Find out more about Stella’s Board and team.
Staff
Fiona Sweet
— Executive Director & CEO
(Melbourne, VIC)
Fiona is the former Artistic Director and CEO of the Ballarat International Foto Biennale responsible for the programming and curation of three Biennales. She founded the National Centre for Photography in Ballarat as was the inaugural director. Founder of Sweet Creative, and co-founder Melbourne’s Acland Street Projection Festival, she is a former Board Director of the Australian Graphic Design Association, the Melbourne Fringe, and is a current board member of the Melbourne Jewish Book Week. Fiona is the recipient of many prestigious design awards, and has been identified as one of the top 25 women to have made a significant contribution to Australian graphic design.
Gabriella Munoz
— Communications and Administration
(Melbourne, VIC)
Gabriella is a writer and editor who has worked in print and online publications in Mexico and Australia. Gabriella studied Media and Communication, and Children’s and Young Adult Literature at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City and has a Master’s in English from the University of Sydney. She writes essays, short stories and poetry, and has been published in Meanjin, Cordite, the Australian Multilingual Project, Mascara Literary Review and elsewhere. She was the 2018 Digital Writer in Residence at Writers Victoria and a 2019 Wheeler Centre Hot Desk Fellow.
Claudia Nankervis
— Program Coordinator
(Melbourne, VIC)
Claudia has extensive experience across film, podcasts and television. After graduating from RMIT with a Bachelor of Communications in 2017, she spent some time working for a production company in New York City before returning home to begin working at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival as Associate Producer for TV Events. In 2020 she co-founded SUZY, a female led production company developing original work that focuses on young, modern life in a domestic Australian setting. Claudia’s successful storytelling event and podcast Backyard Stories has recently completed an international tour, starting at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, and ending with shows in Amsterdam, New York and London. She is thrilled to join Stella Prize.
Board
Keren Murray
— Chair
(Melbourne, VIC)
Keren is an experienced lawyer, policy advisor, and non-executive director. She is Principal of K Murray Consulting, a legal policy advisory service and was previously Principal Lawyer at the Law Institute of Victoria.
Claire Wivell Plater
— Deputy Chair
(Sydney, NSW)
Claire is an experienced non-executive director, lawyer and entrepreneur with a lifelong passion for literature and the arts. She is a non-executive director of a number of financial services companies, including Youi Insurance, Aware Financial Services and Athena Home Loans. She is also a director of PinchGut Opera.
Mary Latham
— Treasurer
(Melbourne, VIC)
Mary is a chartered accountant and non-executive director with experience in professional accounting firms, the financial services sector and the not-for-profit sector. She is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Abbey Burns
— Secretary
(Melbourne, VIC)
Abbey is a Senior Associate at Russell Kennedy Lawyers, specialising in workplace relations, employment and discrimination matters. She is also the Deputy Co-Convenor of the Russell Kennedy Women’s Network, and has provided pro-bono assistance to organisations in relation to sexual harassment in the workplace.
Nicole Freeman
(Sydney, NSW)
Nicole is Director of Clients and Programs at Noble Ambition, an independent fundraising consultancy that works with organisational leadership, industry and government agencies in the for-purpose sector. Prior to joining Noble Ambition, Nicole worked as a lawyer in the corporate M&A teams at Landerer & Company and Clayton Utz. Nicole is a member of the AGNSW Atelier Foundation and previously served as a director of YWCA NSW, YWCA Australia, and as a committee member of NEXUS Australia.
Elly Gay
(Melbourne, VIC)
Elly is an education specialist with over 17 years experience in the Victorian public sector. She has taught secondary school English and history and spent most of her career working as a lawyer focusing on education and equality law issues. She now holds a senior leadership role overseeing school policy development and supporting principals in Victorian government schools.
Louise Jones
(Perth, WA)
Louise is a passionate advocate for literature and literacy, and a board member of Fremantle Press. She is also an enthusiastic co-host of the book-centric Diving In podcast. Louise is an experienced lawyer with over 20 years experience, and founder of The Write Business.
Elizabeth Shaw
(Perth, WA)
Elizabeth is a Partner at PwC, advising organisations on change, culture, diversity and inclusion. The former National President of UN Women Australia, Elizabeth is a passionate gender equality advocate and has worked across a number of industries to increase women’s representation. Elizabeth is a qualified lawyer and company director and sits on the Board of the Australian Inclusion Group.
Melissa Smith
(Sydney, NSW)
Melissa is Founder & CEO of Noble Ambition, an independent fundraising consultancy that works with organisational leadership, industry and government agencies in the for-purpose sector. A Churchill Fellow, Melissa has also achieved multiple awards including Australian Fundraiser Of The Year (FIA) and Global Fundraiser Of The Year (IFC).
Michelle Cheng
(Sydney, NSW)
Michelle is the Content Industry Diversity Manager, in SBS’s Television and Online Content division. She works adjacent to the SBS Commissioning team, supporting SBS’s content and industry initiatives focused on providing tangible pathways and opportunities for diverse practitioners under-represented in the sector. Michelle has worked as a media advisor, with a background in TV presenting/writing, journalism and law (as a qualified solicitor). She has worked as a television writer on the quiz show The Chase Australia and was a panelist on the ABC TV quiz show Think Tank in over 75 episodes. As a digital journalist Michelle has by-lines in The Guardian, ABC, Yahoo News and the Daily Mail Australia. Michelle was also a Curation Coordinator for TEDxMelbourne, Media & Communications Advisor at Monash University and Co-chair of the Screen Diversity Inclusion Network (SDIN) for 2021 to 2023.
Michelle Law
(Sydney, NSW)
Michelle is a writer and actor – working in print, screen and stage – currently based on Gadigal Land. Her works include the plays, Single Asian Female (La Boite Theatre Company), Top Coat (Sydney Theatre Company), and Miss Peony (Belvoir St Theatre); the television show Homecoming Queens (SBS); and the book Asian Girls are Going Places (Hardie Grant). Her awards include two Australian Writers Guild Awards, the Queensland Premier’s Young Publishers and Writers Award, and the Arts & Culture 40 Under 40 Awards, which celebrates the country’s most influential Asian Australians. Michelle is also a widely published freelance author and a prolific speaker who regularly appears on panels and at festivals.
Jamie Irawan
(Sydney, NSW)
Jamie is a Strategic Account Executive at Microsoft with a breadth of experience in partnerships, start-ups and marketing. She is a core member of Microsoft’s Healthcare team focused on empowering healthcare organisations to deliver better outcomes, better experiences and better care. Jamie co-founded Codess Australia, a Microsoft initiative promoting gender diversity by building, inspiring and connecting the next generation of female-identifying tech talent. This community has grown to 1000+ members, dedicated to break biases and invite students from non-traditional backgrounds into a career in technology. She has worked with NFPs in areas of passion like gender equity, education and sustainability.
