Board Members
Lisa Danker GAICD
Technical Director, Chairperson
GAICD; Bachelor of Science (Architecture); Master of Urban and Regional Planning.
Experience and Expertise: Lisa has 20 years experience in planning and property development. She has particular expertise in master-planning large communities, creating transit- oriented developments and building governance frameworks to manage complex projects. Lisa has a passion for creating memorable places, a city for everyone and believes that sustainability should be the foundation of everything we do.
Special responsibilities: Member of People, Assets and Growth Committee
Robert Bakewell
Technical Director
Bachelor of Commerce, Chartered Accountant
Experience and Expertise: ASX listed company CFO with extensive international experience across a range of industries and geographies. Robert is highly skilled professional in all aspects of financial management and control including balance sheet and capital management, treasury, liquidity management and equity raising. Broad experience in Investor Relations and key stakeholder engagement including all levels of government.
Robert is an active leader who brings new ideas and energy to his work, helping his organisation grow, transform, and achieve.
Robert aims to inspire, develop trust, and challenge people to achieve shared goals. Robert’s forte is in the development and leadership of high performing teams.
Special responsibilities: Treasurer and Member of the Compliance, Audit, Risk and Governance Committee.
Annabelle Lewis GAICD
Technical Director
PhD Candidate Transdisciplinary Innovation, Graduate Diploma Behavioural Economics, BA (Hons) Accounting, Finance & Economics, Chartered Accountant
Experience and expertise: Driven by her personal purpose of 'striving for the greater good', Annabelle combines her 25+ years' strategic, risk management and governance experience with robust research, to help create positive impact through both practice and academia. As a practitioner, Annabelle provides consulting services to organisations aligned to her purpose and has served on the board of a youth charity. As an academic, Annabelle's areas of interest are behaviour change, creative problem-solving and social impact. Her PhD research is on board strategic decision-making that considers people and planet impacts. She also teaches in the award-winning Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation at UTS.
Special responsibility: Member of the Compliance, Audit, Risk and Governance Committee
Bruce Tosello
Technical Director
GAICD; Bachelor of Design; Master of Business Administration
Experience and Expertise: For twenty-five years Bruce created strategies, developed businesses, and held senior leadership roles in consumer goods, building products, and financial services sectors. He then moved to the for-purpose sector in 2015 and leads client engagement, commercial management, and strategy development for a disability sector provider. Bruce is passionate about listening to and learning from clients and customers, while supporting for-purpose organisations to live their values and be strategic and commercially astute.
Special Responsibilities: Member of the People, Assets and Growth Committee
Lucy Minter
Technical Director
FICDA; Bachelor of Laws; Carpentry Certificate III
Experience and Expertise: Lucy is a solicitor and carpenter with experience in housing, law and governance. She works for an NGO, overseeing programs that audit and repair essential health hardware in homes. She also works with housing providers and governments to develop practical maintenance systems that improve the safety of social housing and tenants' health. Lucy has served on housing boards in Australia and overseas and is committed to tenants having real control over their living conditions.
Janan Clowes
Member Director
Experience and Expertise: Janan has lived in the Co-op housing sector since 2008, first at Ningana Housing Co-op and more recently at Aston Hall Housing Co-op. Janan spent 8-years on the Ningana Board, including 3 years as Chair, and assisted with tenant selection, finance, planning and asset management. Janan is a strong believer in the co-op model, participating in various sector activities including the CENSW CCA Working Group, the Co-op Federation and the Australian Co-operative Housing Association. He brings the perspective of having been a member of both large and small Co-operatives, along with lived experience of disability and homelessness. He has previously worked in aged care administration, the security industry, and media production.
Elspeth Cameron
Member Director
Experience and Expertise: Elspeth has been a member of Palace Women's Housing Co-op since 2013, which has inspired a deep commitment to the co-operative model of housing. She is an active member of the NSW State Emergency Service and regularly travels throughout the state to assist communities impacted by natural disasters and extreme weather events. She firmly believes this contribution would not have been possible but for the benefit of safe, secure housing, delivered through the empowering co-operative model. Elspeth brings to the Board the voice of lived tenant experience of the difference the co-operative housing model can make to the lives of its residents.
Special responsibilities: Deputy Chair; Chair of People, Assets and Growth
Magdalena Tausch
Member Director
Bachelor of Arts and Diploma in Graphic Design and Photography
Experience and Expertise: Magdalena has a long history of ‘giving back’ from her father’s influence when she was a child in Romania to her current life at Alpha House Artists Co-op. She currently runs her own graphic design, photography and consultancy business in Sydney. Magdalena is very active in the Co-op and broader community, having organised community forums and co-founding YEmpower, a nonprofit organisation whose purpose is to empower the next generation.
Special responsibilities: Member of the Compliance, Audit, Risk and Governance Committee
Julie Scott
Member Director
Experience and Expertise: Julie has been a member of the Twin Towns Housing Co operative for 15 years, a Board Member for 5 years and Treasurer for the past 2 years. She is actively involved in all aspects of the running of Great Lakes netball Club, Tuncurry Forster Sports Women's Bowling Club, Forster Women's bowling Club and the Lower North Coast District Bowling Association. She is also a Member Protection Officer which has been useful is resolving disputes.
Special responsibilities: Member of the Compliance, Audit, Risk and Governance Committee