable attitudes and behaviours, and is very keen to see the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation’s educational program introduced into all Victorian – and Australian – primary schools.
Founding member of the Board and Senior Project Officer in the organisation, Anna Dollard, stepped down from her Board role in September of 2008, in order to focus her energies on the continuing work of providing resources for schools implementing the Kitchen Garden Program.
We acknowledge the contribution of former director Barbara Heine, as the first supporter of the Kitchen Garden Program and of the Foundation, and we thank her in particular for her generous sponsorship of the Kitchen Garden at Collingwood College.
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Stephanie Alexander OAM
Is the author of twelve food books, including the Australian kitchen bible The Cook's Companion, and is a renowned chef and restaurateur. Her 35 year career has spanned books, words, food and young people, and she is now preoccupied with giving back wisdom and experience in meaningful ways. In practical terms this has meant establishing the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation as a means by which to convince policy makers that learning about food, how it grows, and the pleasure it can bring are vital to a civilised, healthy, happy society.
Back to Top
Frances Laurino
former Principal, Collingwood College, was employed by the Victorian Department of Education for 35 years and was a principal for 15 years. During this time Frances was invited to speak around Australia about the many educational innovations she implemented throughout her teaching career, particularly at Collingwood College. Now retired, she was a highly respected principal, renowned for her ability to see a vision through to reality.
Back to Top
Prue Gill
Is a long time classroom teacher, recently retired from teaching English, Literature and Theory of Knowledge at Methodist Ladies College. She has taught in a variety of settings: government and private secondary schools, TAFE, and the Tertiary sector and in many different types of classroom: discipline based, inter-disciplinary, vertical age groupings, and in team teaching settings. She has been involved at both policy and planning level in the design and implementation of VCE English, and is an assessor of VCE Literature. She is the immediate past president of the Victorian Association for the Teaching of English, and a current member of VATE Council. She is a former member of the (then titled) Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Board.
Back to Top
Natalie O'Brien
Is the CEO, Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, and has been for the last six years. She spent seven years at Tourism Victoria working in marketing of hallmark events, including the Melbourne Festival, Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. Prior to this she had five years working on the Cultural Development Department of the City of Melbourne. Currently Natalie sits on the Victorian Winery Tourism Council.
Back to Top
Kate Quirke
Has been involved in the Healthcare Industry for over 15 years, predominantly in the area of sales and marketing of information technology for the hospital sector. During that time she managed and directed very large scale sales campaigns across the Asia Pacific region. This involved interaction with corporations, Health Services and Government Health Departments. Kate has been a Director of several companies,including Healthnet and iSOFT Pty Ltd. Expertise that she brings to the Foundation is in the areas of sales and fund-raising, marketing and event management and corporate governance. Kate is also passionate about food and the importance of it in the enjoyment of life and the opportunity it gives us to share with our families, friends and community.
Back to Top
Lance Stephenson
Is a fellowship member of CPA Australia (Management Accounting) and a fellowship member. His forty year career has spanned almost two decades in senior financial roles for not-for-profit organizations followed by two decades in managing sales and marketing activities within the corporate sector. Lance is very enthusiastic about the way in which young children have responded to the Foundation¹s school programs, particularly the way in which they have embraced the preparation of their own meals and the sharing of this food with friends. His involvement in the SAKGF has been motivated by a desire to see the Foundation grow into a financially robust organization that will be able to influence the social eating interests of a whole new generation of adults.
Back to Top
Helen Murray
Is a former teacher and school social worker who was employed by the Victorian Education Department before taking a position as a lecturer in the School of Social Work at the University of Melbourne. In 1997 she re-located to the USA with her husband, and for eight years lived in up-state New York where she was Director of the Syracuse University Internship Program. Her responsibilities included arranging internships for students across the United States, and consulting with the internship programs in the University’s centres in Europe and Hong Kong. She is currently employed part-time as the Community Wellbeing Program Manager with the Ian Potter Foundation in Melbourne. She is a strong believer in the importance of intervening early in a child’s life to develop desirable attitudes and behaviours, and is very keen to see the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation’s educational program introduced into all Victorian – and Australian – primary schools.
Past Board Directors
Founding member of the Board and Senior Project Officer in the organisation, Anna Dollard, stepped down from her Board role in September of 2008, in order to focus her energies on the continuing work of providing resources for schools implementing the Kitchen Garden Program.
We acknowledge the contribution of former director Barbara Heine, as the first supporter of the Kitchen Garden Program and of the Foundation, and we thank her in particular for her generous sponsorship of the Kitchen Garden at Collingwood College.
Back to Top
