Director:

Mike Dendle

Mike is Managing Director of the Centre for Social Response. He worked for Oxfam Australia for over 20 years and developed and managed the Community Programs Unit. He is President of the Centre for Peace Social Justice and Development (the Albion Centre) and Chair of Jabiru Community Youth and Children’s Services Association. Mike is involved in both the training with corporates and the travel programs of CSR.

Associates:

Anthony Kelly

Tony was senior lecturer in Community Work at University of Queensland for over 20 years and has worked as a consultant to government, corporations and NGO’s in ways of working with communities. He has also worked with Oxfam Australia on training programmes in Indigenous Australia and overseas. Tony is an authority on community relations practice and has trained many hundreds of people. He has worked with the major extractive industry companies worldwide on their community relations and human rights issues.

Dr Ingrid Burkett

Ingrid lectured in the School of Social Work at University of Queensland and worked for Oxfam Australia as Learning Development co-ordinator. She specialises in local and international community economic development and is interested in links between community development, community economic development and community cultural development. Ingrid is currently working on the establishment of a community enterprise and works with Foresters ANA Mutual Society. She is the Oceania Director of the International Association for Community Development.

Susan Black

Susan has twenty years experience in community development and management from both within government and non-government sectors. She is currently working at the interface between business and community. Susan currently works as the Coordinator of the Brisbane Social Enterprise Hub, a partnership between local government, corporate and community sectors assisting the formation of social businesses. Susan is also the President of the Deception Bay Neighbourhood Centre.

Pam Bourke

Pam has extensive experience in working with local and state governments at a senior level to broker policy change and strategic partnerships in Australia and New Zealand.She is highly experienced in community engagement and community development both in terms of leading policy and strategy and in developing and managing community engagement projects and processes in complex and conflictual environments. Pam has recently developed and delivered two courses in community development and engagement for the Mining Industry.

Mini Bedi

Director of the Development Support Team in Pune, India and Asia Director of the International Association for Community Development. Mini was previously the India Field Director for Community Aid Abroad and Oxfam Australia and has vast practical experience with development work at International, National and Village levels. She is also on the board of several Indian developmental organisations – SA-DHAN; VANI; CECOEDEOCON and GRASSROOTS.

Julia Zimmerman

Julia is currently an organisational development consultant. Her work focuses on building the capacity of leaders and groups to work more effectively together and to design and facilitate change. A particular interest is on developing the skills to have effective and difficult conversations. She has had over 25 years experience working at senior levels, including at the government/community interface in the vocational education sector in Queensland.

Graham Romanes

Graham worked for Community Aid Abroad (now Oxfam Australia) for 22 years, firstly as State Director and then in 1984 he moved to the Overseas Program section to shape the response to the Ethiopia crisis. He was then given the task of developing and managing CAA’s program throughout Africa. As a consequence, Ethiopia became his second home. In 1997 he was appointed as Ethiopia’s Honorary Consul-General to Australia. In this role he represents Ethiopia in Australia, as the Ethiopian Government has no Embassy here. He travels to Ethiopia regularly for briefings and also is owner and manager of ethiopia.com.au a shop in Fitzroy Melbourne that promotes and sells Ethiopian Fairtrade coffee and African trade beads.

Helen Thal

Helen has been passionate about the environment all her life and worked with the Australian Conservation Foundation for approx. 8 years. She then moved to Brisbane to work as a member of the Community Programs Unit of Oxfam Australia. In the last 4 years she has been the travel coordinator and PA for CSR’s training team with the corporate sector.

Ross Allan

Ross Allan is the Founder of Wellwishers an organisation raising money for hand-dug wells in Tigray, Ethiopia. With wife Marianne, they have been supporting the hand-dug wells program since 2002. They have visited Ethiopia several times to see the plight of the people & the benefits they receive from wells. Having retired some years ago from his successful project & development management company, Ross decided he wanted to devote most of his time & resources in helping people wherever he could.