Hon. Jeff Kennett AC

Jeff Kennett has been Chairman of The Torch since 2016. His interest in Indigenous Affairs started in 1980 when he was appointed Victorian Minister Responsible for Aboriginal Affairs.

Mr Kennett was the Premier of Victoria from 1992-1999 and Leader of the Opposition 1982-1989 and 1991-1992. He was a member of the Victorian Parliament for 23 years.

He is Chairman of Open Windows Software Pty Ltd and CT Management Group Pty Ltd, a Director of Amtek Corporation Pty Ltd and a member of the National Co-Design Group. He is also the President of the Hawthorn Football Club, having previously served as President from 2005-2011.

Mr Kennett was the Founder and the Chairman of beyondblue from 2000-2017 and he was formerly a Director and Chairman of Equity Trustees Limited and a Director of Seven West Media.

Mr Kennett was awarded the Companion of the Order of Australia in 2005.

Catherine Andrews

Catherine Andrews, wife of Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, has been a Director of The Torch since 2015. Catherine is a writer, editor and historian with a Masters in Public History, but she is currently doing something new and working for a Melbourne-based tech startup.

Catherine has been Victoria’s SunSmart Ambassador since 2012, and in 2015 was appointed an Ambassador for The Stella Prize, which promotes Australian women writers and their work.

Catherine is passionate about the arts, education and social justice.

She lives with her much-loved husband and their three children in the Premier’s electorate of Mulgrave. She also raises funds for the Monash Children’s Hospital and the Royal Children’s Hospital by running in charity events like Run for the Kids and Run Melbourne.

Aunty Pam Pedersen

Aunty Pam is a proud Yorta Yorta woman and an Elder of the Victorian Aboriginal community. As the youngest daughter of Aboriginal leaders Pastor Sir Douglas Nicholls and 2008 Victorian Honour Roll of Women inductee Lady Gladys Nicholls, Aunty Pam follows in her parents’ footsteps as an advocate for the rights of Aboriginal people.

Aunty Pam has made a significant contribution to the lives of young people in the court system, offering counsel and sharing her own experience to promote cohesion in Aboriginal families and communities. She has been an Elder on the Koori Courts since 2005, a community member of the Adult Parole Board, and has worked with young people coming into contact with the criminal justice system in roles with Jesuit Social Services and now Berry Street Shepparton.

Aunty Pam is an Honorary Elder of the Victorian National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC). In 2016, she was inducted onto the Victorian Aboriginal Honour Roll.

Her motto is, “If you can dream it, you can achieve it”.

Nova Peris OAM OLY MAICD

Nova Peris OAM OLY MAICD was Australia’s first Aboriginal woman elected to Federal Parliament and first Aboriginal Australian to win an Olympic Gold Medal and was recently awarded the 2020 Women in Leadership Award.

Nova is a passionate campaigner for Aboriginal rights and reconciliation in Australia. As a treaty ambassador for the former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC), Nova travelled around the country campaigning for a treaty between black and white so that a fundamental understanding between the two groups can be forged.

Nova is a former Board Member and National Patron for Beyond Blue and International Ambassador for the World Health Organisation (WHO), Griffith University Youth Suicide Prevention and for Hepatitis Australia. She is the currently the Patron for The Australian Indigenous Doctor’s Association (AIDA) and Firestick Alliance Indigenous Corporation and sits on the boards of The Torch, The Long Walk Foundation and AFL Sports Ready.

Christopher Miller

Chris joined the Board of The Torch in 2015 and has enjoyed its growth from humble beginnings to the organisation it is today.

Chris’ connection to the Indigenous community began in his mid-twenties when he lived in the Western region of Cape York, FNQ. He worked on Country with the western cape communities of Aurukun, Napranam and Mapoon for the Balkanu Development Corporation, focussing on the growth of Indigenous regional business and art development. It was there he learnt the wonder of the Wik Way and Kugu people and their language, arts and customs.

Chris works in financial advisory with some of Australian largest NfP organisations as a Partner of Crestone Wealth Management. He holds a Masters of Business Management (Finance) and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Chris is also a Non-Executive Director of social enterprise in hospitality Kinfolk Enterprises, the Himalayan Development Foundation of Australia and is Chairman of the Finance Audit and Risk Committee for Australia’s national cycling body, AusCycling.

Debra Lyon

Deb currently holds the position of Funding & Social Impact Coordinator at Sacred Heart Mission and prior to that was the Finance & Development Manager with The Torch.

She was the Treasurer of Australian Multicultural Community Services Inc (AMCS) from 2017 to 2020 and also a Founding Director of WA research and development electronics company RF Innovations Pty Ltd.

Deb has a Bachelor of Business (Accounting & Marketing) from Edith Cowan University and is currently studying a Master of Social Impact at Swinburne University of Technology.