Latest news and updates from the Menzies Foundation on leadership, community, and social impact.
The death of his brother’s team mate on the soccer field led Professor Jamie Vandenberg, Menzies Scholar and Deputy Director of the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Centre in Sydney, to think about how he could combine his professional expertise and his passion to help players stay active in soccer for longer. Jamie had started providing […]
Scholar supports Heartbeat of Football Read More »
NHMRC/RG Menzies Fellow and Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) laboratory head, Dr Nick Huntington, has been awarded the Burnet Prize to top off an outstanding year for the early career researcher. The prize was for his research and discoveries in innate immunity and immunotherapy. Earlier in the year Nick’s team – the Huntington Lab in
Burnet Prize tops Nick’s great year Read More »
A program which provides support to young people who live with a parent with mental illness will benefit from the Inaugural Menzies Alumni Community Leadership Grants, awarded in Sydney this week. The small grants program, which encourages Menzies scholars to pursue their community leadership and volunteering activities, has been launched by the Menzies Foundation and
Menzies Alumni Community Leadership Grant awarded to Satellite Foundation Read More »
Contributing to the development of refugee policy and creating greater awareness of Australia’s international legal obligations is what Lyndon Goddard would like to do when he returns from studying a Master of Laws at Cambridge. The recipient of the 2017 Sir Ninian Stephen Menzies Scholarship in International Law, Lyndon first got a sense of the
Exploring the edges of law Read More »
Immersion in subjects examining the crossover between politics, administrative and constitutional law, along with a unique experience working for the UNHCR, have inspired 2017 Sir Robert Menzies Scholarship in Law recipient, Nathan Van Wees, to complete a Bachelor of Civil Law at the University of Oxford. “Initially I thought I would put my knowledge to
Nathan seeks clear answers at Oxford Read More »
2014 NHMRC/RG Menzies Scholar in Medicine, Dr Si Ming Man, has continued his outstanding publishing record with another important paper on activating danger-sensing proteins in cells, published in journal Cell. Si Ming is half way through his fellowship and is part of the research team at St Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. The paper
Further insight into immune cell activation Read More »
Human rights and refugee advocate, Julian Burnside AO, and Grand Designs Australia host, Peter Maddison, will headline an event to celebrate 10 years of Architects Without Frontiers (AWF) and its humanitarian projects around the world in November. Founder of AWF, Professor Esther Charlesworth, 1993-94 Harvard Menzies Scholar, will celebrate a decade of collaboration with Australian
A decade of humanitarian projects Read More »
The Inaugural Sir Robert Menzies Indigenous Mentoring Fellowship is open for applications as a result of a partnership between the Menzies Foundation and the Melbourne Indigenous Transition School (MITS). MITS opened earlier this year to help students from remote Indigenous communities transition to school and life in Melbourne. Each year 20 boys and girls will
Partnership to create Indigenous Mentoring Fellow Read More »
If the definition of leadership is helping others achieve their potential, then there could be no better leader than 2003 Menzies Research Scholar in the Allied Health Sciences, Dr Kerry Proctor. It is a measure of the woman that she sees her current role as the Manager of an Indigenous Program with The Bouverie Centre
Supporting vulnerable families Read More »
Professor Bill Rawlinson AM has been elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences for his work in translational research into cytomegalovirus (CMV) amongst other achievements. Senior Medical Virologist and 1991 Menzies Scholar in Medicine, Professor Rawlinson joins fellow Menzies Scholars, Professor Robyn O’Hehir AO, Professor Jamie Vandenberg and Professor Matthew
Rawlinson made Fellow of AAHMS Read More »
Natasha is driven by a profound passion for both creativity and analytics, a synergy that fosters authentic storytelling in the digital realm with both innovation and integrity.
Throughout her career, she has consistently integrated the overarching marketing and communications narrative with the emotional connections of audiences. She is currently pursuing a Certificate in Society and the Individual from Flinders University, furthering her exploration of human behaviour and the critical importance of connectedness between organisations, individuals, and communities.
Sarah has more than 18 years’ experience in communications and marketing leadership across a range of sectors.
Communications strategy and organisational growth is a continuing theme in Sarah’s career. Most recently, she leads the development of a Leadership Movement, evaluated by Menzies Viral Co-efficient Model; a contribution to the NFP.
Sarah’s early career centred around best practice in marketing and communications which later culminated into the establishment of her very own agency. This work extensively spanned across PR, traditional media, event management, strategy, digital marketing, graphic design and business development consultancy.
In 2019, Sarah joined the lean and robust team at the Menzies Foundation. She has since crafted the Foundation’s narrative and communication strategy. The development of this strategic communications platform is essential for ‘movement building’ and requires a strong strategic, management and communication skills set. Sarah has brought so much to this important work, which sits at the forefront of communication practice.
Sarah continues to contribute to the NFP sector through her commitment to Purpose; as she reflects on her own leadership, builds her own leadership capability and contributes to the greater good.
LinkedIn | sarah.jenkins@menziesfoundation.org.au | 0401 880 071
Rohan has 15 years’ experience in facilitating cross-sector collaborations to address complex social and health challenges. He has worked with the World Economic Forum in Australia, led an international conflict resolution field team in Nepal, and directed a 10-year £40m initiative to reduce health inequity in London.
Most recently, Rohan was Major Grants Development Manager at the Ian Potter Foundation. He refined the foundation’s major grants strategy, and co-developed a series of large scale initiatives, including joint philanthropic-government funding for a new national organization to support place-based approaches across Australia.
Rohan has held several non-executive roles, including with an international NGO and with London Funders, the peak body of independent foundations in London. He holds several qualifications including a graduate degree in innovation and strategy from the Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
When Rohan isn’t exploring Melbourne’s creeks with his partner and 6yo daughter, he’s working on his currently weak Australian accent (after 15 years in the UK).
LinkedIn | rohan.martyres@menziesfoundation.org.au | 0404 505 954
A marketing and communications specialist with over 20 years experience in government, corporate and consumer marketing, Trudy brings her adaptive and organisational project management skills to the Menzies Foundation team.
With a BA degree in Public Relations, Trudy began her career with the City of Melbourne and in magazine publishing, before moving into marketing communications consulting. She has worked in strategic marketing leadership roles with retail brands and enjoys juggling many projects and tasks simultaneously. Her skills were further enhanced when managing her own communications business representing industries across private education, financial services, aviation, government and the health industry.
Trudy is passionate about leadership and all people being encouraged to reach their full potential through research and educational initiatives and opportunities throughout Australia. A skilled and accomplished writer and editor Trudy is enthusiastic about bringing her variety of skills to the Menzies Foundation team.
LinkedIn | trudy.morrison@menziesfoundation.org.au | 0402 361 878
Liz Gillies has had over 25 years experience in a range of fields focused on initiatives for social impact. She has held roles in multiple sectors and academia.
In 2018, Liz was appointed CEO of the Menzies Foundation which aspires to build a leadership movement that supports Australians to pivot to purpose, build their leadership capability and contribute to the ‘greater good’.
Liz joined the Melbourne Business School in 2009 and was instrumental in establishing the Asia Pacific Social Impact Centre (APSIC) and The Centre for Ethical Leadership. In November 2011 she was appointed as research fellow to lead a partnership focused on strategic philanthropy which culminated in the release of the reports: Philanthropy: Towards a Better Practice Model (2018) and the Philanthropy: The Continued Journey to Real Impact and better Practice (2021).
Liz has extensive governance experience, having served on the Board of the Publish Galleries Association of Victoria, Social Firms Australia, Uniting Care Community Options, United Way Australia and the Development Committee of the Towards a Just Society Foundation. She is currently on the Philanthropy Reference Group of Barmal Bijiril and a Director of Philanthropy Australia.
LinkedIn | liz.gillies@menziesfoundation.org.au | 0416 112 703
Natasha is driven by a profound passion for both creativity and analytics, a synergy that fosters authentic storytelling in the digital realm with both innovation and integrity.
Throughout her career, she has consistently integrated the overarching marketing and communications narrative with the emotional connections of audiences. She is currently pursuing a Certificate in Society and the Individual from Flinders University, furthering her exploration of human behaviour and the critical importance of connectedness between organisations, individuals, and communities.
