We are thrilled to introduce you to Fatima Naseem, Lauren Donnellan and Nehar Samar, who are local women bringing individual leadership skills, diverse perspectives and strong community connections.
The trio have begun their director roles this month, enjoying their first board meeting with current board members Rhys Holleran (chair), Mark De Paola (deputy chair), Kara Shields, Julia Thomas and Gracia Musafiri.
Fatima Naseem is originally from Pakistan and moved to Australia in 2019 with two sons. Fatima’s husband came to Australia last year. She is a pharmacist at GV Health and is keen to assist other non-English speaking women who come to Australia alone, after her own experience.
Lauren Donnellan has lived in Greater Shepparton for seven years and is an active member in the wider community, in particular sporting communities. She is passionate about the inclusive nature of sporting communities and how they give an equal opportunity for individuals to participate.
Neha Samar works in the education sector with young people who do not have the advantage of mainstream education, creating alternate education pathways in VET courses. Neha is the founder of a not-for-profit called The Flamingo Project, which connects experienced women with women who are looking to grow professionally or personally.
Fatima, Lauren and Neha join our GSF skills-based board and will enhance its goal of strong governance and strategic leadership of the organisation. The board comprises people with a wide range of skills and experience to reflect our diverse community and therefore supports our aim to meet the most urgent needs in our community. GSF is committed to a view that if we are led by community, we can deliver with community!
The new board is excited to be working with incoming GSF chief executive Amanda McCulloch, who will start in the role next week. Amanda is keen to get to work on achieving the goals of our strategic plan via our major community projects, grants program, evaluation and advocacy, and partnership development. GSF’s strategic plan is focused on creating inclusive, interconnected communities where everybody has an equal opportunity to participate.
Through consultation, GSF has identified areas of major need in our community and as a result its focus areas include social inclusion; housing; parenting and early childhood development; and employment and economic engagement. Our board thinks innovatively to address priority need and is nimble in approach to deliver to our community.
To read more about GSF’s board directors and the work that GSF does in our community, please visit our website, www.greatershepparton.foundation
Until next time,
The GSF team
